Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg has said “it’s never too late” to pioneer the fight for the planet as she addressed Extinction Rebellion supporters.
The 16-year-old said humanity was “standing at a crossroads” as she spoke to hundreds in London’s Marble Arch.
She said: “I come from Sweden and back there it’s almost the same problem as here, as everywhere, that almost nothing is being done to stop the climate and ecological crisis, despite all the beautiful words and promises.
“We are now facing existential crisis, climate crisis and ecological crisis which have never been treated as crises before. they have been ignored for decades.”
She added: “We will never stop fighting for the planet, for ourselves and for the future of our children and grandchildren.”
After taking to the stage, the teenager told the Press Association she had a message for people who may have only started paying attention for the first time after the demonstrations of the past week.
She said: “Many people are scared and feel bad – ‘I was not the one of first people to do that; I am behind now; I’m only going to look silly because I did not start before’ – but what they don’t realise is that it’s so few that have actually realised what is going on.
“So if you start now, you are going to be one of the pioneers, so it’s never too late but especially now, the struggle has barely begun. It’s only the beginning.”
Asked how she felt about the future, Thunberg said: “I am very concerned but I mean it doesn’t matter if you are concerned or if you are hopeful, you still have to do everything, because being concerned or being scared is not an excuse for not doing anything really.
“It’s up to us, we can still turn this around.”
The teenager travelled to London by train and will stay in the capital until Tuesday evening.
She is due to meet with Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and the Green Party’s Caroline Lucas, and will also speak in Parliament.
However, it is understood that Downing Street has not responded to her requests to meet Prime Minister Theresa May.
The group has said it is switching its disruptive tactics to political negotiation, after a week of protests across the capital.
Nearly 1,000 people were arrested and 40 charged over seven days, in what Scotland Yard called an “unprecedented” operation.