Teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg is speaking out about listening to the scientific community amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Appearing on a CNN Coronavirus Town Hall late Thursday, Thunberg urged people to start listening to the scientific community and experts when it comes to the coronavirus pandemic.
“People are starting to realize that we are actually depending on science and that we need to listen to scientists and experts. And I really hope that stays,” she said, adding that goes for other crises as well “such as the climate crisis and the environmental crisis.”
See her comment below:
"People are starting to realize that we are actually depending on science and that we need to listen to scientists and experts." -Teen activist Greta Thunberg on how people are reacting to science and what that means for the climate crisis. #CNNTownHall https://t.co/EvUEaN7gza pic.twitter.com/HLQb1AQ7ax
— CNN (@CNN) May 15, 2020
The town hall was hosted by CNN’s Anderson Cooper and CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
Thunberg, 17, has been in self-isolation after she believed to have contracted the coronavirus while having mild symptoms — though she was not tested. In Sweden, “you don’t get tested unless you are in need of medical help,” as Thunberg noted.
Additionally, during the town hall, Thunberg said, “During any crisis, it is always the most vulnerable people who are hit the hardest, and that is children. Especially in the global south, people in the poorest parts of the world, especially people living in conflict zones and refugee camps.”
“Our actions can be the difference between life and death for many others.”
Watch the video below:
In reaction to the “online outrage” received when CNN announced Thunberg would be one of the guests joining the town hall, Cooper said on CNN, “It’s like a tween on TikTok. You’ve got to produce content lest you miss out on a cycle of phony outrage.”
See Cooper’s comments below:
"It's like a tween on TikTok. You've got to produce content lest you miss out on a cycle of phony outrage."@andersoncooper slams the online outrage against CNN booking climate activist Greta Thunberg as a guest for a coronavirus town hall.https://t.co/EfECwkRegt pic.twitter.com/ozvyB0vZAD
— Anderson Cooper 360° (@AC360) May 15, 2020
Thunberg announced in late-April that she was joining Danish NGO Human Act to launch an initiative to help children affected by the coronavirus pandemic, as IJR previously reported.
She also said in the announcement that she was donating $100,000 in prize money to UNICEF, the United Nations Children’s Fund, and Human Act was matching that.
“Like the climate crisis, the coronavirus pandemic is a child-rights crisis,” Thunberg said in a statement along with the announcement.