Climate activist Greta Thunberg has defended her apparent mockery of ongoing climate demonstrations after a video emerged showing her laughing when told that members of the Fridays For Future movement were still organising protests in Berlin.
The footage, featured in a newly released documentary titled On Tanks Into The Climate Crisis – How Activism Is Criminalised, shows the 23-year-old Swedish activist reacting with laughter after being informed about a climate demonstration taking place in the German capital.
“Really? They still do that?” Thunberg remarked in the clip, which subsequently circulated widely online.
Her reaction attracted criticism, particularly because she founded Fridays For Future in 2018.
The movement began when she started skipping school on Fridays to demand stronger government action on climate change, eventually inspiring students across the world to organise similar demonstrations.
Activist Accuses German Climate Movement of Distancing Itself From Her
Following the backlash, Thunberg addressed the controversy in an Instagram post on Friday, offering an explanation for her reaction and criticising the German climate movement.
She claimed the incident occurred on the same day she and other activists were blocking a weapons manufacturer in Germany.
According to Thunberg, a separate climate demonstration had been authorised by police in a predominantly white, middle-class neighbourhood by members of the same German climate movement that had previously cancelled its association with her.
She alleged that the organisation had distanced itself from her after she expressed support for Palestinians.
“For context, this was the same days as we were blocking a weapons manufacturer there, and just found out there simultaneously was a police permitted climate demonstration in a famously white middleclass area by the very same German climate movement who cancelled and ‘distanced themselves’ from me for saying that Palestinians are humans too,” she wrote.
Thunberg also accused Germany of maintaining racist attitudes and being complicit in what she described as genocide, ecocide and the climate crisis.
Documentary Filmmaker Says Footage Was Taken Out of Context
Hubertus Koch, the German journalist and filmmaker responsible for recording the exchange, has also defended Thunberg following the controversy.
In a video shared on Instagram, Koch argued that the footage did not accurately represent the wider conversation and had been taken out of context.
He explained that Thunberg’s activism now extends beyond participating in conventional demonstrations, pointing to her involvement in civil disobedience, legal action against governments and other forms of protest.
Koch suggested that the Swedish activist had moved beyond the approach associated with her early Fridays For Future campaigns after concluding that organised demonstrations and panel discussions were not producing sufficient results.
He said her laughter reflected surprise that activists were still relying on the same methods.
According to the filmmaker, Thunberg had come to believe that activists needed to operate in opposition to established systems through more confrontational forms of activism.
Social Media Users Question Her Commitment to Climate Activism
Thunberg’s explanation did little to prevent further criticism online, with several social media users questioning her apparent change in priorities.
One X user wrote: “Climate was just the warm-up. Hating Israel is the real job.”
Another questioned whether climate change remained a priority for the activist, writing: “It suddenly isn’t a problem anymore. So much for climate ’emergency’. Just shows the credibility that she has.”
A third commentator criticised the Fridays For Future movement, claiming its leadership had privately mocked protesters before the latest documentary footage brought the issue into public view.
Thunberg first gained international recognition as the teenage face of the global youth climate movement. However, her public campaigning has increasingly incorporated outspoken support for the Palestinian cause.
Thunberg Arrested at London Protest Supporting Palestine Action Activists
Her involvement in pro-Palestinian activism has previously resulted in confrontations with law enforcement.
Last winter, Thunberg was arrested in central London while attending a demonstration supporting imprisoned Palestine Action activists who were participating in a hunger strike.
Footage from the incident showed the activist holding a placard reading: “I support Palestine Action prisoners, I oppose genocide.”
A City of London Police officer was seen removing the sign before asking her to stand up.
Around the same period, Thunberg publicly supported several detained Palestine Action activists, describing them as political prisoners and joining calls for the charges against them to be dropped.
Swedish Activist Detained During Gaza Aid Flotilla Missions
Thunberg has also participated in maritime efforts to deliver humanitarian assistance to Gaza.
Last year, Israeli forces detained her after intercepting an aid flotilla travelling towards the Palestinian territory.
The incident followed an earlier detention in June, when she was also taken into custody while aboard a separate vessel heading towards Gaza.
Her involvement in the flotilla missions has further established her as a prominent international supporter of the Palestinian cause.
More recently, she publicly defended rapper Macklemore following his removal from Ed Sheeran’s tour over pro-Palestinian statements made during one of his performances.
Thunberg also criticised Sheeran over what she described as his attempt to present both sides of the Israel-Palestine conflict.
In an Instagram statement, she argued that one of the world’s biggest music stars was facing cancellation for attempting to take a balanced position on Israel’s actions against Palestinians.
She described the development as evidence of a shift in global public opinion and insisted that the Palestinian people were the victims of the conflict.
Thunberg Returns to International Climate Conference After Five Years
Despite her increasingly prominent involvement in Palestinian activism, Thunberg has continued to speak publicly about climate change.
On Tuesday, she arrived at the COP31 United Nations climate conference in Antalya, Turkey, marking her first appearance at the international talks since COP26 in Glasgow in 2021.
She attracted worldwide attention during the Glasgow conference after dismissing promises made by political leaders as “blah, blah, blah”.
Speaking upon her arrival in Antalya, Thunberg criticised the annual climate negotiations, accusing host countries of using the conferences to improve their international reputations while allowing polluting industries to retain significant influence.
She also criticised the presence of lobbyists representing industries she considers responsible for environmental destruction.
Thunberg argued that existing political and economic systems were incompatible with human nature and accused governments of prioritising powerful commercial interests over environmental protection.
Climate Crisis Remains Central to Thunberg’s COP31 Message
The COP31 conference is taking place following a year marked by deadly climate-related disasters, including severe heatwaves and flooding, alongside another energy shock linked to the Iran war.
Turkey and Australia, which are co-hosting the conference, have promoted renewable energy initiatives, including rooftop solar installations.
However, both countries continue to depend heavily on fossil fuels, particularly coal, for electricity generation.
Previous COP hosts, including Brazil, the United Arab Emirates and Azerbaijan, have also faced scrutiny over their continued reliance on fossil fuel production.
Thunberg warned that climate change was threatening communities and ecosystems worldwide, insisting that governments needed to prioritise protecting people and the planet.
She called for an end to economic arrangements that allow a small group of wealthy and powerful interests to benefit while the wider global population bears the consequences of environmental destruction.
She maintained that the future of people and the planet depended on meaningful action to address the climate crisis.
