Greta Thunberg denounced politicians and the media on Friday for ignoring a looming climate cataclysm, saying that they were failing her generation with their inaction in the face of a world on fire.
'The world is on fire,' Greta Thunberg tells UK climate rally
Several thousand people attended a rally in the southwestern English city of Bristol to see Thunberg, the teenage activist who has reprimanded governments across the world over climate change.
Known simply as Greta, 17-year-old Thunberg has captured the imagination of many young people with impassioned demands for world leaders to take urgent action.
"I will not be silenced while the world is on fire - will you?" said Thunberg.
"This emergency is being completely ignored by the politicians, the media and those in power.
Basically nothing is being done ... despite all the beautiful words." Supporters held placards reading: "Change the politics not the climate," "The ocean is rising so are we!" and "At this point education is pointless." After she finished speaking, Thunberg led a march through central Bristol.
Local police estimated that turnout was over 20,000 people.