Greta Thunberg
Greta Thunberg (born 3 January 2003) is a Swedish climate activist. She is known for her strike outside the Riksdag in Stockholm, Sweden under the slogan Skolstrejk för klimatet (School Strike for the climate).[1]
Life
Thunberg was born on 3 January 2003 to Swedish opera singer Malena Ernman and actor Svante Thunberg. She has been diagnosed with Asperger syndrome.[2]
Activism
On 20 August 2018, while studying ninth grade in a school in Stockholm, Thunberg decided not to go to the school until the Swedish general election which was held on 9 September 2018. She made the decision after her country faced the unprecedented heatwaves and wildfires during the summer.[1] She demanded that the Swedish government reduce carbon emissions as stated in the Paris agreement on climate change. She sat outside the Swedish parliament each day during school hours with the slogan school strike for the climate. Following the election she continued to protest every Friday.[2] On Twitter, she uses hashtags #Klimatstrejka, #ClimateStrike and #FridaysforFuture which feature in media around the world. She participated in the Rise for Climate demonstration outside the European Parliament in Brussels and the Declaration of Rebellion organized by Extinction Rebellion in London.[3] Her Friday strike gained worldwide attention. Similar kinds of protests were organized in other countries, including Holland, Germany, Finland, Denmark and Australia.[4]
In Australia, thousands of school students were inspired by Thunberg to strike on Fridays, ignoring the call of their Prime minister Scott Morrison who said in the parliament that "what we want is more learning in schools and less activism".[5]
On 4 December 2018, Thunberg addressed the COP24 United Nations climate change summit.[6] She explained the severity of the problem this way:
What I hope we achieve at this conference is that we realise that we are facing an existential threat. This is the biggest crisis humanity has ever faced. First we have to realise this and then as fast as possible do something to stop the emissions and try to save what we can save.
— Greta Thunberg
References
- ^ a b "The Swedish 15-year-old who's cutting class to fight the climate crisis". The Guardian. 1 September 2018.
- ^ a b "The Fifteen-Year-Old Climate Activist Who Is Demanding a New Kind of Politics". The New Yorker. 2 October 2018.
- ^ "This Is Our Darkest Hour: With Declaration of Rebellion, New Group Vows Mass Civil Disobedience to Save Planet". Common Dreams. 31 October 2018.
- ^ "Klimatmanifestation över hela landet: "Ödesfråga"". Expressen. 30 November 2018.
- ^ "Australian school children defy prime minister with climate strike". CNN. 30 November 2018.
- ^ Carrington, Damian (4 December 2018). "'Our leaders are like children', school strike founder tells climate summit". The Guardian. London, United Kingdom. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2018-12-04.