From your article:
"Her comments are in reference to a United Nations-backed climate report, published late last year, that determined the effects of climate change to be irreversible and unavoidable if carbon emissions are not reined in over the next 12 years."
She was engaging in hyperbole.
I am not a fan of AOC's politics as they are far to the left of mine. However, she is obviously quite intelligent. She graduated near the top of her class at Boston University. Stupid people don't do that. Just because I disagree with someone on various issues does not mean they are stupid. For example, I would have disagreed with Nikita Khruschev on almost everything, but he was not a stupid man. One of the hallmarks of possessing good critical thinking skills is to recognize that simply disagreeing with someone doesn't make them stupid. I don't agree with Josh Hawley on much of anything, however, he isn't stupid. In contrast, I don't agree with MTG on anything, and she is stupid. For example, she has confused Gestapo with Gazpacho and has bought into conspiracy theories like "Jewish Space Lazers" causing wildfires. In general, people that buy into a lot of conspiracy theories, are stupid people.