Our View: Climate change is real and we should listen to Greta Thunberg

Greta Thunberg, of Sweden, addresses the Climate Action Summit at the United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters. Photo / AP

"How dare you!" accuses Greta Thunberg.

"You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words.

"People are suffering, people are dying. Entire eco-systems are collapsing, we are at the beginning of a mass extinction and all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth. How dare you."

Greta, a 16-year-old from Sweden, spoke these words in front of world leaders at the UN Climate Action Summit this week.

A diminutive young woman, she bravely stared down US President Donald Trump, who later tweeted sarcastically, "She seems like a very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future. So nice to see!".

There were no platitudes, no jargon. Just admonishment. Her message is simple - the world is dying and our leaders aren't doing anything to stop it.

Greta tells us, during a 2018 TED Talk on climate change, that when she was younger she was diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome and selective mutism. "Which basically means I only speak when I think it's necessary. Now is one of those moments."

Greta's fame grew after a lonely protest outside the Swedish parliament last year, and has grown into a global movement - mainly consisting of schoolchildren whose way of getting our attention is to strike from school on Fridays.

She says we need to panic as if our house is on fire.

Councils around the country recently declared climate change emergencies, including the Bay of Plenty Regional Council.

Here in the Bay of Plenty the impacts of climate change will be drastic. According the Bay of Plenty Regional council's own projections, there will be increased flood risks, more hot days, warmer winters and worryingly, rising sea levels.

Read more: Bay of Plenty leaders told to declare climate change emergency
• Read more: Bryan Gould: Climate change emergency should be followed through with action plan

Bay of Plenty MP Todd Muller told the Bay of Plenty Times in June that councils should be focusing on "basics" such as roads and infrastructure, not "waving climate flags with one eye on the upcoming elections".

Our priorities need reviewing. Roading and infrastructure are important but should we not put out the house fire first?

Greta says the climate change crisis is not about creating green jobs or green economic growth - it's about an emergency.

While people argue over their "beliefs" whether climate change exists, the world is dying.

For years we have been told the climate change clock is ticking.

Now the ticking has turned into the urgent beating of a drum.

It's time we started listening.