Greta Tintin Eleonora Ernman Thunberg[1][2][a] (born 3 January 2003) is a Swedish environmental activist on climate change whose campaigning has gained international recognition. Thunberg is known for her straightforward speaking manner,[3][4] both in public and to political leaders and assemblies, in which she urges immediate action to address what she describes as the climate crisis.
Thunberg first became known for youth activism in August 2018 when, at age 15, she began spending her school days outside the Swedish parliament to call for stronger action on climate change by holding up a sign reading Skolstrejk för klimatet (School strike for the climate). Soon, other students engaged in similar protests in their own communities. Together, they organised a school climate strike movement under the name Fridays for Future. After Thunberg had addressed the 2018 United Nations Climate Change Conference, student strikes took place every week somewhere in the world. In 2019, there were at least two coordinated multi-city protests involving over 1,000,000 students each.[5][6] At home, Thunberg convinced her parents to adopt several lifestyle choices to reduce their own carbon footprint, including giving up air travel and not eating meat.[7]
Her sudden rise to world fame has made her a leader and a target.[8] In May 2019, Thunberg was featured on the cover of Time magazine, which named her a "next generation leader" and said that many see her as a role model.[9] Thunberg and the school strike movement were also featured in a 30-minute Vice documentary titled Make the World Greta Again.[10] Some media have described her impact on the world stage as the "Greta effect".[11] Thunberg has received many honours and awards, including honorary fellowship of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society, and in 2019, Time magazine named her one of the 100 most influential people and the youngest individual Time 
erson of the Year.[12][13] In September 2019, she addressed the UN Climate Action Summit in New York. Thunberg was also nominated for the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize.[14][15]
Early life
Greta Thunberg was born on 3 January 2003 in Stockholm, Sweden,[16][17] the daughter of opera singer Malena Ernman and actor Svante Thunberg.[18] Her paternal grandfather is actor and director Olof Thunberg.[19] She is also related to Svante Arrhenius, the Nobel-winning chemist who first estimated the greenhouse effect on the earth's climate.[20]
Thunberg says she first heard about climate change in 2011, when she was eight years old, and could not understand why so little was being done about it.[22] The situation made her depressed. She stopped talking and eating and lost ten kilograms (22 lb) in two months.[23] Eventually, she was diagnosed with Asperger syndrome, obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD), and selective mutism.[22] Her Asperger diagnosis was made public nationwide in Sweden by her mother in May 2015, in order to help other families in a similar situation, as she said.[24] While acknowledging that her diagnosis "has limited me before", she does not view her Asperger's as an illness and has instead called it her "superpower".[25]
For about two years, Thunberg challenged her parents to lower the family's carbon footprint and overall impact on the environment by becoming vegan, upcycling, and giving up flying.[18][26] She has said she tried showing them graphs and data, but when that did not work, she warned her family that they were stealing her future.[27] Giving up flying in part meant her mother had to give up her international career as an opera singer.[28]
When she started protesting, her parents did not support her activism. Interviewed by the BBC in December 2019, her father said his wife stopped flying to try to 'save' their daughter rather than the climate. He added: "To be honest, (her mother) didn't do it save the climate. She did it to save her child because she saw how much it meant to her, and then, when she did that, she saw how much (Greta) grew from that, how much energy she got from it."[29] Thunberg credits her parents' eventual response and lifestyle changes with giving her hope and belief that she could make a difference.[18] The family story is recounted in the 2018 book Scenes from the Heart.[30]
Activism
School strike for the climate
In late 2018, Thunberg began the school climate strikes and public speeches for which she has become an internationally recognised climate activist. Her father does not like her missing school but said: "[We] respect that she wants to make a stand. She can either sit at home and be really unhappy, or protest, and be happy".[28] Greta struggled with depression for three or four years before she began her school strike.[31] Thunberg says that her teachers are divided in their views about her missing class to make her point. She says: "As people they think what I am doing is good, but as teachers they say I should stop."[28] In July 2019, Time magazine reported Thunberg was taking a "sabbatical year" from school, intending to travel in the Americas while meeting people from the climate movement.[32][32]
