Greta Thunberg has caused a global thunderstorm by inspiring millions of people to join climate protests around the world. She has become a leading voice and advocate for the climate issue and would like the dials on earth’s temperature to be turned down. The 18 year old was born on January 3rd 2003 and raised in Stockholm, Sweden. Greta is the 1st born daughter of Malena Ernman, an opera singer, and Svante Thunberg, an actor. Her father is a descendant of a scientist, named Svante Arrhenius, who came up with a greenhouse affect model. In 1903, he was awarded a Nobel prize for chemistry. Despite her ancestry, Greta’s parents were not climate activists when she learned about it at eight years old. Greta Thunberg has Asperger’s Syndrome, but she does not let it hold her back and embraces the “superpower”. Her syndrome caused her to be shy and antisocial when she was younger but meeting others in worldwide climate protests has helped her to come out of her shell.

Greta’s first contribution to climate change was an essay that she wrote in May 2018 when she was 15 years old. This won the climate change essay competition in a local newspaper. She started protesting outside the Swedish parliament building three months later in August. Greta said that she would continue until the carbon emissions target agreed in 2015 by world leaders in Paris was met. During her protests she held a sign reading “School Strike for Climate”.

She continued to strike on Fridays and regularly missed her lessons. Greta asked others why she should have to care about her future if they didn’t care about how she would have to live her future. At first Greta said “ I felt like I was the only one who cared about the climate and ecological crisis” but eventually social media caused her protests to go viral and other protests started around the world with the hashtag #FridaysforFuture.

By December 2018 she had joined strikes around Europe and in September 2019 she travelled to New York for a UN climate conference. She travelled around Europe by train and to New York on a racing yacht. This took longer but significantly limited her carbon footprint. At the conference in New York she claimed, “You, have stolen my dreams and my childhood”.

What does she want to achieve?

Greta would like governments around the world and world leaders to work harder and faster to cut carbon emissions and stop failing young people. She focused on the Swedish government originally, but when more awareness was spread on her campaigns, she called for global governments to cut carbon emissions by stopping investment in fossil fuels, such as coal and oil, and instead investing in sustainable technologies and the restoration of nature. Other influential people such as Sir David Attenborough have supported her. He says he is “very grateful to her”. Greta was named Time person of the year 2019. To follow her work you can follow her Twitter and Instagram @gretathunberg and watch her documentary on BBC iPlayer called “I am Greta”.