The one sentence summary

We must take immediate action to avert the climate crisis.

WHAT THE BOOK SAYS

This is a short collection of speeches the author has made at various events between September 2018 and April 2019, including climate marches, the UN Climate Change Conference, and the World Economic Forum. Her thoughts include:

  • Around the year 2030, 10 years from now, we will set off an irreversible chain reaction beyond human control that will most likely lead to the end of our civilisation as we know it.
  • Scientists say that we have only a 5% chance of meeting the Paris Agreement target. We will face this irreversible scenario if we fail to keep global warming below 2°C.
  • The IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) says we have to aim for 1.5°C. You would think that every one of our leaders and the media would be talking about nothing else – but no one ever mentions it.
  • The whole earth is living beyond its means. Sweden for example consumes the resources of 4.2 planets each year, effectively stealing 3.2 years of natural resources from future generations every year.
  • Rich countries in particular need to get down to zero emissions within six to twelve years.
  • People say that dealing with the climate crisis is not a black and white issue, but it is. I may be that clear about it because I have Asperger’s syndrome, but to me, we are the normal ones, because no one talks about the issue. We have to stop our emissions of greenhouse gases. And either we do or we don’t. Saying that nothing in life is black and white is a lie, a very dangerous one.
  • Grown-ups in particular do nothing. They are not mature enough to tell it like it is, which is why I and my generation take action.
  • People keep doing what they do because the vast majority doesn’t have a clue about the consequences of our everyday life. They are only interested in solutions that will enable them to carry on like before.
  • We are in the middle of the sixth mass extinction, with about 200 species going extinct every single day.
  • The climate crisis is both the easiest and the hardest issue we have ever faced. We know we must stop the emission of greenhouse gases, and yet our current economies are still totally dependent on burning fossil fuels, and thereby destroying ecosystems in order to create everlasting economic growth. Our house is on fire, and it is time to panic.
  • We are failing but we have not yet failed. We can still fix this. It’s up to us.

WHAT YOU HAVE TO WATCH

  • Not everyone will agree with the author’s opinions, or her actions.
  • For example, the Declaration of Rebellion speech given to the Extinction Rebellion gathering in London October 2018 in particular sheds light on why the organisation disrespects the media so much, believing that there is a universal conspiracy to avoid mentioning the climate crisis.