In one of her first speeches demanding climate action, Thunberg described the selective mutism aspect of her condition as meaning she "only speaks when necessary".[22] In 2019, Thunberg also contributed a voiceover for a release of "The 1975", a song by the English band by the same name. Thunberg finishes by urging: "So, everyone out there, it is now time for civil disobedience. It is time to rebel." Proceeds will go to Extinction Rebellion at Thunberg's request.[33]
Thunberg in front of the
Swedish parliament, holding a "
Skolstrejk för klimatet" (
transl. School strike for the climate) sign,
Stockholm, August 2018
Bicycle in Stockholm with references to Thunberg: "The
climate crisis must be treated as a crisis! The climate is the most important election issue!" (11 September 2018)
Sign in
Berlin, 14 December 2018
In an interview with Amy Goodman from Democracy Now!, Thunberg said she first got the idea of a climate strike after school shootings in the United States in February 2018 led to several youths refusing to go back to school.[18] These teen activists at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, went on to organise the March for Our Lives in support of greater gun control.[34][35]
In May 2018, Thunberg won a climate change essay competition held by Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet. In part, she wrote that "I want to feel safe. How can I feel safe when I know we are in the greatest crisis in human history?”[36] After the paper published her article she was contacted by Bo Thorén from Fossil Free Dalsland, a group interested in doing something about climate change. Thunberg attended a few of their meetings. At one of them, Thorén suggested that school children could strike for climate change.[37] Thunberg tried to persuade other young people to get involved but "no one was really interested", so eventually she decided to go ahead with the strike by herself.[18]
On 20 August 2018, Thunberg, who had just started ninth grade, decided not to attend school until the 2018 Swedish general election on 9 September; her protest began after the heat waves and wildfires during Sweden's hottest summer in at least 262 years.[28] Her demands were that the Swedish government reduce carbon emissions in accordance with the Paris Agreement, and she protested by sitting outside the Riksdag every day for three weeks during school hours with the sign Skolstrejk för klimatet (school strike for the climate).[38][39]
Thunberg posted her original strike photo on Instagram and Twitter, and other social media accounts quickly took up her cause.[40] A representative of the Finnish bank, Nordea, quoted one of Thunberg's tweets to more than 200,000 followers. Thunberg's social media profile attracted local reporters whose stories earned international coverage in little more than a week.[40] One Swedish climate-focused social media company was We Don't Have Time (WDHT), founded by Ingmar Rentzhog. He said that her strike began attracting public attention after he turned up with a freelance photographer and then posted Thunberg's photograph on his Facebook page and Instagram account. He also made a video in English that he posted on the company's YouTube channel that had almost 88,000 views.[41] Rentzhog subsequently asked Thunberg to become an unpaid youth advisor to WDHT. He then used her name and image without her knowledge or permission to raise millions for a WDHT for-profit subsidiary, We Don't Have Time AB, of which Rentzhog is the chief executive officer.[42] Thunberg received no money from the company.[41] Thunberg terminated her volunteer advisor role with WDHT once she realised they were making money from her name, stating "[I am] not part of any organisation... am absolutely independent… [and] do what I do completely for free."[43]
After the general elections, Thunberg continued to strike only on Fridays. She inspired school students across the globe to take part in student strikes.[44] As of December 2018, more than 20,000 students had held strikes in at least 270 cities.[44] The school strikes for climate on 20 and 27 September 2019 were attended by over four million people, according to one of the co-organisers.[45]
After October 2018, Thunberg's activism evolved from solitary protesting to taking part in demonstrations throughout Europe; making several high-profile public speeches, and mobilising her growing number of followers on social media platforms. By March 2019, she was still staging her regular protests outside the Swedish parliament every Friday, where other students now occasionally join her. According to her father, her activism has not interfered with her schoolwork, but she has had less spare time.[46]
2019 visit to North America and Madrid
In August 2019, Thunberg sailed across the Atlantic Ocean from Plymouth, England, to New York, USA, in the 60-foot (18 m) racing yacht Malizia II, equipped with solar panels and underwater turbines. The trip was announced as a carbon-neutral transatlantic crossing serving as a demonstration of Thunberg's declared beliefs of the importance of reducing emissions. France 24 reported that several crew would fly to New York to sail the yacht back to Europe.[47] The voyage lasted fifteen days, from 14 to 28 August 2019.
