Greta Thunberg called the COP climate change conference a “scam” and announced she wouldn’t be going this year. The COP27, the annual climate conference, which will be held this year from November 6–18 in Egypt, is just a few days away. The 19-year-old, a well-known climate activist, will noticeably be absent from the event.
Quite the Big Name
Thunberg has been in the news since she was a small child thanks to her successful school strike against climate change. It was unexpected that she wouldn’t be attending COP27 because she has since come to represent effective climate action.
The Big Event
The COP conferences take place annually, and this year Egypt will “host more than 45,000 registered COP27 participants representing Parties, UN and regional organizations, businesses, the scientific community, indigenous and local communities, and civil society to jointly enhance and accelerate the implementation of climate action and follow up on our collective commitments and pledges,” according to the conference website.
The purpose of the meeting, according to Thunberg, “‘are not really meant to change the whole system” but rather to chart gradual advancement. Greta notes that the climate situation is really urgent and adds that “as it is, the COPs are not really working, unless, of course, we use them as an opportunity to mobilize, which we must try to do, and make people realize what a colossal scam this is.”