Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) said during a speech at the C40 World Mayors Summit in Copenhagen that her dreams of motherhood now “taste bittersweet” due to climate change.
The freshman lawmaker delivered a speech at the summit this week and emotionally declared that her dreams of motherhood “taste bittersweet” because of climate change and the impact it will have on “our children’s future.”
“I speak to you not as an elected official or public figure. But I speak to you as a human being,” she began.
“A woman whose dreams of motherhood now taste bittersweet because of what I know about our children’s future and that our actions are responsible for bringing their most dire possibilities into focus,” she continued, audibly holding back tears.
“I speak to you as a daughter and descendant of colonized peoples who have already begun to suffer,” she added, citing the thousands of Puerto Rican lives lost due to Hurricane Maria, which she described as a “climate change powered storm.”
She said her grandfather died in the aftermath along with others, all because “they were living under colonial rule, which contributed to the dire conditions and lack of recovery.”
Dozens of C40 mayors called for a “Global Green New Deal” to address the mounting environmental concerns.
“As mayors our first priority is to protect the safety of our citizens,” C40 chair, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo, said. “It will soon be four years since the Paris Agreement was signed in our city.”
“World leaders met in New York just last month and once again failed to agree anything close to the level of action necessary to stop the climate crisis,” she continued.
“There is no other solution but a Global Green New Deal to be the pivotal instrument to win this race against the clock. All decision-makers must take responsibility in making it a reality,” she added.
This is far from the first time the socialist lawmaker has painted a dark picture of the future over concerns related to climate change. She told viewers during a live video on social media in August that she wants to “perhaps have one less child” due to the looming threat.
“Even now, you know, when you put climate change on top of that, I know that I want to perhaps have one less child than I thought I would maybe have,” she explained.
“I think having a mixed family is part of my personal planning. But it’s really hard, and I don’t think sometimes that older generations understand how much we’re taking this into account,” she added: