PanamaTimes

Thursday, Jul 10, 2025

Greta Thunberg accuses Davos elite of putting 'corporate greed' above people and planet

Greta Thunberg accuses Davos elite of putting 'corporate greed' above people and planet

The climate activist's comments came after her brief detention at a protest in Germany earlier this week. Social media rumours suggested that her detention was staged - but this was not true.

Greta Thunberg has accused the political and business elite at the World Economic Forum in Davos of putting "corporate greed" and "short-term profits" above the planet.

Speaking alongside other activists at Davos in Switzerland, Ms Thunberg, 20, said the elite are "at the core of the climate crisis" and are fuelling the destruction of the planet.

Ms Thunberg's comments follow her brief detention at an eco protest in Germany against the demolition of a village to expand a nearby coal mine on Tuesday.

Climate protests at Davos

She said: "We are right now in Davos where basically the people who are mostly fuelling the destruction of the planet, the people who are at the very core of the climate crisis, the people who are investing in fossil fuels. Yet somehow these are the people that we seem to rely on solving our problems.

"They have proven time and time again that they are not prioritising that. They are prioritising self-greed, corporate greed and short-term economic profits above people and above planet."

She was joined by other activists who brought a joint letter signed by nearly 900,000 people calling on fossil fuel company bosses to stop all new oil and gas projects.

Protests have been staged at the forum by dozens of climate activists. Some with clown makeup waved banners and chanted slogans at the end of the Davos Promenade on Sunday.

While the forum has discussed the need to address climate change among other topics, it has faced criticism for being a talking shop that results in little direct action.

Ms Thunberg said the change needed is not very likely to come from inside Davos, but from the "bottom-up" and public pressure from the outside.

Police officers carry Thunberg


Detention was not staged - despite rumours


Despite claims circulating on social media, Ms Thunberg's brief detention at a protest near Luetzerath village in western Germany was not staged.

The rumours suggested the incident was staged with the police.

However, German police, Reuters journalists and photographers at the site confirmed this was false.

A spokesperson for Aachen police said that their detainment of Ms Thunberg was not staged, saying they are not "extras" for her.

Scientists say no new fossil fuel projects can go ahead if the world is to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius in line with the climate goals set in Paris in 2015.

Newsletter

Related Articles

PanamaTimes
0:00
0:00
Close
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
AI Raises Alarms Over Long-Term Job Security
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
OpenAI Secures Multimillion-Dollar AI Contracts with Pentagon, India, and Grab
Brazilian Congress Rejects Lula's Proposed Tax Increase on Financial Transactions
Landslide in Bello, Colombia, Results in Multiple Casualties
Papa Johns pizza surge near the Pentagon tipped off social media before Trump's decisive Iran strike
Juncker Criticizes EU Inaction on Trump Tariffs
Minnesota Lawmaker Melissa Hortman and Husband Killed in Targeted Attack; Senator John Hoffman and Wife Injured
Wreck of $17 Billion San José Galleon Identified Off Colombia After 300 Years
Sole Survivor of Air India Crash Recounts Escape
Coinbase CEO Warns Bitcoin Could Supplant US Dollar Amid Mounting National Debt
UK and EU Reach Agreement on Gibraltar's Schengen Integration
Israeli Finance Minister Imposes Banking Penalties on Palestinians
U.S. Inflation Rises to 2.4% in May Amid Trade Tensions
Trump's Policies Prompt Decline in Chinese Student Enrollment in U.S.
Global Oceans Near Record Temperatures as CO₂ Levels Climb
Trump Announces U.S.-China Trade Deal Covering Rare Earths
Smuggled U.S. Fuel Funds Mexican Cartels Amid Crackdown
Protests Erupt in Los Angeles with Symbolic Flag Burning
Trump Administration Issues New Travel Ban Targeting 12 Countries
Man Group Mandates Full-Time Office Return for Quantitative Analysts
JPMorgan Warns Analysts Against Accepting Future-Dated Job Offers
Builder.ai Faces Legal Scrutiny Amid Financial Misreporting Allegations
Japan Grapples with Rice Shortage Amid Soaring Prices
Goldman Sachs Reduces Risk Exposure Amid Market Volatility
HSBC Chairman Mark Tucker to Return to AIA as Non-Executive Chair
Israel Confirms Arming Gaza Clan to Counter Hamas Influence
Judge Blocks Trump's Ban on International Students at Harvard
Trump Proposes Travel Ban on 'Uncontrolled' Countries
Panama Port Owner Balances US-China Pressures
Trump Administration Accused of Obstructing Deportation Cases
Trump’s China Strategy Remains a Geopolitical Puzzle
Eurozone Inflation Falls Below ECB Target to 1.9%
Call for a New Chapter in Globalisation Emerges
Blackstone and Rivals Diverge on Private Equity Strategy
Mayor’s Security Officer Implicated | Shocking New Details Emerge in NYC Kidnapping Case
Bangkok Ranked World's Top City for Remote Work in 2025
Denmark Increases Retirement Age to 70, Setting a European Precedent
Netanyahu Accuses Western Leaders of 'Emboldening Hamas'
Escalating Trade Tensions and Market Reactions
OnlyFans Reportedly in Talks for $8 Billion Sale
JBS Gains Shareholder Approval for U.S. Stock Listing
Booz Allen Hamilton to Cut 2,500 Jobs Amid Federal Spending Reductions
Trump Signs Executive Orders to Accelerate Nuclear Energy Development
Harvard Temporarily Blocks Trump Administration's International Student Ban
Nippon Steel Forms Partnership with U.S. Steel, Headquarters to Remain in Pittsburgh
Trump Expands Tariff Threats to Apple and Samsung Devices
Oracle and OpenAI Plan $40 Billion Nvidia Chip Purchase for AI Data Center
×