Activist Thunberg denounces "creative PR" in climate fight

Greta Thunberg is accusing political and business leaders of prioritizing their image over taking aggressive action in the fight against climate change.

In other words: greenwashing.

Here's what she had to say at a United Nations summit in Madrid on Wednesday (December 11):

(SOUNDBITE) (English) CLIMATE ACTIVIST GRETA THUNBERG, SAYING:

"The politics needed does not exist today despite what you might hear from world leaders. And I still believe the biggest danger is not inaction, the real danger is when politicians and CEOs are making it look like real action is happening when in fact almost nothing is being done apart from clever accounting and creative PR."

"Our leaders are not behaving as though we were in an emergency. In an emergency you change your behavior. If there's a child standing in the middle of the road and cars are coming at full speed, you don't look away because it is too uncomfortable. You immediately run out and rescue that child. And without that sense of urgency, how can we, the people, understand that we are facing a real crisis."

This year's U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, or COP25, has been attended by government ministers from 190 countries.

Thunberg's appearance came as she was named Time Magazine's Person of the Year for 2019.