Oil Firms Throw People Under The Bus: Thunberg

The world's most powerful activist confronted the man in charge of regulating global energy in Davos, demanding an end to fossil fuel investments, Maha El Dahan reported for Reuters.

Photo Insert: Thunberg joined with fellow activists Helena Gualinga from Ecuador, Vanessa Nakate from Uganda, and Luisa Neubauer from Germany to discuss the tackle the big issues with Birol.

Greta Thunberg urged International Energy Agency (IEA) Executive Director Fatih Birol to stop the global energy industry and the financiers who back them from fueling carbon investments.

"As long as they can get away with it they will continue to invest in fossil fuels, they will continue to throw people under the bus," Thunberg warned, Leela de Kretser also reported for Reuters.

During a round-table discussion with Birol at the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting, activists said they had presented a "cease and desist" letter to CEOs calling on them to stop opening new oil, gas, and coal extraction sites.

The oil and gas industry, accused by activists of hijacking the climate change debate in the Swiss ski resort, has said that it needs to be part of the energy transition as fossil fuels continue to play a major role in the energy mix as the world shift to a low-carbon economy.

Thunberg joined with fellow activists Helena Gualinga from Ecuador, Vanessa Nakate from Uganda, and Luisa Neubauer from Germany to discuss the tackle the big issues with Birol.

Birol thanked the activists for meeting him but insisted that the transition had to include a mix of stakeholders, especially in the face of the global energy security crisis caused by the war in Ukraine.

WEEKLY FEATURE : MVP Group Keeps Lights On During Pandemic