Spain to help Greta Thunberg get to COP25 in Madrid

Spain’s environment minister said the government would help Greta Thunberg cross the Atlantic in time to attend the upcoming UN climate talks.

“Dear Greta, it would be great to have you here in Madrid,” the minister, Teresa Ribera, said on Twitter. “You’ve made a long journey and help all of us to raise concern, open minds and enhance action. We would love to help you to cross the Atlantic back.”

Spain offered to host the UN climate change conference, known formally as COP25, after Chile withdrew. The last-minute change left Thunberg stranded on the wrong side of the Atlantic.

Read more: Greta Thunberg to UN: ‘You’ve stolen my childhood with your empty words’

Emissions-free travel

The 16-year-old activist, who shuns fossil fuel-powered modes of transport such as commercial flights, put out an appeal on Twitter, saying she would like to attend the conference but had “traveled half around the world, the wrong way.”

“If anyone could help me find transport I would be so grateful.”

Thunberg sailed from Europe to New York earlier this year to attend the UN Climate Action Summit in September. She is currently in Los Angeles and had planned to travel carbon-free by land to the COP25 in the Chilean capital Santiago.

But this week the venue of the December 2-13 event was switched to Madrid — more than 10,000 kilometers (6,000 miles) away — after violent protests forced Chilean President Sebastian Pinera to retract the offer to host. 

Read more: Tiny species of beetle named after Greta Thunberg

The annual conference aims to coordinate efforts to implement the goals of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. Some 25,000 people are expected to attend.

nm/tj (Reuters, dpa)

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