Addressing the Climate Crisis
Greta Thunberg has become known worldwide for her intense activism and passion for climate change. At just 15 years old, she was protesting outside the Swedish parliament to combat increasing carbon emissions. And just three years later, she has become known worldwide for her activism and demonstrations. One of her most memorable and influential speeches took place in 2019 at the U.N Climate Action Summit. Her speech that day not only impacted the minds and hearts of millions across the world, but also called out world leaders for their inaction pertaining to climate change. Beginning her speech with “My message is that we’ll be watching you”, to disclose to world leaders and governments it is their responsibility and duty to combat the climate crisis instead of leaving it up to the younger generations to somehow come up with a solution before time runs out. She goes on to criticize world leaders for their inaction these past 30 years despite knowing the scientific facts: “For more than 30 years, the science has been crystal clear. How dare you look away and come here saying that you’re doing enough, when the politics and solutions needed are still nowhere in sight” (Staff N.P.R). She speaks directly to her audience without any hesitation or fear. Greta’s speech that she gave at the U.N. Climate Action Summit can be considered a rhetorical situation due to its exigence, audience, and constraints.
Lloyd F. Bitzer defines the rhetorical situation “as a natural context of persons, events, objects, relations, and an exigence which strongly invites utterance” (4). Greta Thunberg’s speech at the U.N. Climate Action Summit is considered a rhetorical situation because there were certain circumstances that prompted her response. A rhetorical situation also consists of three factors- the exigence, audience, and the constraints. The exigence of a rhetorical situation is “an imperfection marked by urgency; it is a defect, an obstacle, something waiting to be done, a thing which is other than it should be” (Bitzer 6). Therefore, the exigence of Greta’s situation is simply the inaction of world leaders pertaining to the climate crisis. Their failure to take action has left the responsibility up to younger generations, simply making them pay the consequences of the generations before them. The exigence is rhetorical because her audience can change their inaction to action by reducing carbon emissions, implementing greener policies, and much more; there are multitude of ways that the audience can bring change.
In addition, the exigence “holds great significance because it focuses on the audience and the change that needs to be made.” (7). Simply put, the exigence influences who the audience is and therefore the changes that can be made. The exigence also influences the linguistic choices of the speaker- how they chose their tone or convey their message. The most prominent rhetorical choice Greta makes in her speech is her decision to express her anger/disappoint by saying how dare you to her audience. She repeats this multiple times throughout the speech, one example being “We are in beginning of a mass extinction, and all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth. How dare you!” (staff N.P.R). This rhetorical choice criticizes her audience that consists of world leaders and officials, who are responsible for her being here in this situation today. Therefore, depending on the exigence, especially the urgency of the exigence, an author’s choice of language and tone might change. In addition, it is crucial to clearly express the exigence to the audience in a rhetorical situation. Not only does Greta use emotion and criticization, but she also uses statistics to support the exigence. She presents to the audience that “The popular idea of cutting our emissions in half in 10 years gives us a 50% chance of staying below 1.5 Celsius, and risk of setting off irreversible change reactions beyond human control” (Staff N.P.R). The use of statistics in Greta’s speech emphasizes the exigence of inaction concerning climate change. The use of statistics and emotion is a rhetorical choice concerning the combination of logos and pathos, both presented to the audience through her tone and choice of words. Her emotion of distress, anger, and disappointment is quite clear to the audience and can significantly persuade them. There are additional rhetorical choices that influence the situation such as her body language, voice, and facial expressions that express her emotion to the audience, which a very useful tactic as stated by the association of psychology: “research shows that people tend toward appeals that aren’t simply more positive or negative but are infused with emotionality, even when they’re trying to sway an audience that may not be receptive to such language” (Matthew D. Rocklage 1). As mentioned before, statistics support the exigence, but they also display her credibility when it comes to the climate crisis. It is also important to note Greta’s choice of statements instead of questions, she is demanding change, not asking for it. These choices can affect how the audience responds and what their opinion of the speaker is.
