Earth Day 2022: Greta Thunberg hits out at people celebrating planet at same time as destroying it

Greta Thunberg has hit out at people celebrating the planet on Earth Day while simultaneously “destroying it”.

The teenage climate activist claimed the global annual event had “turned into an opportunity for people in power to post their ‘love’ for the planet, while at the same time destroying it at maximum speed”.

She wrote on Twitter: “School strike week 192. This is not a “happy earth day”. It never has been.

“#EarthDay has turned into an opportunity for people in power to post their “love” for the planet, while at the same time destroying it at maximum speed. #PeopleNotProfit #FridaysForFuture #ClimateStrike.”

The 19-year-old joined youth protesters in Stockholm for a weekly school protest she started as a solitary student back in 2018 to call for urgent action to address the climate crisis.

Demonstrators gathered across other locations around the world, including Bangkok.

The protests aim to amplify demands for climate action on Earth Day 2022, when people worldwide celebrate and mobilise in support of protecting the environment.

This year’s theme is “Invest in our Planet”, encouraging individuals, businesses and governments to invest in technologies and practices that can benefit the Earth.

The 2022 event comes after the release of the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports, which show the world is barrelling towards stronger, more frequent disasters fuelled by the climate crisis, with little time to reverse course.

Extinction Rebellion said their activists had carried out a blockade at a printing works for major US newspapers early on Friday.

The climate action group targeted a plant used by the New York Times and Wall Street Journal in the early hours of the morning.

Meanwhile other protests are planned around the world on Earth Day, including ones against Russian fossil fuels in Europe.

Many other events are being held across the globe to celebrate the 52nd annual event, including other environmental protests, talks, film screenings and local litter picking events.

Ms Thunberg is to publish a new book later this year featuring 100 leading experts and activists on climate change in a bid to present an overview of how the challenges facing the planet connect, telling “the unvarnished truth” about how and why the world is changing.

The Climate Book will feature renowned scientists such as Johan Rockstrom, Michael Mann, Katherine Hayhoe, Friedrike Otto, Stefan Rahmstorf, Saleemul Huq and Carlos Nobre, as well as Thomas Piketty, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Naomi Klein, and Amitav Ghosh.