Greta Thunberg pledged to go “net zero” on swearing, days after being videoed telling politicians to “shove your climate crisis up your arse”.
The Swedish activist said she has reflected on her language after being filmed hyping up crowds in Glasgow.
Footage published on Monday showed the 18-year-old speaking to young protesters in Festival Park in Govan, across the River Clyde from the Cop26 venue.
She said: “Change is not going to come from inside there – that is not leadership, this is leadership.
“We say no more blah blah blah, no more exploitation of people and nature and the planet. No more exploitation. No more blah blah blah. No more whatever the f*** they are doing inside there.”
Later on, she was filmed singing: “You can shove your climate crisis up your arse”.
But now the teenager has since joked she is now going to continue “net zero” on her language.
Writing on Twitter, she said: “I am pleased to announce that I’ve decided to go net zero on swear words and bad language.
“In the event that I should say something inappropriate I pledge to compensate that by saying something nice.”
Asked whether she would commit to reach net-zero bad language by 2050, she added: “No, by 2052 with a 39.78 per cent reduction by 2034.”
In September, Thunberg mocked Prime Minister Boris Johnson by quoting parts of his speeches on climate change and adding “blah, blah, blah”.
Giving a speech at the Youth4Climate summit in Milan, Italy, the Swedish activist said the words of “our so-called leaders” had led to “no action”.
The 18-year-old used soundbites from speeches by Boris Johnson such as “build back better” before dismissing them as “blah, blah, blah”, prompting applause from the audience.
During her speech, she said: “This is not about some expensive, politically correct, green act of bunny hugging.
“Build back better, blah blah blah. Green economy, blah blah blah. Net zero by 2050, blah blah blah. Climate neutral, blah blah blah.
“This is all we hear from our so-called leaders. Words that sound great, but so far have led to no action.”
Last month, the Swedish activist accused the UK government of spinning carbon emissions statistics to make it look like the country’s contribution to the climate crisis is lower than it is in reality.
Thunberg said Britain is not the only high-income country wrongly thinking it is a climate leader, suggesting the US and China are also to blame.
In an article for The Guardian, the 18-year-old said world leaders have been guilty of decades of “blah, blah, blah” because of their lack of action on reducing emissions – and explained why the UK is “relying on creative carbon accounting” rather than producing real change in tackling the climate emergency.
Related: Greta Thunberg accuses UK government of spinning carbon statistics
