Greta Thunberg urges world leaders to cooperate on virus, climate

Environmental activist Greta Thunberg talks via video link with Professor of Environmental Science Johan Rockstrom in Germany, during a live chat on International Earth Day where they discussed the coronavirus pandemic and the environment, at the Nobel Museum in Stockholm, Sweden, Wednesday, April 22, 2020. (Jessica Gow/TT News Agency via AP)

STOCKHOLM — Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg has urged world leaders to act together to cope with crises and to listen to science experts.

The 17-year-old Swede said Wednesday that the climate crisis “may not be as immediate as the corona crisis but we need to tackle this now otherwise it will be irreversible.” She calls the virus outbreak “a tragedy.”

She said world leaders must put differences aside and make decisions that “in the long run may be necessary.”

She spoke during a conversation with Johan Rockstrom, co-director of Germany’s Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, in a live online event to mark the 50th anniversary of Earth Day.

Many large cities are smog-free after shutdowns caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Major cities have seen reductions of deadly particulate matter from the previous year.