Greta Thunberg urges Turkey to embargo Israel energy at COP31 in Antalya

Return to the climate talks

Greta Thunberg returned to a UN climate conference for the first time since Glasgow in 2021, arriving in Antalya on Tuesday, 10 November, by train and bus rather than by plane because of aviation emissions. She accused host countries of using these summits to polish their image, and said the negotiations are full of lobbyists paid by destructive industries. In Glasgow she had dismissed world leaders' promises as 'blah, blah, blah', and she now says activists must still accept the wins they have because they are desperate for any positive sign.

Press conference with activists

On Thursday, 12 November, Thunberg joined activists from Nepal, Palestine, Australia, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo at a press conference in Antalya. Sagar Dakar, a Nepalese parliamentarian, Mohammed Usrof of the Palestinian Institute for Climate Strategy, Rikki Dank of the Gudanji and Wakaya communities in Australia, and the African climate activist Celine Isimbi spoke alongside her. Thunberg told reporters that the actions of those in power are completely detached from reality, pointing to lives, ecosystems and species that will never be recovered. She described climate breakdown as an injustice in which those least responsible are hit hardest and fastest.

“Nobody is coming to save us.”

Thunberg said the people who are often expected to rescue humanity are the same ones destroying the planet, and that human rights are threatened by states and other institutions. She said it is the duty of everyone to stand up and fight for the rights of all people.

Energy embargo on Israel

Thunberg backed a collective appeal for Turkey to impose an energy embargo on Israel, blocking oil and energy shipments that cross Turkish territory. She said these flows directly fuel what she called the genocide in Palestine. Her use of the word genocide for Israel's conduct in Gaza is contested, and she repeated it at the press conference. She also ended her remarks with a call for justice for Kurdistan, a term that is especially sensitive in Turkey, where the government links it to claims by the Kurdish minority for a state of their own.

Mohammed Usrof, a Palestinian from Gaza and founder of the Palestinian Institute for Climate Strategy, said he had lost 20 relatives in a single attack. He also said that about a week before the press conference, 70,000 families living in tents were displaced by the first winter rains. He told the room that there can be no climate justice without Palestinian liberation.

Australian criticism of Albanese

Rikki Dank, who spoke for the Wakaya people in Australia, said fracking is destroying and poisoning her community's traditional settlement land. Dank addressed Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who had spoken at COP31 the day before, and told him to stop talking and start listening. She said the Australian people say no to new coal, gas and oil projects.

Context of the summit

COP31 runs in Antalya until 20 November, according to La Stampa, which noted that after thirty years of such conferences the results remain insufficient. Repubblica described the summit as one snubbed by the big global leaders, who have stayed silent on the risks of fossil fuels. Thunberg's appearance came with her criticism that UN conferences are greenwashing circuses, a point she made on her arrival.