On 23 September, Thunberg attended the UN Climate Action Summit in New York City. [48][49] In Canada, Thunberg participated in climate protests in the cities of Montreal, Edmonton and Vancouver including leading a climate rally as part of the Global Climate Strike in Montreal.[50] Hundreds of thousands took part in the protest described as the largest in the city's history. The mayor of Montreal gave her the Freedom of the City. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was in attendance, and Thunberg spoke briefly with him.[51] While in the United States, Thunberg participated in climate protests in New York City, Iowa City, Los Angeles, Charlotte, Denver, and the Standing Rock Indian Reservation. In each city or location, Thunberg's keynote speech began by acknowledging that she was standing on native land, saying: "In acknowledging the enormous injustices inflicted upon these people, we must also mention the many enslaved and indentured servants whose labour the world still profits from today." [52][53][54] All of Thunberg's North American speeches and many others, have been compiled into an online video archive.[54]
On 23 September 2019, in New York, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) hosted a press conference where Thunberg joined fifteen other children including Ayakha Melithafa, Alexandria Villaseñor, Catarina Lorenzo, Carl Smith and others. Together, the group announced they had made an official complaint against five nations that are not on track to meet the emission reduction targets they committed to in their Paris Agreement pledges: Argentina, Brazil, France, Germany, and Turkey.[55][56] The complaint challenges these countries under the Third Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The Protocol is a quasi-judicial mechanism which allows children or their representatives, who believe their rights have been violated, to bring a complaint before the relevant 'treaty body', the Committee on the Rights of the Child.[57] If the complaint is successful, the countries will be asked to respond, but any suggestions are not legally binding. [58][59]
Thunberg had intended to remain in the Americas to travel overland to attend the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP25) in Santiago, Chile, in December, however, it was announced on short notice that COP25 was to be moved to Madrid, Spain, because of serious public unrest in Chile. [60] Thunberg refuses to fly because of the carbon emissions from air travel, so she posted on social media that she needed a ride across the Atlantic Ocean. Riley Whitelum and his wife, Elayna Caraus, two Australians who had been sailing around the world aboard their 48-foot (15 m) catamaran, La Vagabonde, offered to take her. So, on 13 November 2019, Thunberg set sail from Hampton, Virginia, for Lisbon, Portugal. Her departing message was the same as it has been since she began her activism: "My message to the Americans is the same as to everyone – that is to unite behind the science and to act on the science."[61][62][63][64]
Thunberg arrived in the Port of Lisbon on 3 December 2019,[65][66] then travelled on to Madrid to speak at COP25 and to participate with the local Fridays for Future climate strikers. There she called for more "concrete action," arguing that the global wave of school strikes over the previous year had "achieved nothing", because greenhouse gas emissions were still rising—by 4% since 2015.[67][68]
On 30th December 2019 Thunberg was guest editor of the BBC Radio's flagship current affairs programme, the Today Programme.[69] Thunberg's edition of the programme featured interviews on climate change with Sir David Attenborough, Bank of England chief Mark Carney, Massive Attack’s Robert Del Naja, and Shell Oil executive Maarten Wetselaar. The BBC subsequently released a podcast[70] containing these interviews and other highlights.
2020
On 11 January 2020 Thunberg called on German company Siemens to stop the delivery of railway equipment for the controversial Carmichael coal mine by Indian company Adani in Australia,[71] but on 13 January Siemens said that it would continue to honour its contract with Adani. [72]
On 21 January 2020, Thunberg returned to the World Economic Forum held in Davos, Switzerland, and delivered two speeches and participated in panel discussions hosted by The New York Times and the World Economic Forum. Thunberg used many of the themes contained in her previous speeches, but focused on one in particular: "Our house is still on fire." Thunberg joked that she cannot complain about not being heard, saying: "I am being heard all the time." [73][74][75]
Thunberg's message
Thunberg's rhetoric uses graphic analogies to highlight her concerns, she often speaks bluntly to business and political leaders. [76][77]
She has stated four interwoven themes:
- Humanity is facing an existential crisis because of climate change,[78]
- The current generation of adults is responsible for climate change,[79][80]
- Climate change will have a disproportionate effect on young people, and that too little is being done about the situation.[81][82]
- Politicians and decision-makers need to listen to the scientists.[83][84]
Thunberg relies on the scientific community's consensus on climate change. From this consensus she says that the Paris Agreement's Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5° C commitment is insufficient and that the greenhouse gas emissions curve needs to start declining steeply no later than 2020.[85][86] In February 2019, at a conference of the European Economic and Social Committee, she said that the EU must reduce their CO
2 emissions by 80% by 2030, double the 40% goal.[87][88]
Speeches
Thunberg has given many speeches during climate strikes, at NGO events such as a TEDx conference,[22] and before gatherings of national and world leaders. She published a collection of her climate action speeches, No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference, in May 2019[89] with the earnings being donated to charity.[90]
In one speech, at the 2019 UN Climate Action Summit on 23 September 2019, Thunberg said to world leaders: "This is all wrong. I shouldn’t be up here. I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean. Yet you all come to us young people for hope? How dare you! You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words. And yet I'm one of the lucky ones. People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction. And all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth. How dare you!"[91] "You are failing us." Thunberg said toward the end of her speech. "But the young people are starting to understand your betrayal. The eyes of all future generations are upon you. And if you choose to fail us, I say: We will never forgive you."[91]
Public response and impact
Thunberg has received both strong support and strong criticism for her work. She has inspired others to take their own actions for the environment.
