PanamaTimes

Saturday, Oct 24, 2026

Biden not a 'leader' on climate change, Greta Thunberg suggests

Biden not a 'leader' on climate change, Greta Thunberg suggests

Persident Biden's administration is not leading on the climate issue, activist Greta Thunberg suggested in an inteview with The Washington Post.

Leading climate activist Greta Thunberg is criticizing President Biden, suggesting he's not acting like a leader on the issue.

Her comments came during an interview with The Washington Post, which asked: "Are you inspired by any of the world leaders, by President Biden?"

Thunberg responded: "If you call him a leader — I mean, it’s strange that people think of Joe Biden as a leader for the climate when you see what his administration is doing."

Climate activist Greta Thunberg speaks at the "Fridays For Future" climate rally during COP26 on Nov. 5, 2021 in Glasgow, Scotland.


"The U.S. is actually expanding fossil fuel infrastructure," she added. "Why is the U.S. doing that? It should not fall on us activists and teenagers who just want to go to school to raise this awareness and to inform people that we are actually facing an emergency."

Published Monday, Thunberg's interview comes after Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., effectively sunk Democratic hopes for passing the Build Back Better package, which contained controversial climate measures. Biden encountered scrutiny from both sides when he campaigned for president and has provoked criticism for purportedly going too far left on the issue.

President Biden exits Air Force One at Capital Region International Airport, Oct. 5, 2021, in Lansing, Michigan.


Earlier this month, he signed an executive order directing the federal government to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. He also rejoined the Paris Climate Agreement, and attempted to pause oil and gas leases but was blocked by a federal judge.

Amid economic uncertainty, Biden tapped the U.S.'s strategic oil reserves in November. During that month, his administration also opened more than 80 million acres in the Gulf of Mexico for oil and gas drilling.

The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News' request for comment.

Thunberg's criticism wasn't limited to Biden. During her interview, she also took aim at the COP26 climate summit that took place last month.

"Well, in the final document, they succeeded in even watering down the blah, blah, blah," she said. "Which is very much an achievement, if you see it that way. Of course it’s a step forward that, instead of coming back every five years, they’re doing it every year now. But still, that doesn’t mean anything unless that actually leads to increased ambition and if they actually fulfill those ambitions."

Climate activist Greta Thunberg joins demonstrators during the Fridays For Future COP26 Scotland March on Nov. 5, 2021 in Glasgow, Scotland. 


When asked for specifics, she said: "As we all know, or as we might know, the so-called ‘f-word’ was included for the first time in this document: fossil fuel. Which makes you wonder what they have been doing these decades without even mentioning fossil fuels for a problem which, to a very, very large extent, is caused by fossil fuels. And instead of ‘phasing out’ [coal, the document’s language became] ‘phasing down.’ So, yeah, that is one very clear example."

Thunberg isn't the only one to raise questions about whether the world can meet goals outlined by environmental advocates.

At the end of 2019, the United Nations offered what it called "bleak" findings as it warned that the world was headed toward global "extinction" and would need to increase its efforts "fivefold" to achieve Paris' goals. Its 2020 Emissions Gap report noted a decline in emissions during the COVID-19 pandemic, but similarly urged bold action to address the climate.

The International Energy Agency has also raised concerns but remained optimistic in a report earlier this year.

"Despite the current gap between rhetoric and reality on emissions, our roadmap shows that there are still pathways to reach net zero by 2050. The one on which we focus is – in our analysis – the most technically feasible, cost‐effective and socially acceptable," the IEA report read.

