Greta Thunberg Hits Out at 'Climate Leaders' After Underwater Gas Leak Disaster in Mexico Gulf
Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg speaks at a press conference following the meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on August 20, 2020 in Berlin, Germany. Two years on from her first school strike, 17-year-old climate activist Greta Thunberg is meeting German Chancellor Angela Merkel to deliver a petition letter calling for EU leaders to end investments in the exploration and extraction of fossil fuels. Maja Hitij/Getty Images

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg slammed the world leaders after the underwater gas leak disaster in Mexico Gulf, saying that they are not doing more to prevent incidents like the underwater fire.

Greta Thunberg tweeted that people in power call themselves "climate leaders" as they allow more openings of new oilfields, pipelines, and coal power plants. She noted that they are granting new oil licenses exploring future oil drilling sites, according to LAD Bible.

Greta Thunberg added that this is the world that these leaders are leaving for generations to come. The video of the ocean on fire went viral, with many social media users calling it "portal to hell" due to the image of a circle of fire erupting in the middle of the waters of the Mexico Gulf.

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has relied heavily on drilling more wells and buying or building more oil refineries. He prides oil as the best business in the world, Associated Press reported.

Angel Carrizales, head of Mexico's oil safety regulator ASEA, explained that the occurrence did not generate any spill. However, he could not explain what was burning on the water's surface.

Underwater Leak Disaster in Mexico

Mexico's state-owned oil company Petroleos Mexicanos or Pemex said no one was injured and it would launch a probe on the cause of the leak. The leak had happened in an underwater pipeline 150 meters from a platform at Ku-Maloob-Zaap.

Ku-Maloob-Zaap is an offshore oil field in the Bay of Campeche, according to The New York Times. Some environmental groups also took a jab at oil companies, citing examples of the risk of relying on fossil fuels.

In a statement, Gustavo Ampugnani, executive director of Greenpeace Mexico, said that what happened in the Mexican Gulf are the risks people face daily, calling for a change in the energy model.

Chris Robbins, senior manager for science initiatives at the nonprofit Ocean Conservancy, called on Pemex to investigate whether any other infrastructure was compromised.

Robbins noted that researchers should be allowed to explore the area to review any damage to marine life. He added that as long as people there are drilling for oil and natural gas, these kinds of accidents will continue to happen.

Miyoko Sakashita, oceans program director for the Center for Biological Diversity, said the incident in the Gulf of Mexico shows the world that offshore drilling is dangerous and dirty, ABC 7 News reported.

Lopez Obrador had set his intention to spend billions of dollars in strengthening the dominance of the country's state-owned energy companies.

He had also opened most new foreign investment in energy, adding that he wants to restore Pemex's former status as a national company that made Mexico energy self-sufficient.

Pemex

Pemex has been plagued with issues of debt, mismanagement, and corruption. The company had incurred $107 million in debt in 2019, making it the world's most indebted oil company.

The company's former chief, Emilio Lozoya Austin, was earlier arrested in southern Spain for tax fraud and bribery charges.

WATCH: Gas Pipeline Fire Boils Underwater in the Gulf of Mexico - From USA TODAY