Greta Thunberg
Role at time of quote: Climate activist
"This is all wrong. I shouldn't be up here. I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean. Yet you all come to us young people for hope. How dare you! You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words. And yet I'm one of the lucky ones. People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction, and all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth. How dare you!"
Context
Before — what was asked or happening
Thunberg, then 16, had sailed from Europe to New York to avoid flying, as part of her climate activism commitment. She was responding to a question at the 2019 UN Climate Action Summit in New York City about her message to world leaders. Her opening words 'My message is that we'll be watching you' preceded the widely shared passage above. The speech was delivered in the context of a year of global school climate strikes she had helped inspire.
After — what followed or was clarified
The speech continued beyond the widely shared clip. Thunberg went on to reference the remaining global carbon budget, stating it would be gone within 8.5 years at current emissions levels, and concluded: 'You are failing us. But the young people are starting to understand your betrayal. The eyes of all future generations are upon you. And if you choose to fail us, I say: We will never forgive you.' US President Donald Trump, who had left the meeting after 10 minutes, tweeted a video of her remarks sarcastically. Thunberg updated her Twitter bio to match his description of her, in what became one of the most noted social media responses of the year.
Primary source Video
Video starts at timestamp 0:10. Embed uses youtube-nocookie.com.
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Added to End Of Quote: 8 May 2026