The Tide Is Turning: Angela Merkel Urges Dialogue Between Skeptics And Believers To Tackle Climate Change

DAVOS, Switzerland (Reuters) – The world needs an open dialogue about climate change to heal the gap between sceptics and believers since time is running out to cut the emissions that drive global warming, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Thursday.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel delivers a special address at the 50th World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland January 23, 2020. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

“Time is pressing, so we – the older ones, I am 65 years old – must make sure that we take the impatience of young people positively and constructively,” Merkel told the World Economic Forum in Switzerland.

The first two days of the annual Davos gathering were dominated by the back-and-forth between the 73-year-old former businessman Trump and 17-year-old campaigner Greta Thunberg, with corporate leaders caught in the middle, concerned that as well as words, there was a need for concrete decisions.

She drew applause from the Davos audience when she said opposing sides in polarised debates such as that on climate change had to learn how to talk with each other again.