0:00:01.341,0:00:04.308
When I was about eight years old,

0:00:04.308,0:00:08.550
I first heard about something[br]called climate change or global warming.

0:00:09.619,0:00:14.189
Apparently, that was something[br]humans had created by our way of living.

0:00:15.222,0:00:18.839
I was told to turn off[br]the lights to save energy

0:00:19.088,0:00:22.459
and to recycle paper to save resources.

0:00:24.268,0:00:27.079
I remember thinking[br]that it was very strange

0:00:27.309,0:00:31.019
that humans, who are[br]an animal species among others,

0:00:31.019,0:00:35.198
could be capable of changing[br]the Earth's climate.

0:00:36.090,0:00:39.561
Because if we were,[br]and if it was really happening,

0:00:39.836,0:00:42.739
we wouldn't be talking[br]about anything else.

0:00:43.720,0:00:48.000
As soon as you'd turn on the TV,[br]everything would be about that.

0:00:48.508,0:00:51.541
Headlines, radio, newspapers,

0:00:51.849,0:00:54.690
you would never read or hear[br]about anything else,

0:00:55.180,0:00:57.719
as if there was a world war going on.

0:00:58.838,0:01:01.360
But no one ever talked about it.

0:01:02.130,0:01:08.154
If burning fossil fuels was so bad[br]that it threatened our very existence,

0:01:08.649,0:01:11.278
how could we just continue like before?

0:01:12.263,0:01:14.498
Why were there no restrictions?

0:01:15.030,0:01:17.320
Why wasn't it made illegal?

0:01:18.921,0:01:21.891
To me, that did not add up.

0:01:22.288,0:01:24.297
It was too unreal.

0:01:26.401,0:01:28.978
So when I was 11, I became ill.

0:01:29.250,0:01:31.042
I fell into depression,

0:01:31.319,0:01:32.613
I stopped talking,

0:01:32.998,0:01:34.487
and I stopped eating.

0:01:35.699,0:01:39.488
In two months, I lost[br]about 10 kilos of weight.

0:01:40.889,0:01:44.008
Later on, I was diagnosed[br]with Asperger syndrome,

0:01:44.319,0:01:47.289
OCD and selective mutism.

0:01:48.189,0:01:51.760
That basically means I only speak[br]when I think it's necessary -

0:01:51.760,0:01:53.670
now is one of those moments.

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(Applause)

0:02:03.908,0:02:06.290
For those of us who are on the spectrum,

0:02:06.290,0:02:08.857
almost everything is black or white.

0:02:09.564,0:02:11.234
We aren't very good at lying,

0:02:11.234,0:02:14.598
and we usually don't enjoy[br]participating in this social game

0:02:14.598,0:02:17.153
that the rest of you seem so fond of.

0:02:17.153,0:02:18.423
(Laughter)

0:02:18.688,0:02:21.751
I think in many ways[br]that we autistic are the normal ones,

0:02:22.041,0:02:24.368
and the rest of the people[br]are pretty strange,

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(Laughter)

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especially when it comes to[br]the sustainability crisis,

0:02:28.800,0:02:32.525
where everyone keeps saying[br]climate change is an existential threat

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and the most important issue of all,

0:02:35.534,0:02:38.082
and yet they just carry on like before.

0:02:39.631,0:02:41.396
I don't understand that,

0:02:41.699,0:02:44.198
because if the emissions have to stop,

0:02:44.447,0:02:46.579
then we must stop the emissions.

0:02:47.194,0:02:49.019
To me that is black or white.

0:02:49.698,0:02:52.460
There are no gray areas[br]when it comes to survival.

0:02:52.830,0:02:55.781
Either we go on[br]as a civilization or we don't.

0:02:56.646,0:02:58.939
We have to change.

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Rich countries like Sweden[br]need to start reducing emissions

0:03:03.950,0:03:07.230
by at least 15 percent every year.

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And that is so that we can stay[br]below a two-degree warming target.

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Yet, as the IPCC[br]have recently demonstrated,

0:03:17.250,0:03:20.116
aiming instead for 1.5 degrees Celsius

0:03:20.362,0:03:23.302
would significantly[br]reduce the climate impacts.

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But we can only imagine[br]what that means for reducing emissions.

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You would think the media[br]and every one of our leaders

0:03:31.607,0:03:33.607
would be talking about nothing else,

0:03:33.897,0:03:36.168
but they never even mention it.

