Greta Thunberg has made an enemy out of China which says she is uneducated and prone to being “manipulated” after the activist said climate change can’t be solved unless Beijing makes a drastic course correction on emissions.
“Thunberg, who at age 15 started skipping school on Fridays for her climate protests, is merely 18 years old this year,” Chinese propaganda mouthpiece the Global Times said.
“She is short of sufficient academic knowledge study, and lack of sound self-judgment capability.
“Girl like her is prone to be affected or even manipulated by some political forces.”
Ms Thunberg’s tweet which argued China has “no excuse” for its titanic emissions levels “ruining future and present living conditions” even if it is still classed as a “developing nation” served as the trigger for Beijing’s ire.
“Yes, China is still categorised as a developing nation by WTO, they manufacture a lot of our products and so on,” she said in the tweet.
“But that’s of course no excuse for ruining future and present living conditions.
“We can’t solve the climate crisis unless China drastically changes course.”
Her tweet came after a new report from the Rhodium Group found China’s annual emissions in 2019 eclipsed all developing countries combined – for the first time since measuring began.