Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg called on banks to quit funding climate “destruction” on Saturday ahead of the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP26, where she will be joining a “climate strike.”
Speaking to the BBC’s Andrew Marr for an interview set to air on Sunday, Thunberg called on banks to “stop funding our destruction.”
Thunberg said she has not been “officially” asked to speak at COP26, telling Marr that officials may fear that inviting “radical young people” may make them “look bad.”
Thunberg said COP26 had an overall issue of underrepresentation, arguing that there were not enough representatives from countries being most affected by climate change, thus creating an “imbalance” from the beginning.
“As long as we keep ignoring the historical responsibility of the countries of the global north, and as long as we continue to ignore it, the very negotiations will not have a successful outcome,” Thunberg told Marr.
Thunberg arrived in Glasgow, where COP26 is being held, on Saturday. Upon arriving in the Scottish city, the Swedish teenager was greeted by a mob of supporters.
Thunberg will be taking part in a demonstration organized by the Scottish arm of her student climate movement, “Fridays for Future,” on Nov. 5.