Climate activist Greta Thunberg hit back at Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin Steven Terner MnuchinLawmakers fear voter backlash over failure to reach COVID-19 relief deal United Airlines, unions call for six-month extension of government aid House Democrats plan to unveil bill next week to avert shutdown MORE for saying she should not call for countries to divest from fossil fuels until she “goes and studies economics in college.”

“My gap year ends in August, but it doesn’t take a college degree in economics to realise that our remaining 1,5° carbon budget and ongoing fossil fuel subsidies and investments don’t add up,” Thunberg tweeted, including a video of a chart illustrating the rise in carbon emissions.

“So either you tell us how to achieve this mitigation or explain to future generations and those already affected by the climate emergency why we should abandon our climate commitments,” she added.

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So either you tell us how to achieve this mitigation or explain to future generations and those already affected by the climate emergency why we should abandon our climate commitments. 2/3 — Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) January 23, 2020

Mnuchin made the comment on Thursday on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, saying in a press conference “is she the chief economist? Who is she, I’m confused."

“After she goes and studies economics in college she can come back and explain that to us,” he added.

Thunberg, while participating in a climate forum in Davos on Tuesday, said world leaders’ inaction on climate issues is “fueling the flames” of climate change.

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“You might think we’re naive but if you won’t do it, you must explain to your children why you’ve given up on the Paris agreement goals and knowingly created a climate crisis,” she said.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Alexandria Ocasio-CortezLawmakers fear voter backlash over failure to reach COVID-19 relief deal Why Democrats must confront extreme left wing incitement to violence The Hill Interview: Jerry Brown on climate disasters, COVID-19 and Biden's 'Rooseveltian moment' MORE (D-N.Y.) also defended Thunberg, tweeting "If you don’t have an economics degree like Greta, they’ll mock you for not having one. If you DO have one, as I do, they’ll claim it’s illegitimate." The two met in a video conversation last summer.