0:03:37.004,0:03:38.733
Nor does anyone ever mention

0:03:38.739,0:03:41.859
the greenhouse gases[br]already locked in the system.

0:03:42.340,0:03:45.115
Nor that air pollution is hiding a warming

0:03:45.455,0:03:48.128
so that when we stop burning fossil fuels,

0:03:48.416,0:03:50.617
we already have an extra level of warming

0:03:50.864,0:03:55.314
perhaps as high as[br]0.5 to 1.1 degrees Celsius.

0:03:57.072,0:03:59.624
Furthermore does hardly[br]anyone speak about the fact

0:03:59.624,0:04:03.176
that we are in the midst[br]of the sixth mass extinction,

0:04:03.765,0:04:08.686
with up to 200 species[br]going extinct every single day,

0:04:10.178,0:04:13.819
that the extinction rate today

0:04:13.819,0:04:17.619
is between 1,000 and 10,000 times higher

0:04:17.619,0:04:19.848
than what is seen as normal.

0:04:22.516,0:04:27.879
Nor does hardly anyone ever speak about[br]the aspect of equity or climate justice,

0:04:28.250,0:04:31.227
clearly stated everywhere[br]in the Paris Agreement,

0:04:31.614,0:04:35.849
which is absolutely necessary[br]to make it work on a global scale.

0:04:37.486,0:04:39.342
That means that rich countries

0:04:39.342,0:04:43.279
need to get down to zero emissions[br]within 6 to 12 years,

0:04:44.065,0:04:46.337
with today's emission speed.

0:04:48.190,0:04:50.330
And that is so that people[br]in poorer countries

0:04:50.330,0:04:52.990
can have a chance to heighten[br]their standard of living

0:04:52.990,0:04:56.558
by building some of the infrastructure[br]that we have already built,

0:04:56.863,0:04:59.911
such as roads, schools, hospitals,

0:04:59.911,0:05:02.960
clean drinking water,[br]electricity, and so on.

0:05:03.707,0:05:08.299
Because how can we expect[br]countries like India or Nigeria

0:05:08.303,0:05:10.180
to care about the climate crisis

0:05:10.185,0:05:15.190
if we who already have everything[br]don't care even a second about it

0:05:15.190,0:05:18.048
or our actual commitments[br]to the Paris Agreement?

0:05:20.449,0:05:24.527
So, why are we not reducing our emissions?

0:05:25.611,0:05:28.909
Why are they in fact still increasing?

0:05:29.820,0:05:33.031
Are we knowingly causing[br]a mass extinction?

0:05:33.738,0:05:35.429
Are we evil?

0:05:37.118,0:05:39.299
No, of course not.

0:05:39.700,0:05:41.329
People keep doing what they do

0:05:41.329,0:05:43.969
because the vast majority[br]doesn't have a clue

0:05:43.969,0:05:47.722
about the actual consequences[br]of our everyday life,

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and they don't know[br]that rapid change is required.

0:05:52.480,0:05:56.446
We all think we know,[br]and we all think everybody knows,

0:05:56.447,0:05:58.020
but we don't.

0:05:58.708,0:06:00.339
Because how could we?

0:06:02.474,0:06:04.459
If there really was a crisis,

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and if this crisis was caused[br]by our emissions,

0:06:08.000,0:06:10.277
you would at least see some signs.

0:06:11.048,0:06:14.918
Not just flooded cities,[br]tens of thousands of dead people,

0:06:15.166,0:06:19.100
and whole nations leveled[br]to piles of torn down buildings.

0:06:19.904,0:06:22.184
You would see some restrictions.

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But no.

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And no one talks about it.

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There are no emergency meetings,[br]no headlines, no breaking news.

0:06:34.659,0:06:37.645
No one is acting[br]as if we were in a crisis.

0:06:38.309,0:06:42.129
Even most climate scientists[br]or green politicians

0:06:42.399,0:06:46.130
keep on flying around the world,[br]eating meat and dairy.

0:06:50.267,0:06:56.057
If I live to be 100,[br]I will be alive in the year 2103.

0:06:57.738,0:07:03.181
When you think about the future today,[br]you don't think beyond the year 2050.

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By then, I will, in the best case,[br]not even have lived half of my life.

0:07:10.319,0:07:11.969
What happens next?

