Early life
Greta Tintin Eleonora Ernman Thunberg was born on 3 January 2003, in Stockholm, Sweden, the daughter of opera singerActivism
Strike at the Riksdag
In August 2018, Thunberg began the school climate strikes and public speeches for which she has become an internationally recognizedSocial media activism
After Thunberg posted a photo of her first strike day on Instagram andProtests and speeches in Europe
Her speech during theSabbatical year
In August 2019, Thunberg sailed across the Atlantic Ocean from Plymouth, England, to New York, USA, in the racing yacht ''UN Climate Action Summit
On 23 September, 2019 Thunberg attended the UN Climate Action Summit in New York City. That day theAutumn global climate strikes
In Canada, Thunberg participated in climate protests in the cities ofParticipation at COP25
Thunberg had intended to remain in the Americas to travel overland to attend theFurther activism in Europe and end of sabbatical year
On 30 December 2019, Thunberg was guest editor of the BBC Radio's flagship current affairs programme, the ''Activism during COVID-19 pandemic
In early 2020, the outbreak of theContinued activism
Thunberg has condemned British mining firm Beowulf's project to mine iron on Sami land. She said, "We believe that the climate, the environment, clean air, water, reindeer herding, indigenous rights and the future of humanity should be prioritised above the short-term profit of a company. The Swedish government needs to stop the colonisation of Sami." In July 2022, Thunberg criticized thePosition on climate change
Thunberg asserts that humanity is facing an existential crisis because of global warming and holds the current generation of adults responsible for creating the problem. She uses graphic analogies (such as "our house is on fire") to highlight her concerns and often speaks bluntly to business and political leaders about their failure to take concerted action. Thunberg has said that climate change will have a disproportionate effect on young people whose futures will be profoundly affected. She argues that her generation may not have a future any more because "that future was sold so that a small number of people could make unimaginable amounts of money." She also has said that people in the Global South will suffer most from climate change, even though they have contributed least in terms of carbon dioxide emissions. Thunberg has voiced support for other young activists from developing countries who are already facing the damagingPublic response and impact
Thunberg has received both strong support and strong criticism for her work from politicians and the press, reflecting the difficulties encountered by leading environmental and scientific voices to be heard in the corridors in power. Thunberg has met with many politicians and world leaders, but said that she could not think of a single politician who has impressed her. Asked about New Zealand prime ministerInternational reception
In February 2019, 224 academics signed an open letter of support stating they were inspired by Thunberg's actions and the striking school children in making their voices heard.Politicians
Democratic candidates for the 2020 United States presidential election such asPress
In August 2019, Scott Walsman wrote in ''"The Greta effect"
Thunberg has inspired a number of her school-aged peers in what has been described as "the Greta effect". In response to her outspoken stance, various politicians have also acknowledged the need to focus on climate change. Britain's secretary for the environment, Michael Gove, said: "When I listened to you, I felt great admiration, but also responsibility and guilt. I am of your parents' generation, and I recognize that we haven't done nearly enough to address climate change and the broader environmental crisis that we helped to create." Labour politicianFlight shame
Thunberg has spearheaded the anti-flying movement, promoting rail travel over flying on environmental grounds. The buzzword associated with this movement is '' flygskam'' or "flight shame". It is a phenomenon in which people feel social pressure not to fly because of the rising greenhouse gas emissions of the airline industry. It was originally championed by Swedish Olympic athleteX-Site sticker
A sticker was handed out by X-Site Energy Services of Alberta, Canada, with the company's name on it with an image of a man grabbing the braids of a girl while raping her from behind, and the word "Greta" on the image. Then 17-year-old Greta Thunberg posted about it on Twitter "They are starting to get more and more desperate. This shows that we're winning." Although the general manager of X-Site initially said that neither X-Site, nor any X-Site employee, was involved in making the sticker, X-Site Energy later apologized, admitting that they have distributed it and are assuming full responsibility. The letter asserted that they were destroying known extant copies and making organizational changes to prevent future incidents.In popular culture and art
Thunberg has been depicted in popular culture and art. ''Greta and the Giants'', a book by Zoë Tucker and Zoe Persico, published by Frances Lincoln Children's Books, was inspired by the life of Thunberg. Argentinian artist Andrés Iglesias unveiled an 18 meter mural of Thunberg above Mason street, near Union Square inHonours and awards
Thunberg has received honours and awards over the course of her activism. In May 2018, before the start of her school strike, she was one of the winners of a climate change essay competition by ''Svenska Dagbladet (The Swedish Daily News)'' for young people. Thunberg has refused to attend ceremonies or accept prizes if it requires her to fly, such as for the International Children's Peace Prize. She has received prizes from various NGOs but also from scientific institutions that lauded her success in raising awareness. * ''Species named in Thunberg's honour
The following species have been described and named after Greta Thunberg: * '' Nelloptodes gretae'', by Michael Darby, Natural History Museum, UK, December 2019, a new species of beetle fromWorks
* ''See also
* '' Juliana v. United States'', a lawsuit by 21 youths against the United States for significantly harming their right to life and liberty. It seeks to force the government to adopt methods for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. *References
Further reading
* * *External links
* * * * on the