International support
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.[92]
United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres endorsed the school strikes initiated by Thunberg, admitting that "My generation has failed to respond properly to the dramatic challenge of climate change. This is deeply felt by young people. No wonder they are angry."[93] Speaking at an event in New Zealand in May 2019, Guterres said his generation was "not winning the battle against climate change" and that it's up to youth to "rescue the planet".[94]
In June 2019, Thunberg spoke by video link with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez who had submitted the Green New Deal to the U.S. House of Representatives in February 2019, which calls for the United States to achieve carbon neutrality within a decade. They discussed how it feels when their views are not taken seriously because they are young, and what tactics really work.[95]
Thunberg has received recognition and many honours and awards from a variety of organisations in several countries.
"The Greta effect"
Thunberg has inspired a number of her school-aged peers in what has been described as "The Greta effect".[96] 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 recognise that we haven't done nearly enough to address climate change and the broader environmental crisis that we helped to create." Labour politician Ed Miliband, who was responsible for introducing the Climate Change Act 2008, said: "You have woken us up. We thank you. All the young people who have gone on strike have held up a mirror to our society … you have taught us all a really important lesson. You have stood out from the crowd."[11] In June 2019, a YouGov poll in Britain found that public concern about the environment had soared to record levels in the UK since Thunberg and Extinction Rebellion had "pierced the bubble of denial".[97]
In August 2019, publication and sales of children's books about the climate crisis reportedly doubled. Publishers attribute this to the "Greta effect".[98]
Inspired by Thunberg, wealthy philanthropists and investors from the United States have donated almost half a million pounds[99] to support Extinction Rebellion and school strike groups to establish the Climate Emergency Fund.[100][101][102] Trevor Neilson, one of the philanthropists, said the three founders would be contacting friends among the global mega-rich to donate "a hundred times" more in the weeks and months ahead.[99]
In February 2019, Thunberg shared a stage with the then President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, where he outlined "In the next financial period from 2021 to 2027, every fourth euro spent within the EU budget will go towards action to mitigate climate change".[103] Climate issues also played a significant role in European Parliament election in May 2019[104] as Green parties recorded their best ever result,[105] boosting their MEP seat numbers from 52 to 72.[106] Many of the gains came from northern European countries where young people have taken to the streets inspired by Thunberg.[105] In December 2019, the New Scientist described the impact made by Thunberg and Extinction Rebellion with the headline: "The year the world woke up to climate change".[107]
Flygskam
Being embarrassed or ashamed to take a plane because of its environmental impact has been described on social media as flygskam or 'shame of flying', along with the hashtag #jagstannarpåmarken, which translates as #istayontheground.[108][109] 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 athlete Björn Ferry, but has gained significant momentum after Thunberg’s refusal to fly on environmental grounds. Sweden has reported a 4% drop in domestic travel for 2019 and an increase in rail use. The BBC says that the movement could halve the growth of global air travel, but Airbus and Boeing say that it will continue to grow at around 4% until 2035.[110][111]
In June 2019, Swedish Railways (SJ) reported that the number of Swedes taking the train for domestic journeys had risen by 8% from the previous year, reflecting growing public concern (reflected in a survey published by the Swedish Railways) about the impact of flying on CO
2 emissions.[112]
Criticism and Thunberg's responses
Thunberg and her campaign have been criticised by politicians and others; the Australian prime minister Scott Morrison,[113] German chancellor Angela Merkel,[114] Russian president Vladimir Putin, U.S. president Donald Trump, French president Emmanuel Macron, Italian prime minister Giuseppe Conte,[115] OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries), and some media commentators such as Piers Morgan.[116] The criticism ranges from personal attacks to claims she oversimplifies the complex issues involved.
