Greta Thunberg returns to COP31 in Turkey, warns 'the planet is being killed'

Greta Thunberg returned to the UN climate summit COP31 in Antalya, Turkey, on Thursday, her first attendance since Glasgow in 2021, joining frontline activists to demand climate justice and denounce the negotiations as hypocritical. The Swedish activist traveled by train and bus, refusing to fly due to aviation emissions. She criticized host countries for "greenwashing" and negotiations "full of lobbyists paid by destructive industries," while acknowledging the need to accept positive victories. She joined activists from Nepal, Palestine, Australia, Rwanda, and the DRC, warning that "the planet is not dying, it is being killed." Thunberg supported calls for Turkey to impose an energy embargo on Israel, citing alleged genocide in Palestine, and backed criticism of Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese's climate record. Activists highlighted issues including glacier research in Nepal, fracking on Indigenous lands in Australia, and the COP process itself, with one warning: "The fire has already caught."