By James Ellsmoor
Choking back her tears, this week Swedish teenage activist delivered a rousing speech to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, ahead of upcoming elections in May.
Thunberg called on EU leaders to act urgently on climate change, highlighting the hypocrisy of how quickly over in funding was raised to rebuild Notre-Dame Cathedral, more than France's to the Green Climate Fund.
“Yesterday, the whole world witnessed with sadness and despair the fire at Notre-Dame de Paris, but Notre-Dame will be rebuilt,” said Thunberg in her speech. “If our house was falling apart our leaders wouldn’t go on like we do today... Well, our house is falling apart and yet nothing is happening. We’ll have to switch to cathedral mode. I ask you to wake up and do what is necessary."
The world famous, eight centuries old cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris was devastated in a fire on April 15th that destroyed the building's spire and roof and seriously damaged its interior, walls, and windows. Fortunately, many works of art and other treasures were evacuated and the altar, the vault and the pulpit were left untouched.
Over 400 fireman worked to quell the inferno and many donations poured while the fire was still raging. France's three richest families led the donations, including billionaire Francois-Henri Pinault, CEO Bernard Arnault of Louis Vuitton and the Bettencourt-Meyer family, which controls L'Oreal.
Others have voiced concern about the focus on Notre-Dame, with British actor David Schneider : "If we could all actually watch in horror at our planet being destroyed in the same way we watched in horror as Notre Dame was being destroyed, we might do more to stop it. #ExtinctionRebelion."
Activist Greta Thunberg has rapidly risen to be one of the foremost voices in the climate movement, after inspiring a worldwide movement of children against global warming with her weekly school strike.
Thunberg famously rode her bicycle to Stockholm’s Parliament House last year, taking up a place on the cobblestones with a hand-painted sign reading “school strike for climate”.
The movement now claims 1.6 million strikers in more than 125 countries.
A rising chorus of voices has been protesting the urgency of climate action with this week's Extinction Rebellion protest in London leading to more than 1,000 police officers being deployed in the city. Over 500 people have been arrested in the protests, including three charged with gluing themselves to a train.
Television presenter Sir David Attenborough also announced his strongest words so far on the threat posed by climate change. Sir David the planet faces "irreversible damage to the natural world and the collapse of our societies".
While Notre-Damn is undoubtedly a tragedy, it shows that money and resources can be mobilized rapidly in times of anguish. Why are we not seeing the same reaction on climate change?
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Related to SDG 16: Climate action