In July 2019, Agence France-Presse reported that OPEC's secretary-general Mohammed Barkindo "complained of what he called 'unscientific' attacks on the oil industry by climate change campaigners, calling them 'perhaps the greatest threat to our industry going forward'", in apparent reference to the recent school strikes inspired by Thunberg's 'Fridays for Future' movement.[117] Thunberg and other climate activists responded by calling his remarks a badge of honour.[118][119]
Following Thunberg's filing of a lawsuit against France, Germany and other countries which failed to meet their Paris Agreement emission reduction targets, Emmanuel Macron said: "such radical positions (as held by Thunberg) antagonise our societies... She should focus on those that are blocking, those that are the furthest... I don't feel like either the French or the German governments are trying to block".[citation needed]
In September 2019, Donald Trump shared a video of Thunberg angrily addressing world leaders, along with her quote that "people are dying, entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction". Trump wrote about Thunberg, tweeting: "She seems like a very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future. So nice to see!" Thunberg reacted by changing her Twitter bio to match his description and stating she could not "understand why grown-ups would choose to mock children and teenagers for just communicating and acting on the science when they could do something good instead."[120]
In October 2019, Vladimir Putin described Thunberg as a "kind girl and very sincere", while suggesting she was being manipulated to serve others' interests. Putin criticised her as "poorly informed": "No one has explained to Greta that the modern world is complex and different and people in Africa or in many Asian countries want to live at the same wealth level as in Sweden." Similar to her reaction to Trump, Thunberg updated her Twitter bio to reflect Putin's description of her.[121]
In December 2019, Thunberg tweeted "Indigenous people are literally being murdered for trying to protect the forrest [sic] from illegal deforestation. Over and over again. It is shameful that the world remains silent about this". When asked about this subject two days later, Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro responded: "Greta said that the Indians were dying because they were trying to protect the Amazon. It is impressive how the press gives voice to such a brat." On the same day, Thunberg changed her Twitter description to "pirralha", the Portuguese word for "brat" used by Bolsonaro.[122]
In December 2019, President Trump again mocked Thunberg after she was named Person of the Year for 2019 by Time magazine: "So ridiculous", Trump tweeted. "Greta must work on her anger management problem, then go to a good old fashioned movie with a friend! Chill Greta, Chill!" Thunberg responded by changing her Twitter biography to: "A teenager working on her anger management problem. Currently chilling and watching a good old fashioned movie with a friend."[123]
Public responses to attacks
In August 2019, Scott Walsman wrote in Scientific American that Thunberg's detractors have "launched personal attacks", "bash [her] autism", and "increasingly rely on ad hominem attacks to blunt her influence."[124]
Writing in The Guardian, Aditya Chakrabortty said that columnists including Brendan O'Neill, Toby Young, the blog Guido Fawkes, as well as Helen Dale and Rod Liddle at The Spectator and The Sunday Times had been making "ugly personal attacks" on Thunberg.[125] As part of its climate change denial, Germany's right wing Alternative for Germany party has attacked Thunberg "in fairly vicious ways", according to Jakob Guhl, a researcher for the Institute for Strategic Dialogue.[126]
Arron Banks' Twitter post saying that "freak yachting accidents do happen in August..." outraged a number of British MPs (Member of Parliament), celebrities and academics. Tanja Bueltmann, founder of EU Citizens' Champion, said Banks had "invoked the drowning of a child" for his own amusement and said that most of those attacking Thunberg "are white middle-aged men from the right of the political spectrum".[127] Writing in The Guardian, Gaby Hinsliff, said Thunberg has become "the new front in the Brexit culture war" arguing that the outrage generated by personal attacks on Thunberg by Brexiteers "gives them the welcome oxygen of publicity".[128]
In an interview with Suyin Haynes in Time magazine, Thunberg addressed the criticism she has received online saying: "It's quite hilarious when the only thing people can do is mock you, or talk about your appearance or personality, as it means they have no argument or nothing else to say."[129]
Joe Biden, a former US vice president and 2020 Democratic presidential frontrunner, responded to President Trump's tweet mocking Thunberg after she was named Person of the Year 2019 by Time magazine tweeting: "What kind of president bullies a teenager? @realDonaldTrump, you could learn a few things from Greta on what it means to be a leader."[130]
In popular culture and art
