DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) 鈥� Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg on Thursday slammed corporate bigwigs meeting in Davos, Switzerland, for 鈥渇ueling the destruction of the planet鈥� by and prioritizing short-term profits over people affected by the climate crisis.
Thunberg was joined by prominent young activists Vanessa Nakate, Helena Gualinga and Luisa Neubauer in a roundtable with International Energy Agency Executive Director Fatih Birol at the World Economic Forum鈥檚 annual gathering.
Nakate, who at one point choked up, said 鈥渓eaders are playing games鈥� with people's futures.
People in parts of the world most affected by are "clinging to their lives and just trying to make it for another day, to make it for another week, to make it for another hour, another minute,鈥� she said.
Gualinga, an Ecuadorian indigenous campaigner, said the world is 鈥渢aking a really dangerous path.鈥�
The activists brought a 鈥渃ease and desist鈥� letter calling on the heads of fossil fuel companies to stop all new oil and natural gas projects, signed by nearly 900,000 people. Scientists say no new fossil fuel projects can be built if the world is to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) in line with climate goals set in Paris in 2015.
Nakate added that current levels of warming, which have reached up to 1.2 degrees Celsius (2.2 F), means it is 鈥渁lready a living hell for many communities across the African continent, across the Global South鈥� who are facing extreme drought, heat and flooding.
Activists have been increasingly critical of the lack of action taken by governments and large corporations in recent years.
Birol, meanwhile, said he had 鈥渓egitimate optimism鈥� that the world would move away from fossil fuels and toward clean energy. He noted that the 鈥檚 nearly $375 billion in climate incentives would be transformative for renewables in the country.
But he added that 鈥渢he problem is not being fast enough to reach our climate targets.鈥�
International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, when asked for one thing she would change to accelerate the net zero transition, said she would lock the U.S., China, India and E.U. in a room and lock the door.
鈥淟et them out after they sign in blood a commitment to work together to save the planet,鈥� she said to applause from the audience at a Davos discussion on green finance.
Climate and sustainability have increasingly been major themes of the elite conclave in Davos, though it has faced criticism for being a talking shop that results in little direct action. This year, several sessions focused on the transition from fossil fuels to clean energy alongside panels on the slowing global economy, food insecurity and tech innovation.
The event kicked off with dozens of climate activists 鈥� some with clown makeup 鈥� braved snowfall on Sunday to wave banners and chant slogans at the end of the Davos Promenade.
鈥淭he changes that we need are not very likely to come from the inside (of the Davos meeting), rather I believe they will come from the bottom up,鈥� Thunberg said. 鈥淲ithout massive public pressure from the outside, at least in my experience, these people are going to go as far as they possibly can. As long as they can get away with it, they will continue to invest in fossil fuels, they will continue to throw people under bus for their own gain.鈥�
Thunberg did not attend the , or COP, in Egypt last year, but Nakate, Neubauer and Gualinga took part in protests and sessions at the event.
鈥淚t should be those on the frontlines and not privileged people like me鈥� speaking to leaders at high-level meetings, Thunberg said.
The conference came under criticism in recent days for this year's event.
鈥淚t just sends this message of actually not taking it seriously," Gualinga said.
But that he backs the decision, citing Sultan al-Jaber's work on renewable energy projects.
鈥淚 think that Dr. Sultan al-Jaber is a terrific choice because he is the head of the company. That company knows it needs to transition,鈥� Kerry said Sunday after attending an energy conference in Dubai. 鈥淗e knows 鈥� and the leadership of the UAE is committed to transitioning.鈥�
Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore, who鈥檚 leading an initiative to trace greenhouse gas emissions, said Thursday at Davos that fossil fuel companies were pumping three times the amount of planet-warming gases in the air than they were reporting.
鈥淢ost (other industries) are not this far off,鈥� he said.
Thunberg arrived in Davos from Germany where she participated in a demonstration in a town being cleared for the expansion of a coal mine. Her boots were still covered in mud from the protest. She and several other high-profile activists .
鈥淭he level of action and frustration and anger that is there and one might even say desperation for me is a signal of what we need not only in Germany but around the world,鈥� German climate envoy Jennifer Morgan told AP on Wednesday.
Morgan said that Davos attendees 鈥渁re major decision-makers that if they were to really understand the 1.5 degree goal and take the action that鈥檚 required, it would make a massive difference."
But she acknowledged that while they have a role, 鈥渢hey're not the answer.鈥�
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AP journalists Kelvin Chan and Dana Beltaji in London and Jamey Keaten and Markus Schreiber in Davos contributed.
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David Keyton And Masha Macpherson, The Associated Press