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The year 2078, I will celebrate[br]my 75th birthday.

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If I have children or grandchildren,[br]maybe they will spend that day with me.

0:07:26.682,0:07:28.953
Maybe they will ask me about you,

0:07:29.384,0:07:32.893
the people who were around, back in 2018.

0:07:34.786,0:07:37.268
Maybe they will ask[br]why you didn't do anything

0:07:37.830,0:07:40.260
while there still was time to act.

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What we do or don't do right now[br]will affect my entire life

0:07:46.268,0:07:49.471
and the lives of my children[br]and grandchildren.

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What we do or don't do right now,

0:07:52.562,0:07:56.681
me and my generation[br]can't undo in the future.

0:08:00.169,0:08:03.034
So when school[br]started in August of this year,

0:08:03.034,0:08:05.594
I decided that this was enough.

0:08:06.083,0:08:10.015
I set myself down on the ground[br]outside the Swedish parliament.

0:08:10.510,0:08:12.928
I school striked for the climate.

0:08:14.677,0:08:17.755
Some people say that I[br]should be in school instead.

0:08:18.269,0:08:21.929
Some people say that I should study[br]to become a climate scientist

0:08:21.929,0:08:25.224
so that I can "solve the climate crisis."

0:08:26.868,0:08:29.631
But the climate crisis[br]has already been solved.

0:08:30.400,0:08:33.368
We already have[br]all the facts and solutions.

0:08:33.920,0:08:36.818
All we have to do is[br]to wake up and change.

0:08:38.100,0:08:42.729
And why should I be studying for a future[br]that soon will be no more

0:08:42.839,0:08:46.799
when no one is doing anything[br]whatsoever to save that future?

0:08:47.859,0:08:51.279
And what is the point of learning facts[br]in the school system

0:08:51.943,0:08:53.902
when the most important facts

0:08:53.902,0:08:57.349
given by the finest science[br]of that same school system

0:08:57.620,0:09:01.629
clearly means nothing[br]to our politicians and our society.

0:09:03.588,0:09:06.648
Some people say that Sweden[br]is just a small country,

0:09:06.869,0:09:09.499
and that it doesn't matter what we do,

0:09:09.901,0:09:14.179
but I think that if a few children[br]can get headlines all over the world

0:09:14.179,0:09:16.646
just by not coming to school[br]for a few weeks,

0:09:17.077,0:09:20.108
imagine what we could all do[br]together if you wanted to.

0:09:20.108,0:09:23.524
(Applause)

0:09:24.500,0:09:27.170
Now we're almost at the end of my talk,

0:09:29.089,0:09:34.380
and this is where people[br]usually start talking about hope,

0:09:34.960,0:09:39.412
solar panels, wind power,[br]circular economy, and so on,

0:09:40.380,0:09:42.418
but I'm not going to do that.

0:09:42.751,0:09:47.319
We've had 30 years of pep-talking[br]and selling positive ideas.

0:09:47.912,0:09:50.199
And I'm sorry,[br]but it doesn't work.

0:09:50.909,0:09:52.517
Because if it would have,

0:09:52.521,0:09:54.779
the emissions would have gone down by now.

0:09:54.779,0:09:56.432
They haven't.

0:09:57.472,0:09:59.920
And yes, we do need hope,

0:10:00.580,0:10:02.189
of course we do.

0:10:02.649,0:10:06.469
But the one thing we need[br]more than hope is action.

0:10:07.040,0:10:10.183
Once we start to act,[br]hope is everywhere.

0:10:11.720,0:10:13.960
So instead of looking for hope,

0:10:13.960,0:10:15.820
look for action.

0:10:16.510,0:10:20.519
Then, and only then, hope will come.

0:10:22.561,0:10:29.045
Today, we use 100 million[br]barrels of oil every single day.

0:10:29.970,0:10:32.221
There are no politics to change that.

0:10:33.148,0:10:35.750
There are no rules[br]to keep that oil in the ground.

0:10:37.358,0:10:40.395
So we can't save the world[br]by playing by the rules,

0:10:40.990,0:10:43.570
because the rules have to be changed.

0:10:44.199,0:10:46.206
Everything needs to change --

0:10:46.676,0:10:48.540
and it has to start today.

0:10:49.009,0:10:50.148
Thank you.

0:10:50.148,0:10:53.497
(Applause)