Greta Thunberg, then 15, rose to prominence in 2018 after staging a protest by skipping school every Friday to stand outside the Swedish parliament to call for more decisive action on climate change.
She was named one of Time’s 100 most influential people (2019), included in Forbes’ list of The World’s 100 Most Power Women (2019), and nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019, 2020, and 2021 for her activism.
Now, at 19, she notes change “will only happen if there’s enough public pressure – and that’s what we create.”
However, she never expected to become the new face to lead the next generation of climate activists.
Thunberg commented, “It’s too much responsibility… Sometimes I can snap. I say, ‘If you think that all the hope in the world rests on burned-out teenagers’ shoulders, I mean, that’s not very good.'”
Cop27, the 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, takes place next month in Egypt. Ms. Thunberg will not be attending.
“There will be other people who will attend, from the most affected areas. And I think that their voice there is more important… I’m not needed there.”
Regarding a possible entry into politics to swiftly enact positive climate change, Thunberg has stated that the field is too “toxic.”
Thankfully, she can still laugh about being targeted by some of the world’s current and previous leaders. “I mean, the most powerful people in the world feel intimidated by teenagers. That is funny. It says more about them than it does about me.”
