“I don’t want you to listen to me,” said the youth climate leader. “I want you to listen to the scientists.”

By Jessica Corbett, staff writer for Common Dreams. Published 9-18-2019

Swedish environment activist Greta Thunberg (L) speaks as This Is Zero Hour co-founder Jamie Margolin (C) and Alliance for Climate Education fellow Vic Barrett (R) look on during a joint hearing before the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Europe, Eurasia, Energy and the Environment Subcommittee, and the House Select Committee on the Climate Crisis, at the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, on September 18, 2019. Screenshot: C-SPAN

Rather than delivering prepared remarks, 16-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg submitted a landmark United Nations report on global warming as testimony at a U.S. House hearing Wednesday and urged federal lawmakers to heed experts’ warnings about the necessity of ambitious, urgent efforts to address the planetary emergency.

“I am submitting this report as my testimony because I don’t want you to listen to me,” said the Fridays for Future founder. “I want you to listen to the scientists. And I want you to unite behind the science. And then I want you to take real action.” Continue reading →