Greta Thunberg says coronavirus shows world can 'act fast' on crises

(Reuters, 26 Mar 2020) The teen activist says the rapid global response to coronavirus shows swift climate action is possible, too

Climate activist Greta Thunberg said on Tuesday the swift and far-ranging economic and social shifts being brought in to stem the coronavirus pandemic showed that the rapid action needed to curb climate change was also possible.

Officials around the world have responded to the growing coronavirus outbreak by shutting businesses, closing schools and other facilities, banning gatherings and travel, and proposing large-scale financial bailouts to keep slowing economies afloat.

"The coronavirus is a terrible event ... there is no positive to come out of it," the Swedish teenager told the Thomson Reuters Foundation in an online interview.

"But it also shows one thing: That once we are in a crisis, we can act to do something quickly, act fast," said Thunberg, 17, whose solo school strikes for climate action helped spark a global youth climate strike movement.

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Reuters, 26 Mar 2020: Greta Thunberg says coronavirus shows world can 'act fast' on crises