Greta Thunberg

Who is she?
Greta Thunberg is a 16 year old Swedish schoolgirl, born on 3rd January 2003. She is now a famous climate change activist who is inciting profound thought and is inspiring millions.

How did she start?
Thunberg didn’t start off big. In 2018, she would skip school every Friday to stand in front of the Swedish Parliament by herself, holding up a sign that said “Skolstrejk för klimatet” (school strike for climate). Eventually, people started to notice her efforts, and joined her. Many movements like hers have been started, such as Friday’s for Future, which is when millions of students across the world skip school every Friday to protest.

Why is she doing this?
Thunberg really wants society to take notice of what's happening to the environment. She believes that our generation is the key to a good future, and has done her best to make us think so too. Something she has said that characterises her approach could be, “I ask you to please wake up and make the changes required possible. To do your best is no longer good enough. We must all do the seemingly impossible.” This is true, and we must listen and act if we are to arrest the earth's seemingly inevitable descent into climate chaos.

How does she do this?
Thunberg raises awareness by participating in protests, speaking at conferences, and travelling all across the world to spread her message. Recently, she spoke at the UN Climate Action Summit, which was held on 23 September 2019. Not only does Thunberg raise awareness by doing all this, she also does her best to reduce her own carbon footprint. She made up her mind to give up flying as it’s not good for the environment. However, this in turn, meant that her mother had to give up her career as an international opera singer. She also decided to become vegan, and recycle everything that she can. 

Do people support her?
Thunberg has millions of supporters who all see her as a heroic figure. For this reason, climate strikes have become bigger than ever and many people are doing their best to help the Earth. However, Thunberg also has some haters. They believe that she is too young to be speaking out against world leaders. Also, they believe that she is inspiring not hope but fear in young minds. Of course, there are always haters as well as supporters but that hasn’t stopped Thunberg. She is still going as strong as ever.

What’s next?
Greta is planning to keep up her efforts if not intensify them; however, The Last Word believes that we should all have a part to play in helping as well. You don’t have to do something big. Even just remembering to always turn off the light after you exit the room, or using a reusable bottle instead of a plastic one is sufficient. Of course, you can always do something more significant like participating in beach clean ups or joining a protest, but no matter how big or small, let's all make a committment to do something to save the earth, our only home - before it is too late. #listentogreta.