Teen climate change activist Greta Thunberg on Friday stated that she will not be attending the United Nations climate conference, which is scheduled to be held in Scotland this November, citing concerns about the inequality in access that some countries have to COVID-19 vaccines.
In a Twitter thread, Thunberg outlined her reasoning for choosing to forgo the conference.
“Of course I would love to attend the Glasgow #COP26 But not unless everyone can take part on the same terms,” she wrote. “Inequality and climate injustice is already the heart of the climate crisis. If people can’t be vaccinated and travel to be represented equally that’s undemocratic and would worsen the problem.”
She referenced countries in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean and the Pacific islands and developing countries in Asia and the Middle East, which have experienced slow vaccine rollout and increased numbers of coronavirus cases.
“Right now many countries are vaccinating healthy young people, often at the expense of risk groups and front line workers (mainly from global south, as usual…),” she wrote.
Thunberg also spoke to the BBC about the need to postpone the conference for a documentary series.
“This needs to happen in the right way. Of course, the best thing to do would be to get everyone vaccinated as soon as possible so that everyone could take part on the same terms,” Thunberg said.
The conference has already been moved back a year due to the coronavirus pandemic.