prideofgypsies/Instagram/PAJason Momoa has called on all world leaders to stop ‘half-assing it,’ saying the time to address the climate crisis is now.
Delivering an impassioned speech at the United Nations on Friday (September 27), the Aquaman actor described humanity as ‘a disease that is infecting our planet’.
Momoa made a sobering plea for delegates to do something about the state of the planet, while also condemning the Trump administration for pulling out of The Paris Agreement in 2017.
The actor shared footage of his speech on social media:
As reported by TMZ, Momoa delivered the speech on behalf of ‘all island nations,’ describing how his background has shown him how different places can be ‘oblivious to another’.
He went on to say small island nations are suffering the most from the climate emergency, being made to suffer the weight of its consequences despite ‘contributing the least to this disaster’.
Warning we are at the ‘critical tipping point’ that could lead to the death of our planet, Momoa placed direct blame on our governments and corporate entities, who he says have been aware for ‘decades’ that immediate change is needed – yet have done nothing about it.
PAThe actor said, as per The Daily Wire:
The oceans are in a state of emergency. Entire marine ecosystems are vanishing with the warming of the seas. And as the waste of the world empties into our waters, we face the devastating crisis of plastic pollution.
We are a disease that is infecting our planet. From the atmosphere to the abyssal zone, we are polluted. It is a known fact that the great garbage patch floating in the Pacific is larger than the country of France.
Even at the depths of the Mariana Trench we are discovering nano plastics. And shockingly, there are more particles of plastic in the ocean than there are stars in the Milky Way. It is shameful.
Yet, the greatest threat to small island developing states is that entire islands are drowning into the sea due to the enormous volume of emissions generated by the first world countries. Island nations contribute the least to this disaster but are made to suffer the weight of its consequences.
PexelsEchoing Greta Thunberg’s powerful speech in which she criticised the older generation for betraying young people such as herself with a lack of action, Momoa told world leaders ‘we are watching’.
He warned them:
Change cannot come in 2050, or 2030, or even 2025. The change must come today. We can no longer afford the luxury of half-assing it as we willingly force ourselves beyond the threshold of no return.
His speech followed Greta’s on Monday (September 23), in which the 16-year-old climate activist warned we are ‘in the beginning of a mass extinction‘ and yet world leaders continue to brush it off as though it’s not a problem.
”People are suffering, people are dying, entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction and all you can talk about is money and fairytales of eternal economic growth.” Watch Greta Thunberg speak at the UN Monday morning. https://t.co/Akkxm9sXdr pic.twitter.com/ahHKlhbYaE
— WIRED (@WIRED) September 23, 2019
Addressing the crowd, Greta asked ‘how dare you?’ before stating: ‘People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction, and all you can talk about is the money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth’.
The teenager then said ‘this is all wrong’ and criticised the older generation for stealing her dreams and her childhood with their ’empty words’.
Hopefully other celebrities will follow in Jason Momoa’s footsteps and use their platform to draw attention to the climate emergency we’re currently facing, so all the responsibility doesn’t lie solely with 16-year-old Greta.
PAInspiring an entire generation of young people and doing everything in her power to change the way the world works for the better, while simultaneously holding world leaders to account – Greta is right.
It’s just plain wrong that we’re relying on a 16-year-old girl – a girl who should be enjoying her childhood and doing all the normal things a teenager should – to fix the problems created by previous generations.
We’re with you, Greta.
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A Broadcast Journalism Masters graduate who went on to achieve an NCTJ level 3 Diploma in Journalism, Lucy has done stints at ITV, BBC Inside Out and Key 103. While working as a journalist for UNILAD, Lucy has reported on breaking news stories while also writing features about mental health, cervical screening awareness, and Little Mix (who she is unapologetically obsessed with).