World As Trump lashes out at ‘prophets of doom’ in Davos, Greta Thunberg calls for climate action

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No, Greta Thunberg is not as important as Trump

Whatever you think of her political views, Greta Thunberg is an impressive young lady. She travels the world advocating for action on an issue she cares deeply about. And she has a good sense of humor. require(["medianetNativeAdOnArticle"], function (medianetNativeAdOnArticle) { medianetNativeAdOnArticle.getMedianetNativeAds(true); }); But I have a question: Why are we comparing Thunberg's import to that of President Trump?Every time the two cross paths, we're inundated with media analysis that treats Thunberg's statements as though they're equally as significant as those made by Trump.

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and US President Donald Trump both spoke at the World Economic Forum in Davos , Switzerland, but had very different messages.

President Donald Trump arrives Tuesday in Davos , Switzerland. Late last year, the Trump administration began pulling the U.S. out of the landmark Paris climate agreement of 2015, which Read: Greta Thunberg and other young climate activists tell Davos elites they aren’t doing enough.

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg and President Trump offered two opposing visions at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday, with Trump lashing out at what he said were “perennial prophets of doom and their predictions of the apocalypse” as Thunberg inveighed against the sowers of “climate chaos.”

“We will never let radical socialists destroy our economy, wreck our country or eradicate our liberty,” Trump said at the conference.

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Even though Trump said he was a “big believer in the environment” and did not explicitly name climate change as he lashed out at “alarmists,” his remarks stood in stark contrast to the 17-year old Thunberg’s renewed call to “start listening to the science” on climate change. The world, she said on Tuesday, needs to “treat this crisis with the importance it deserves.”

Trump threatens Europe with fresh tariffs in Davos, deepening a rift with long-time U.S. allies

President Trump renewed his threat to put hefty tariffs on European cars Tuesday at the World Economic Forum, promising hardball tactics if trade negotiations did not go his way. Just days after Trump scored big wins with China, Mexico, and Canada, the move highlights how Trump is quickly pivoting to make Europe the next front in his protectionist trade war. As part of this push on Tuesday, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin warned that Italy and Britain could face U.S. tariffs if they pursue taxes on large digital companies like Facebook and Alphabet’s Google.

Donald Trump announced that the US will join the 1 trillion trees initiative being launched at WEF. "This is a time for optimism and not for pessimism. We must reject perennial prophets of doom who have been making alarmist predictions," Trump said. Greta Thunberg said that empty promises from world

Donald Trump took centre stage at Davos to tout the success of the US economy on Tuesday. He said the US would join the 1 trillion tree initiative, but called climate At the conference, in which the main theme is the environment and where the climate activist Greta Thunberg is a star guest, the US

Thunberg’s remarks echoed her prior warning in Davos last year, when she told world leaders: “I don’t want your hope. I don’t want you to be hopeful. I want you to panic. I want you to feel the fear I feel every day. And then I want you to act.”

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The Swedish teenager’s activism helped inspire a global climate action movement, which earned her Time Magazine’s Person of the Year title in December.

“Without treating it as a real crisis, we cannot solve it,” Thunberg said at the annual conference, which brings together political and economic leaders from around the world.

Thunberg is also set to give a second speech Tuesday afternoon. “Our house is still on fire. Your inaction is fueling the flames by the hour. We are still telling you to panic, and to act as if you loved your children above all else,” Thunberg is set to say, according to a transcript of her planned remarks, shared with the New York Times.

Trump says he would have loved to have seen Greta Thunberg speak

Trump says he would have loved to have seen Greta Thunberg speak while he was at Davos.Trump, who has sparred back and forth with the teenage climate activist, made the comments in a press briefing just before he was about to depart the annual World Economic Forum meeting in the Swiss ski resort.He noted that Thunberg "beat me out on Time magazine" - a reference to her winning the Time 'Person of the Year' award. He also said that she should shift her attention away from the United States to focus on "those dirtier places".

© Gian Ehrenzeller/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock Swedish environmental activist Greta Thunberg (C) listens to a speech by President Trump during the 50th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Tuesday.

While she and Trump did not mention each other directly in their speeches, their remarks represented a head-on collision of worldviews. In his remarks, according to reports, he referred to today’s activists as “the heirs of yesterday’s foolish fortune tellers.”

Robert Habeck, leader of the German Greens, said he “hadn’t expected much, but [Trump’s] speech was a disaster for the conference, for the idea of the conference, for the idea of multilateralism.”

Ishaan Tharoor, Anne Gearan and Toluse Olorunnipa in Davos contributed to this report.

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