There are voices that describe the Secretary General of the UN, António Guterres, as a tremendist for having proclaimed that "the era of boiling has arrived".
They accuse him of spreading alarmism, despite the fact that the summer of 2023 is the hottest in history, the summer of fires, hurricanes and floods.
Saprina, 20 years old and university student, is one of the thousands of people who demonstrated in New York on Sunday to demand the end of fossil fuels to combat the climate emergency. The protest, endorsed by more than 400 scientists and 500 organizations, is a preliminary to Wednesday's Climate Ambition Summit within the framework of the General Assembly of the United Nations Organization that begins this week.
"There is no economy in a dead world", proclaims one of the hundreds of banners on Broadway Avenue, next to Central Park.
"I think what Guterres said is correct and appropriate", replies Saprina, who is carrying another eloquent sign: "I do not vote for fires and floods", it reads. "Language that scares and creates panic must be used. It is the only way that people will pay attention and see that we are in a crucial moment. We have to mobilize because, otherwise, this ends", he adds.
After the stoppage marked by the pandemic, this march tries to connect with the great protest of four years ago, on the eve of which the teenage activist Greta Thunberg took the colors off the global leaders in the General Assembly.
On this occasion, despite the fact that the participation is falling, it does not weaken the spirit, or rather, the anger towards a political class which, as Sofie Schoch, an 18-year-old university student, points out, is a gerontocracy anchored in the past. "We need young people and new ideas so that the future is not a dark cloud", prescribes Sofie. A poster has been made by hand that says: "You will die of old age, we will because of climate change".
Another banner, displayed by an activist of a certain age: "No to wars for fossil fuels or for fossil politicians".
So, in this environment, in which Donald Trump is the evil one, the supposed ally, President Joe Biden, is required to fulfill the promises he made with the megaphone of power.
Although he recently signed a ban on drilling in parts of unspoiled Alaska, Biden, who is not scheduled to attend Wednesday's summit, is credited with endorsing Willow drilling in that same region, the biggest project in recent decades. The chants of the demonstrators repeat the request to back off this project, stop drilling in general and declare a climate emergency.
If there is anything about this march, it is that it is a reflection of the society of the United States, of the real one, from grandparents to grandchildren, of all races, with a diversity of origins and languages. This is underlined by the actress Susan Sarandon, one of the many celebrities who participate. She defines herself as an "angry grandmother".
And remember other words of António Guterres, "rising temperatures demand an increase in action".
According to Sarandon, "we can't waste a minute, we're in an emergency." And he points out that this march aims to put pressure on Biden, president of the country "number one in oil and gas production". And he adds: "There is no way to deny that the world is in danger and may even have passed the tipping point".
