Greta Thunberg Calls Out Alberta Minister Who Said Its A Great Time To Build Pipelines

Greta Thunberg has no time for the Alberta energy minister’s pro-pipeline talk during the coronavirus pandemic . 

Minster Sonya Savage said in a recent podcast that bans on mass gatherings mean there are fewer protests, which makes it “a great time” to build pipelines , but the Swedish climate activist was having none of it.

Savage’s comments were part of a discussion about the ongoing Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. 

“Now is a great time to be building a pipeline because you can’t have protests of more than 15 people, so let’s get it built,” Savage said. 

In a tweet overnight Monday, Thunberg sarcastically praised Savage because “at least we are seeing some honesty for once.”

Who’s the savage one now? 

Thunberg also pointed out that Savage’s mindset is not unique to Alberta. 

“Unfortunately this [is] how large parts of the world are run,” she wrote. 

The 17-year-old climate activist became a vocal presence on the global stage last year through her “Fridays For Future ” demonstrations, which began as a school strike in her home Sweden to protest inaction on the climate crisis. Since then, she’s galvanized millions around the world to participate in climate marches and rallies. 

But it’s not the first time Thunberg and Alberta have crossed paths.

Earlier this year, an Alberta oilfield company apologized after distributing stickers depicting Thunberg being sexually assaulted. The stickers showed a drawing of a nude female and two hands pulling from behind on her braided hair. The word “Greta” is written across her lower back.

“They are starting to get more and more desperate…”  Thunberg tweeted in response to the stickers going viral. “This shows that we’re winning.”

X-Site management accepted full responsibility for the stickers and said they made “organizational changes,” and planned to hold training sessions about respect in the workplace.

Thunberg visited Alberta last fall when she appeared at a “Fridays For Future” march organized by Edmonton Youth For Climate. 

“We need to start treating this crisis as a crisis,” she said at that rally. “Because you cannot solve an emergency without treating it as one.” 

WATCH: Greta Thunberg marches in Edmonton. Story continues below.

Ahead of Thunberg’s fall visit, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney acknowledged she likely wasn’t a “fan” of Alberta’s oil and gas industry.

“If you believe that the entire industrial modern economy should be shut down tomorrow, that the airplanes should stop flying, the cars should all stop driving, that millions of people should be put into unemployment, because we need to turn off the consumption of all hydrocarbon energy tomorrow, if that’s what you believe, then you’re probably not going to be a supporter of what we’re doing in Alberta,” Kenney said.

Also on HuffPost: