Prime Minister Scott Morrison has warned against fuelling "needless anxiety" among Australian children following a scathing judgment from Swedish activist Greta Thunberg about the danger of climate change.
Mr Morrison called for "context and perspective" in the climate debate after the 16-year-old activist condemned today's leaders for leaving the next generation with a ruined climate.
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| Greta Thunberg and Scott Morrison. Credit:Wires/Alex Ellinghausen |
"And I think it's important that we give them that confidence, that they will not only have a wonderful country and pristine environment to live in, but they'll also have an economy that they can live in as well.
"So I think we've got to caution against raising the anxieties of children in our country."
Mr Morrison made the remarks in New York on Tuesday while attending the United Nations General Assembly, after being criticised for not going to a UN summit on Monday on the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Scott Morrison says there's a need for context and perspective when it comes to the climate change debate so children don't suffer needless anxiety.
Foreign Minister Marise Payne represented Australia at the summit.
Ms Thunberg told the UN gathering her generation "will never forgive you" if today's leaders do not scale back carbon emissions and prevent catastrophic increases in temperature.
"I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean," she said. "Yet you all come to us young people for hope. How dare you. You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words."
Asked about her remarks, Mr Morrison said children should remember that Australia and others had rebuilt after existential threats in the past, citing the way the United Nations was created after World War II.
"Yes, we've got to deal with the policy issues and we've got to take it seriously, but I don't want our children having anxieties about these issues," he said.
"I say this as a parent, too: we've got to make sure that our kids understand the facts, but they also have the context and the perspective, and that we do not create an anxiety among children in how we talk about and deal with these very real issues."
Mr Morrison, who has two daughters, said he did not have deep conversations with the children about emission targets and the Paris agreement but did talk to them about fossil fuels.
"I encourage them to have a passionate, independent view about how they see the world, but I also give them a lot of context," he said.
"I don't allow them to be basically contorted into one particular view; I like them to make their own mind.
"But I also like to give them reassurance because the worst thing I would impose on any child is needless anxiety – they've got enough things to be anxious about.
"I've always liked kids to be kids. And we've got to let kids be kids.
"We can't have them growing up as mushrooms either, but at the same time I think we've got to get a bit of context and perspective into this."
Links
- Scott Morrison defends his climate change record in UN speech
- 'How dare you': Greta Thunberg delivers scathing speech at UN climate summit
- The kids didn't stay in school, and the politicians lost their cool
- Australian PM says China must step up on climate change as 'newly developed' nation
- Scott Morrison ducks questions on Australia's emissions strategy for 2050
- Greta Thunberg condemns world leaders in emotional speech at UN
- David Attenborough Slams Australian PM On Climate Record
- "If world leaders choose to fail us, my generation will never forgive them." Greta Thunberg
- 'Save us, save the world': Pacific climate warriors taking the fight to the UN
- Greta Thunberg To Congress: ‘You’re Not Trying Hard Enough. Sorry’
- Climate Activist Greta Thunberg On The Power Of A Movement
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