The next component of a rhetorical situation is the audience. The audience for Greta’s rhetorical situation consists of world leaders and government officials because as Bitzer mentions, the audience “consists only of those persons who are capable of being influenced by discourse and of being mediators of change” (7). She talks directly to these leaders and officials because they are the ones responsible for changing their actions to solve the exigence. Greta demands change from her audience telling them, “We will not let you get away with this. Right here, right now is where we draw the line. The world is waking up. And change, is coming, whether you like it or not” (Staff N.P.R). Although people can combat climate change on a local and individual level, there also needs to be changes on a global level, as we have let our earth deteriorate more and more every year. As Shelley Boulianne and David Ilkiw state in their article on climate change, “solutions require global interventions” (School Strike 4 Climate 209). Therefore, in this specific rhetorical situation, Greta has to convince people of all different origins and beliefs to work together to solve this issue. Her rhetorical choices to speak informally to her audience and criticize them is very influential as it makes these world leaders and officials feel responsible for the issue at hand. She does not shy away from her audience of powerful people, instead she is sharing her and anger with them by saying “You are failing us. But the young people are starting to understand your betrayal. The eyes of all future generations are upon you. And if you choose to fail us, I say: We will never forgive you” (Staff N.P.R). Her word choice such as ‘we will never forgive you’ is such an important rhetorical choice. As mentioned before, it is not typical that a 16-year-old speaks at the U.N Climate Action Summit, nevertheless criticizes some of the most powerful and influential people in the world. This rhetorical choice creates discomfort and discomfort usually leads to change, which is the goal of a rhetorical situation.
This specific rhetorical situation also has a secondary audience. Even though Greta is addressing world leaders and government officials, she is being heard by millions of citizens from a variety of countries, as it was broadcasted to viewers at home. This secondary audience is rhetorical because Greta’s speech can influence citizens to want more change and action from their leaders and therefore put pressure on them to start solving the ongoing climate crisis. The power of her speech can spark a movement by influencing people of all ages. Throughout history, it has been shown that people’s attention to climate change increases when there has been a natural disaster such as hurricane or government broadcasted conferences or when an issue is brought up in the senate or house. Therefore, Greta can focus more people’s attention on the climate change because as Boulianne and Ilkiw note in their article noting “Public opinion research shows that concern about climate change fluctuates over time with key events triggering increased concern”. (School Strike 4 Climate 209). Her speech is that key event that triggers the secondary audience of citizens who can influence the primary audience, who then in turn affect the exigence. Greta makes the rhetorical choice to not use complicated vocabulary or confusing statistics, which allows her to get straight to the point and both her audiences can clearly understand the exigence. In a rhetorical situation, the audience is more likely to solve the exigence if they fully understand the exigence. Therefore, educating the secondary audience on the urgency of the issue will pressure world leaders and officials to make a change.
The final component of a rhetorical situation is the constraints. According to Bitzer, constraints are “made up of persons, events, objects, and relations which are parts of the situation because they have the power to constrain decision and action needed to modify the exigence” (8). Constraints can have a negative or positive impact on the rhetorical situation. The constraints of this specific situation include the medium, the audience, difficulty to make global change, and Greta herself as she is the speaker in the rhetorical situation. The medium for the primary audience is through speech, as she speaks directly to them in the room where the summit is held. This medium positively influences the situation because of the close proximity between her and the audience, creating a relationship. This allows the audience to read her body language and truly hear the passion in her voice. The speech takes place in a large, dark room, with only light shining onto the stage. The audience also has headphones on and are seated based off their geographical location. The lightening on the stage draw’s people attention to Greta, as the dark room allows little distraction. The headphones also limit distraction because headphones reduce communication and conversation between the audience. Overall, the medium through which she shares her speech, influences the rhetorical situation in a positive manner.
As for the secondary audience, the medium is through broadcasting. Millions of people in all different areas in the world could watch Greta with just a click of a button. Her speech was broadcasted live through PBS. In addition, Greta’s speech has become quite popular which has people continuing to watch her speech today on YouTube or other websites. Her speech was able to get even more attention through broadcasting, making it more likely for citizens to pressure world leaders and officials to solve the ongoing climate crisis. Another constraint that can be worked into the medium is the length of the speech. It is around 5 minutes long, which is just enough time to convey her message and demand change without losing the interest of the audience.
Another constraint that plays a huge role in the situation is the audience. In this rhetorical situation pertaining to Greta, the primary audience is a greater constraint than the secondary audience. If world leaders and governments are close-minded when it comes to climate change, then they’ll most likely not be influenced by Greta’s speech because they have already decided they won’t be changing any policies. Some world leaders might come in with beliefs that climate change doesn’t even exist which then constrains the situation again. Also, the primary audience is always thinking about the economic impacts to society. Some leaders might hear climate change and immediately associate it with a lot of expenses, therefore they are not willing to solve the exigence.
