Greta Thunberg tells Cop31 climate summit the planet is being killed by those in power

Thunberg criticises world leaders

At her first annual UN climate talks appearance in five years, Swedish activist Greta Thunberg condemned governments for failing to prevent environmental breakdown. She said the planet was “not dying, it is being killed,” and blamed those she said were expected to help.

Thunberg appeared alongside activists from Nepal, Canada and Australia. She connected worsening global heating with war and said the crisis was plainly not under control.

Calls for action, not signals

Andy Burnham, the British prime minister and the only G7 leader at the talks, said the UK’s record-hot summer was “not normal”. Oxfam GB climate justice adviser Beth John said his attendance sent a positive signal, but argued that presence alone was insufficient.

Campaigners criticised the slow pace of emissions cuts and said governments had not yet united around phasing out fossil fuels in the negotiations. John said climate leadership would be judged by delivery, not declarations.

Communities describe climate damage

Nepal’s environment minister, Gita Chaudhary, described an August landslide caused by a melting glacier that killed more than 1,500 people. She called it a “mountain tsunami” and said Nepal was working on rehabilitation, reconstruction and rebuilding infrastructure, while lost lives and culture could not be restored.

Mustafa said Israeli restrictions on access to land, water and natural resources had compounded Palestine’s climate challenges. He added that destruction in Gaza, including damage to water, sewage and farmland, had worsened environmental and health risks.

US absence shapes the talks

A Democratic midterm election win raised hopes at Cop of renewed US engagement on the climate crisis. California governor Gavin Newsom cautioned that the final two years of Trump’s presidency would bring no fundamental change in climate policy.