Greta Thunberg appeared to poke fun at Boris Johnson after he derisively used the phrase “bunny hugging” to describe climate activism – by changing her Twitter bio to read simply: “Bunny hugger.”
The UK prime minister was taking part in Joe Biden’s virtual climate summit, which has brought together dozens of world leaders for a two-day event.
Thunberg, who testified on Thursday at a US congressional hearing on the need to end federal subsidies for fossil fuels, implored leaders to act fast. “How long do you think you can continue to ignore the climate crisis … without being held accountable?” she asked.
Johnson, who addressed the summit on Thursday, was essentially on the same page as Thunberg, but phrased his call to action in a puzzling way.
“It’s vital for all of us to show that this is not all about some expensive politically correct green act of ‘bunny-hugging’ or however you want to put it,” he said.
“Nothing wrong with bunny-hugging but you know what I’m driving at.”
It was not entirely clear what he was driving at, and Thunberg – who rarely misses a chance to mock the world leaders who she has spent her childhood pushing to take bolder, more urgent steps against climate change – seized the moment.
Johnson has repeatedly called for reduced emissions, but his words and actions have not always lined up. The prime minister scored zero out of 100 in the Guardian’s 2019 climate scorecards, due in part to his opposition to wind subsidies, emissions-based taxes on vehicles and investment in carbon capture and storage.
Thunberg repeatedly turned the tables on Donald Trump, who has mocked and belittled her with fervor. In 2019, after Trump accused her of having anger management issues, she quoted him in her Twitter bio: “A teenager working on her anger management problem. Currently chilling and watching a good old fashioned movie with a friend.”