Greta Thunberg: Donald Trump was horrible and no one listened to us

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg poses for media in Davos. Photo / AP

Climate activist Greta Thunberg has called her treatment by Donald Trump "horrible" and accused the business elite of ignoring campaigners' demands at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos.

The 17-year-old - who joined dozens of other climate campaigners at a protest in the centre of the skiing resort on the final day of the meeting yesterday (Friday) - has called for an immediate end to investment in fossil fuels in several appearances here this week.

But she has also drawn the ire of Donald Trump, the US president, who hit out at "prophets of doom" in his own speech to delegates, while White House treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin said Thunberg should "go and study economics".

She said: "Before we came here, we had a few demands for this WEF and of course these demands have been completely ignored, but we expected that."

She said her clashes with Trump were "horrible".

But she added: "We can't care about those types of things. If we put ourselves in the spotlight - and we know that people don't understand the situation, it is not being treated as the crisis - then people will criticise us, as we are the ones who are telling this, and no one else is telling this."

Thunberg refused to say whether the carbon impact of almost 3000 delegates flying to Davos from all over the world was worth it.

"We just took this opportunity to be here, where many world and business leaders are gathered."

But Thunberg and other campaigners who joined her for a panel discussion have not held any talks with the bosses of major oil firms in Davos this week.

The head of the world's biggest oil producer, Saudi Aramco chief executive Amin Nasser, told a WEF panel that those calling for a cut in fossil fuel investment were oversimplifying the situation.

"There is a simplistic view that this is something that can happen overnight, and we can move to renewables and electrification in no time, and the world will be much better and there will be zero emissions.

"Investment takes time - it takes five to seven years to build a project to make sure ample energy is available, because if it is not, affordability is an issue, and it will have serious implications for developed countries."

Meanwhile, in a separate panel discussion, Mnuchin called for China and India to do more on what he said should be described as "environmental issues, not climate change".

He insisted that changes in temperature are impossible to model with any certainty over 30 years.

Mnuchin said: "If you want to put a tax on people, go ahead and put a carbon tax. That is a tax on hardworking people."