Greta Thunberg has been depicted in popular culture and art.[131] 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.[132] American painter Elizabeth Peyton chose her portrait named Greta Thunberg, 2019 as the leading image of one of her shows.[131] She has been depicted in multiple murals. In Bristol, a 15-metre-high (49 ft) mural of Thunberg by artist Jody Thomas, portrays the bottom half of her face as if under rising sea water since May 2019.[133] In San Francisco the Argentinian muralist Andrés Iglesias (known as Cobre) finished a mural portraying Thunberg in November 2019.[134][135]
Make the World Greta Again, May 2019, is a 30-minute documentary featuring interviews with a number of youth protest leaders in Europe, released by Vice.[136][137] Greta (working title) is a planned 2020 documentary for Hulu, produced by Cecilia Nessen and Frederik Heinig via B-Reel Films and directed by Nathan Grossman."[138][139]
Honours and awards
- Svenska Dagbladet (The Swedish Daily News) essay competition, May 2018, shared, a climate debate writing competition for young people.[36]
- Children's Climate Prize, November 2018, nominated by the Swedish electricity company Telge Energi. Thunberg declined to accept the award because many of the finalists would have to fly to Stockholm for the ceremony and a required meeting.[140][141]
- TIME'S 25 most influential teens of 2018, 10 December 2018, an annual list compiled by Time magazine of the most influential teenagers in the world that year.[142]
- Rachel Carson Prize, 22 March 2019, awarded to a woman who has distinguished herself in outstanding work for the environment in Norway or internationally.[147][148]
- Goldene Kamera film and television awards, 31 March 2019, special Climate Action Award. Thunberg dedicated the prize to the activists protesting against the destruction of the Hambach Forest, which is threatened by lignite mining.[149]
- Le Prix Liberté, 1 April 2019, honouring a young person engaged in a fight for peace and freedom.[150][151] Thunberg donated the €25,000 prize money to four organisations working for climate justice and helping areas already affected by climate change.[152]
- Fritt Ord Award, April 2019, shared with Natur og Ungdom, which "celebrates freedom of speech". Thunberg donated her share of the prize money to a lawsuit seeking to halt Norwegian oil exploration in the Arctic.[153]
- Right Livelihood Award, 25 September 2019, from the Right Livelihood Foundation and known as Sweden's alternative Nobel Prize, one of four 2019 winners, "for inspiring and amplifying political demands for urgent climate action reflecting scientific facts".[166]
- Nelloptodes gretae, 1 October 2019, a newly identified species of beetle is named for Greta Thunberg in an academic paper by entomologist Michael Darby, published in Entomologist's Monthly Magazine for her outstanding contribution in raising awareness of environmental issues and because the beetle's antennae bear a passing resemblance to Greta's pigtails.[167][168]
- International Children's Peace Prize, 4 October 2019, shared with 14-year-old Divina Maloum from Cameroon, awarded by the KidsRights Foundation, whose mission is to "support and empower vulnerable children around the world, by raising funds for small-scale local projects, and by raising awareness for children’s rights through the international media."[169] Thunberg accepted the award but declined to attend the ceremony as she was overseas, requiring her to fly to the Hague.[170][171]
- Maphiyata echiyatan hin win (Woman Who Came from the Heavens), Lakota tribal name conferred, 8 October 2019, at Standing Rock Indian Reservation, following a climate panel and support for the Dakota Access pipeline opposition, after being invited by Tokata Iron Eyes, a 16 year old, Lakota, climate activist.[172][173][174]
- Nordic Council Environment Prize, 29 October 2019. Thunberg declined to accept the award or the prize money of $52,000, stating, "the climate movement does not need any more awards," and that that the climate movement needed people in power to start to listen to science and not awards.[175][176][177]
- Glamour magazine Woman of the Year, 11 November 2019, Jane Fonda accepted on behalf of Thunberg in absentia following her principle not to fly.[178][179]
- Time erson of the Year, December 2019, by Time magazine, the youngest ever recipient and the first born in the 21st century.[180] [181] For succeeding in "creating a global attitudinal shift, transforming millions of vague, middle-of-the-night anxieties into a worldwide movement calling for urgent change. She has offered a moral clarion call to those who are willing to act, and hurled shame on those who are not."[182] and: "For sounding the alarm about humanity’s predatory relationship with the only home we have, for bringing to a fragmented world a voice that transcends backgrounds and borders, for showing us all what it might look like when a new generation leads.”[183] This also put her on the Time magazine cover for the second time in 2019.
- Nature's 10 nomination, 2019, 19 December 2019, an annual list of ten "people who mattered" in science, produced by the scientific journal Nature, specifically, for being a "climate catalyst: A Swedish teenager [who] brought climate science to the fore as she channeled her generation’s rage."[184]
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