The so-called climate activists attempting to shut down Washington, D.C., and rallying across the country this week, don’t actually care much about climate change.

Yes, they dub themselves “climate rebels” and claim to target the “corporations, lobbyists, trade cartels, and government institutions that are most responsible for creating the climate crisis.” Indeed, they say they’re motivated by the looming extinction-level climate apocalypse.

This is a lie.

Of course, many of the activists surely do care about man-made global warming, but their activism betrays itself. It isn’t about the environment, but rather seeks to advance a far-left economic agenda in the name of green revolution. It's clearer than ever that the environmentalist movement has been co-opted by socialists who, in reality, view fighting climate change as a second-tier concern to their radical economic reforms.

They’re not really hiding the ball.

The leader of the climate cult, teenage activist Greta Thunberg, essentially admitted as much when speaking to the United Nations on Monday. “We are in the beginning of a mass extinction and all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth,” she said .

This is typical of Thunberg: Much of her apocalyptic rhetoric goes beyond simple fear-mongering and alarmism about the potential consequences of climate change to specifically attack capitalism, profit, and markets as a root cause of the issue.

"You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words," climate activist Greta Thunberg tells the UN. "We are in the beginning of a mass extinction and all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth. How dare you." https://t.co/F5Umw55Y5Y pic.twitter.com/K0WxGCeU4A — CNN (@CNN) September 23, 2019

Add this to those who make it more explicit, like the climate activist who specifically wrote an op-ed in the Guardian titled: “Ending climate change requires the end of capitalism.” Then consider those who took to the streets on Monday, many of whom expressed explicitly anti-capitalist messages, not just pro-environment sentiments.

Capitalism is killing the planet apparently. Time for socialism I guess 🙄 pic.twitter.com/wcDj6XxYcZ — Cameron Cawthorne (@Cam_Cawthorne) September 23, 2019

Their actual agenda, too, reveals that this movement is more about socialism than environmentalism. The “Shut Down DC” group leading the Washington-based protests openly touts its partnership with left-wing labor groups and even with the Democratic Socialists of America. Their demands include the implementation of the Green New Deal, a Trojan horse for socialism if there ever was one.

Ask yourself: Would a movement truly concerned with just addressing environmentalism be pushing a platform that includes socialist healthcare policy, universal government jobs, and all sorts of other leftist nonsense that has nothing to do with environmentalism? If activists really cared about climate change they would not be demanding implementation of a deal that does not include promotion of nuclear power — the most efficient and least expensive source of emissions-free energy available.

But even on the surface, the supposed environmental activism on display this week is self-evidently disingenuous. Think about it: If activists really cared about the environment, would they be clogging up traffic for hours? It’s not exactly the best way to reduce carbon emissions.

Nor, either, does environmental activism seem entirely authentic when paired with twerking and littering.

Now #ShutDownDC has guys twerking while people throw confetti at them to... stop climate change? Littering confetti is a bold new tactic to stop climate change, let’s see how it works out. These people are not mentally well.

pic.twitter.com/AXsEqT1fdS — Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) September 23, 2019

If activists truly wanted to stop climate change they would embrace market-based solutions. For instance, the deregulation of artificial meat would do a great deal to speed up reductions in carbon emissions; with the beef industry currently a major contributor to climate change. Ending socialist subsidies for the fossil fuel industry would be a pro-market move yet speed up our transition toward less-harmful environmental sources.

More generally, as documented by Ronald Bailey of Reason, capitalism and the economic growth it brings lead to reductions in pollution and increases in environmental consciousness as societies grow wealthier. In fact, the government-run economy in China is the current largest single driver of carbon emissions in the world.

Capitalism is clearly not the cause of global warming. If anything, it’s a crucial part of the solution. The fact that climate activists won’t admit this shows just how disingenuous their activism has been all along.