Colombia's Environment Minister, Susana Muhamad, gave a controversial speech at the 54th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, in which she suggested that both capitalism and fossil energy should be eradicated to save the world from the climate crisis.
During her participation in the panel "Maintaining life on Earth," the minister criticized that the adoption of decisions about these fuels has taken decades and attributed this to the capitalist system's dependence on these energy sources.
“It took 30 years to make decisions on whether fossil fuels cause climate change. Why? Because we all depend on this capitalist system that needs these energy sources," she said. "Sometimes it seems easier to think about extinction than imagine the end of capitalism,” she added.
According to the minister, in order to move forward, we need to “decarbonize economies” and change our way of living by prioritizing nature. "We should put nature first rather than start thinking about going to live on other planets when we had the ecological system that allows us to live for millions of years," she suggested.
The minister leaves Colombia “looking ridiculous”
Muhamad became the target of criticism after she participated in the forum, especially from the former mayor of Bogotá, Enrique Peñalosa, who took to social media to question the "absurd theories" of the minister and President Petro. Likewise, in his post, he pointed out the contradiction in the president's environmental behavior.
“The absurd theories of the minister of the environment and Petro leave Colombia looking ridiculous. Of course, Petro walks everywhere in his mega plane burning oil, and in Colombia, he has never been seen riding public transportation or a bicycle in his life,” he said.
Las teorías absurdas de la MinAmbente y de Petro que dejan a Colombia en el ridículo. Eso sí, Petro pasea por todas partes en su mega avión quemando petróleo, y en Colombia nunca se le vió en su vida andando en transporte público, o en bicicleta, https://t.co/MTviFKA9t8
— Enrique Peñalosa (@EnriquePenalosa) January 19, 2024
Political analyst Ani Abello chimed in on social media and expressed her concern. She questioned the intentions of the environmental policies of Gustavo Petro's socialist environment, suggesting that the president could lead the impoverishment of the nation to supposedly “save nature."
NO SE PIERDAN ESTO
Para la ministra del medio ambiente @susanamuhamad el mundo se va a extinguir por culpa del capitalismo‼️
La gente del sur no vive de la tecnología sino de la naturaleza, dice la señora.Otra perla: según la ministra la gente de nuestros países migran “al… https://t.co/19Ac06fCwh
— Ani Abello (@ANIABELLO_R) January 18, 2024