The age of the audience is another constraint in the situation. Greta’s primary audience consists of older generations that were not born into a world where there was a ticking time bomb on earth. Therefore, it might not be seen as a pertinent issue. In fact, Shelly Boulianne and David Iikiw note “Young people are more likely to express concern and believe in the anthropogenic origins of climate change” (“School Strike 4 Climate” 209). Therefore, the older age of the audience represents a constraint in the situation.
The difficulty to make change on a global scale can also be considered a constraint within the situation. Throughout history, nations have not been able to come together to make an effective and efficient plan to slow the warming of our planet. As stated by Brad Plumer and Henry Fountain in the New York Times Article ‘A Hotter Future is Certain’, “Nations have delayed curbing their fossil-fuel emissions for so long that they can no longer stop global warming from intensifying over the next 30 years” (1). The difference in politics, origin, and geographical location does contribute to the difficulty of making change on a global scale if the whole audience doesn’t have the same goal in mind.
Greta herself is also a constraint. Even though she has become known worldwide and is an influential figure, she is still a 16-year-old girl. It is possible that her audience might believe her knowledge on climate change is limited or that she doesn’t understand the economic challenges cleaner policies pose. On the other hand, her status and support also enable the situation. She sort of proves her credibility just by the fact that she is a 16-year-old girl speaking at the U.N Climate Action Summit. She also makes the choice to wear casual clothing, a simple pink shirt and army green pants. Her audience and those around her are all wearing professional clothing as they are at a very professional event. However, her clothing is a rhetorical choice as it emphasizes the point she made in the beginning of her speech, “This is all wrong. I shouldn’t be up here. I should be back in school on other side of the ocean. Yet you call come to us young people for hope. How dare you” (Staff N.P.R). Her clothes represent that she is a child, a child that is not responsible for solving the climate crisis. This is just another factor that influences the audience to feel guilty and responsible for climate change.
Greta’s use of rhetorical moves such as strong emotion, certain word choices, and her outfit emphasize the importance and urgency of the exigence. By speaking directly to her audience, she brings these world leaders and government officials down to her level, not hesitating to call them out for their inaction. She gave herself the power in the situation and most likely left a lasting impact on audience, influencing them to take action and finally figure out a solution to this never-ending problem. The statistics she shares about how much time our world has left is a strong rhetorical choice; it uses fear to encourage change. Greta Thunberg effectively responded to the rhetorical situation, as she successfully conveyed the exigence and responded appropriately to her audience. In fact, the Guardian even mentioned that just “days after, millions of young people joined protests worldwide to demand emergency action on climate change” (1). In addition, “leaders also gathered for the annual United Nations general assembly aiming to inject fresh momentum into efforts to curb carbon emissions.” (Guardian 1.) This response by citizens and world leaders proves that Greta’s response to the rhetorical situation was effectual and successful. Greta’s speech will continue to impact and encourage people of all ages, encouraging them to fight for our planet because we cannot solve this problem alone.
Works Cited
Bitzer, Lloyd F. “The Rhetorical Situation.” Philosophy& Rhetoric, vol. 25, 1992, pp. 1–14.
JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40237697. Accessed 14 Oct. 2021
Boulianne, Shelley, et al. “‘School Strike 4 Climate’: Social Media and the International Youth Protest on
Climate Change.” Media and Communication, vol. 8, no. 2S1, 15 Apr. 2020, pp. 208+. Gale Academic OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A626675405/AONE?u=cofc_main&sid=bookmark-AONE&xid=9d80841b. Accessed 8 Oct. 2020
Guardian News and Media. (2021, September 24). Global climate strike: Thousands join Coordinated Action Across World. The Guardian. Retrieved October 15, 2021, from https://www.theguardian.com/science/2021/sep/24/people-in-99-countries-take-part-in-global-climate-strike.
Matthew D. Rocklage, Association for Psychological Science. “People use emotion to persuade,
even when it could backfire.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 2 April 2018. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/04/180402085846.htm>.
Staff, N. P. R. (2019, September 23). Transcript: Greta Thunberg’s speech at the U.N. Climate Action Summit. NPR. Retrieved October 15, 2021, from https://www.npr.org/2019/09/23/763452863/transcript-greta-thunbergs-speech-at-the-u-n-climate-action-summit.