Greta Thunberg insults “lying” politicians during her surprise appearance at Glastonbury

Climate activist Greta Thunberg performed on the Pyramid Stage at Worthy Farm this afternoon and told thousands of festival-goers about battling the forces of greed.

Climate activist Greta Thunberg has slammed “lying” political leaders in a surprise appearance at Glastonbury Festival.

She told festival-goers that dishonesty in public office has not “just become socially acceptable,” it’s something the public now expects.

The 19-year-old told crowds at Worthy Farm they face a battle against “the forces of greed” if they are to avert a “total natural disaster” caused by climate change.

She appeared on the Pyramid’s main stage this afternoon to give a short speech on the climate and tell the crowds it’s only going to get worse.

However, she insisted that “we can still avoid the worst effects” of climate change.

She said, “Together we can do the seemingly impossible.”

Greta tweeted this morning: “I am delighted to announce that I will be on the Pyramid Stage in Glastonbury at 5.15pm today. See you there!”

She told revelers: “We are at the beginning of a climate and ecological emergency. This is not the new normal, this crisis will only get worse… until we prioritize people and the planet over profits and greed.”

The activist added that “we were lied to, deprived of our rights as democratic citizens and unaware of the true scale of the climate crisis.”

She added that “we need immediate drastic emissions reductions” and “we need to fundamentally transform our societies.”

The Swede continued: “The forces of greed and profit and planetary destruction are so powerful that our fight for nature is reduced to a desperate fight to avoid total natural disaster.

“We should fight for people and nature, but instead we fight against those who seek to destroy it. Today, our political leaders are allowed to say one thing and then do the exact opposite.”

She accused powerful world leaders of “actively creating loopholes” from which destructive industries directly benefit.

She said they “claim to be leaders in climate action while expanding their country’s fossil fuel infrastructure.”

She told the crowd: “They can say we’re in a climate emergency if they develop new coal mines, new oil fields and new pipelines.

“Not only has it become socially acceptable for our leaders to lie, but it’s more or less what we expect them to do.”

Her speech comes ahead of her book, The Climate Book, which is due out in October.

The book has more than 100 scientists, communicators and activists speaking out on climate, environmental and sustainability crises.