Greta Thunberg at the UN: instead of caring for her, activists are taking advantage of this schoolgirl

Environmental activist Greta Thunberg addresses the Climate Action Summit in the United Nations General Assembly.

If there is a looming threat to the future of civilisation, it is idiocy, ideologically driven lunacy. Good governance, democratic outcomes and sensible policy are under threat all over the western world.

And it is not the mainstream voters doing the damage, on the contrary they insist on common sense. It is the so-called media and political elites that are indulging in misleading, anti-intellectual, emotive and ideological campaigns.

This is no more obvious than in the climate change debate, which should be a serious issue. But instead of debating facts, science, economics, technology, costs, benefits and policy options, the United Nations hands the floor over to a hysterical teenager.

Now this ought to be pretty hilarious. But laugh as we might there are two things that are disturbing about this.

First, the adults in the room are applauding this, there are actual grown ups who are so malleable, so intent on hyperbole and alarmism, they are willing to cheer this sort of teenage alarmism at a global climate change summit that is supposed to discuss real issues in rational terms.

And second, you have to worry about the speaker. She is of course Greta Thunberg, a Swedish vegan, climate campaigner, who is diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, anxiety disorders and obsessive compulsive disorder.

Now we all know about the emotional rollercoaster rides that teenagers go through, which is why we tend to encourage and nurture them without taking their obsessions too seriously.

But this girl seems overwrought, and instead of caring for her, there seems to be a movement taking advantage from her obviously confected, unwarranted and overblown angst.

Honestly, if the climate issue is as bad as the adult alarmists and political activists say, they don’t need to do this. Surely most sensible people around the world are turned off by this embarrassing side show.

No wonder and thank god Scott Morrison is steering clear of the climate summit, although these issues will come up when he speaks at the UN General Assembly.

But believe me, as someone who has been there for top level meetings many times, the UN is no place to expect rational debate or serious consideration of workable policy solutions.

A visibly angry Greta Thunberg berated world leaders as she addressed a UN climate summit, accusing them of betraying her generation by failing to tackle greenhouse gas emissions.

Having said all that, there was one thing that Greta Thunberg said in New York that I wholeheartedly agree with.

“This is all wrong. I shouldn’t be up here. I should be back at school on the other side of the ocean,” the 16-year-old told the summit.

Yes, Greta you should be at home and in school.

And those adults encouraging you at the United Nations know that all too well, but they are using you for their own amusement and their blatant political grandstanding.