Greta Thunberg said it would be a waste of time for her to talk to Trump about climate change
REUTERS/Susana Vera; REUTERS/Tom Brenner
The Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg said it would've been a waste of time for her to talk to President Donald Trump about climate change.
"Obviously he's not listening to scientists and experts, so why would he listen to me?" Thunberg told BBC Radio 4.
The 16-year-old activist added: "I wouldn't have wasted my time."
Trump, who is withdrawing the US from the Paris climate accord, has a long record of expressing skepticism about climate science.
The teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg said it would have been a waste of time for her to discuss climate change with President Donald Trump, citing the president's skepticism of climate science.
Thunberg told BBC Radio 4 on Monday that if she'd bumped into Trump at the United Nations climate summit in New York City in September, she "probably" would not have said anything.
"Honestly, I don't think I would have said anything because obviously he's not listening to scientists and experts, so why would he listen to me?" she said.
"So I probably wouldn't have said anything," Thunberg added. "I wouldn't have wasted my time."
Trump, who in November formally notified the UN that he's withdrawing the US from the Paris climate accord, has referred to climate change as a "hoax" created by the Chinese.
Thunberg, a 16-year-old from Sweden, was recently named TIME's Person of the Year for 2019 over her efforts to spread awareness of climate change and for leading the largest climate strike in history in September.
Carlo Allegri/Reuters
Trump attacked Thunberg in a tweet earlier this month, saying it was a "so ridiculous" for TIME to name her as its Person of the Year.
The president at the time tweeted: "So ridiculous. Greta must work on her Anger Management problem, then go to a good old fashioned movie with a friend! Chill Greta, Chill!"
Thunberg, who has been open about having Asperger's syndrome, did not seem fazed by Trump's tweet. Shortly after the Twitter attack, Thunberg changed her Twitter bio to read: "A teenager working on her anger management problem. Currently chilling and watching a good old fashioned movie with a friend."
The teenage activist was also recently called a "brat" by Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, a leader who is friendly with Trump and is a fellow climate skeptic. His attack came in response to Thunberg criticizing deadly attacks on indigenous Brazilians in relation to the country's deforestation of the Amazon rainforest.
Thunberg brushed off the attacks from world leaders like Trump and Bolsonaro in the BBC interview on Monday.
"Those attacks are just funny," she said. "It means they are terrified of young people bringing change, which they don't want, but that is just a proof that we are actually doing something and they see us as some kind of threat."
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