Newsletter

Related Articles

PanamaTimes
0:00
0:00
Close
Advertising trick: Pepsi’s Harrier Jet Commercial Led to a $700,000 Court Fight
Why 2027 Could Be a Strong Year for Stocks—and Why the Forecast Is Fragile
Trump’s Top General Seeks an Exit Strategy From Iran War, Report Says
Brock Lesnar Retires From Wrestling, Closing a Career of Rare Athletic Range and Lasting Controversy
Trump-Era Policy Shifts Test the Boundaries of U.S. Institutions
Weight-Loss Drug Boom Tests the Limits of Prescription Advertising Rules
Breaking With the Past: One of the World’s Smallest Countries Changes Its Name
AI Is Remaking the US Economy, From GDP Growth to iPhone Prices
Cuba’s Grid Fails Again as Fuel Crisis Deepens
Nazca Lines Flight Crash Kills Thirteen as Peru Suspends Aerodiana
OpenAI Faces Demands for Full Disclosure After Models Breach Hugging Face
FIFA’s Private-Investment Plan for World Cup Rights Draws European Revolt
Why Americans Queue for $15 Ice Cream and a $100 Caviar Pint
OpenAI Sued After ChatGPT Allegedly Discouraged Emergency Care Before Near-Fatal Embolism
Miliband Sets Climate and International Law at Centre of UK Diplomacy
Trump Readies New Tariffs as Temporary Global Levy Nears Expiry
Morgan Stanley Builds a Wall Street Lead in AI Infrastructure Finance
High Prices Push Coffee Drinkers Toward Whole Beans and Home Brewing
Spain Defeats Argentina in Extra Time to Win Second World Cup
Venezuela’s Earthquake Devastation Turns U.S. Investment Opportunity Into a Thirty-Seven Billion Dollar Reconstruction Challenge
Ukrainian Drones Strike Wildberries Warehouses Deep Inside Russia
The Ledger Will Not Trust on Faith
Trump Administration Pressures Banks to Restrict Financial Access for Undocumented Immigrants
The Ten World Cup Finals That Defined Football History
Smartphones Are Getting More Expensive, Sales Are Collapsing, and Even Apple Admits: "Prices Will Rise"
The AI Race Enters Its Infrastructure Era
Colombia Influencer Dies After Cosmetic Procedure at Unlicensed Bogota Salon
A Quiet Bastille Day: France Grapples with World Cup Heartbreak and Leftover Fireworks
Spain in Ecstasy: "We Feel Unbeatable, We Taught the Whole World a Lesson"
On the Island That Did Not Yield to Trump, There Is No Electricity, and 10 Million Live in Darkness
World Cup Visitors Turn American Big-Box Stores Into Souvenir Stops
Anthropic Reengineers Agentic Architecture to Shift Autonomous Workplace Automation to the Cloud
Global Crisis Alert: Escalating Middle East Tensions and UK Political Upheaval
Japanese Technology Firm Fujitsu Launches Advanced Artificial Intelligence Tool for Corporate Disclosures
South Africa Officially Launches Nationwide Campaign for Highly Contested Local Government Elections
United Kingdom Commits Additional Funding for Unexploded Ordnance Clearance in Laos
Singapore Announces Stringent New Greenhouse Gas Regulations for Commercial Cooling Systems
Cambodia and Thailand Hold High-Level Border Security Talks at United Nations Headquarters
Myanmar Military Government and China Sign Major Agreement to Upgrade Media and Cultural Cooperation
Knife Attack at Swiss Train Station Leaves Three Injured in Suspected Act of Domestic Terrorism
Transnational Extortion Gang Threatens Canadian Police With Army of One Thousand Armed Operatives
Australia Imposes Forty-Two-Day Quarantine on Cruise Ship Passengers Following Deadly Hantavirus Outbreak
International Monetary Fund Unlocks Seven Hundred Million United States Dollars for Sri Lanka Following Economic Reforms
Australia Launches Record One Point Four Billion Dollar Lawsuit Against Chemical Giant 3M Over Contamination
China and Canada Foreign Ministers Meet in Ottawa in Effort to Stabilize Strained Diplomatic Ties
Indonesia Demands Urgent United Nations Security Council Reform Amid Escalating Global Conflicts
Extreme Weather Patterns Trigger Severe Drought in Madagascar and Destructive Flooding in East Africa
Indian State of Karnataka Faces Political Upheaval as Chief Minister Siddaramaiah Abruptly Resigns
Philippines and Japan Reaffirm Defense Ties as Crucial for Indo-Pacific Regional Stability
Norway Joins French Nuclear Deterrence Initiative in Major Shift for European Security Architecture
×