Climate campaigner Greta Thunberg to skip COP26 over unfair COVID-19 vaccine rollouts
April 9, 2021, 9:59 am

Climate campaigner Greta Thunberg to skip COP26 over unfair COVID-19 vaccine rollouts

Climate activist Greta Thunberg on a protest. (File photo: Reuters)

Swedish climate campaigner Greta Thunberg said Friday she plans to skip the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow this November, saying the uneven rollout of Covid-19 vaccine campaigns would mean countries could not participate on even terms.

The 18-year-old activist deplored that by November richer countries would be vaccinating young healthy people “very often at the expense of people in risk groups in other parts of the world.”

With the extremely inequitable vaccine distribution I will not attend the COP26 conference if the development continues as it is now,” Thunberg told AFP.

Thunberg, confirming a BBC report, said the conference should be postponed “if everyone could not attend in the same terms.”

The conference has already been postponed once as it was originally planned for November 2020.

However, the campaigner said she did not rule out reversing her decision if vaccine access improved.

“Of course I would love to attend the COP26. But not unless everyone can take part on the same terms,” Thunberg said.

Thunberg, who began campaigning against climate change in 2018 at the age of 15, has earned Amnesty International’s top human rights prize and the Swedish Right Livelihood Award, often presented as an alternative Nobel.

In 2019 she was named person of the year by Time magazine.

source: AFP

Image source: Reuters

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BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, has sponsored the BuildHer CityHack 2025 Hackathon, a two-day event spearheaded by the College of Engineering and Technology at the Royal University for Women (RUW).
Aimed at secondary school students, the event brought together a distinguished group of academic professionals and technology experts to mentor and inspire young participants.
More than 100 high school students from across the Kingdom of Bahrain took part in the hackathon, which featured an intensive programme of training workshops and hands-on sessions. These activities were tailored to enhance participants’ critical thinking, collaborative problem-solving, and team-building capabilities, while also encouraging the development of practical and sustainable solutions to contemporary challenges using modern technological tools.
BENEFIT’s Chief Executive Mr. Abdulwahed AlJanahi, commented: “Our support for this educational hackathon reflects our long-term strategic vision to nurture the talents of emerging national youth and empower the next generation of accomplished female leaders in technology. By fostering creativity and innovation, we aim to contribute meaningfully to Bahrain’s comprehensive development goals and align with the aspirations outlined in the Kingdom’s Vision 2030—an ambition in which BENEFIT plays a central role.”
Professor Riyadh Yousif Hamzah, President of the Royal University for Women, commented: “This initiative reflects our commitment to advancing women in STEM fields. We're cultivating a generation of creative, solution-driven female leaders who will drive national development. Our partnership with BENEFIT exemplifies the powerful synergy between academia and private sector in supporting educational innovation.”
Hanan Abdulla Hasan, Senior Manager, PR & Communication at BENEFIT, said: “We are honoured to collaborate with RUW in supporting this remarkable technology-focused event. It highlights our commitment to social responsibility, and our ongoing efforts to enhance the digital and innovation capabilities of young Bahraini women and foster their ability to harness technological tools in the service of a smarter, more sustainable future.”
For his part, Dr. Humam ElAgha, Acting Dean of the College of Engineering and Technology at the University, said: “BuildHer CityHack 2025 embodies our hands-on approach to education. By tackling real-world problems through creative thinking and sustainable solutions, we're preparing women to thrive in the knowledge economy – a cornerstone of the University's vision.”