The Making of a Naturalist — Greta Thunberg
A teenager did what many adults couldn’t — put climate change at the centre of all global events. And it all began from one moment in her childhood.
The article was originally published on WeNaturalists. For similar stories, head to our Explore section.
What would you skip school for? If your name is Greta Thunberg, you’d do it to demand climate action from your government.
In August 2018, Greta decided to skip school on Fridays and sit outside the Swedish parliament with a sign in her hands that read- “Skolstrejk för klimatet” which means — “School Strike for Climate.”
Greta’s protest was at the apparent lack of action by the Swedish government in meeting its carbon emission targets as agreed upon in the Paris Agreement. This protest, initiated by Greta alone, soon got a supporter on the next day, and a few more on the days after. Very soon, the protest transformed into major demonstrations under the name “Fridays For Future”, led by thousands of students demanding a better future for themselves.
As she became the face of the youth climate movement, she has been invited to speak at rallies in places like Stockholm, London and Brussels. She gave a fiery speech at the United Nations COP24 in Poland which immediately went viral.
Inspiring Youth Across the Globe
Since Greta began her journey, climate strikes have spread throughout Europe where thousands of students began skipping school on Fridays to demand climate action. In January 2019, 35,000 children, inspired by Greta, protested in Belgium.
Later in September 2019, Greta was invited to speak at the UN Climate Action Summit in New York City. Even before her speech at the summit, she made a major statement on Climate Action by traveling to New York in a zero-emissions yacht, taking more than two weeks to reach the city.
On September 20 in New York, Greta led the largest climate protest in history with over 4 million people from all parts of the world — New York, London, Berlin, Kabul, Johannesburg, Papua New Guinea, marching together to demand climate action. The next day, at the UN Climate Action Summit, she gave her now-famous How Dare You? speech where she admonished world leaders for their apathetic attitude towards the climate crisis. Her speech reverberated with people across the globe and became one of the most prominent speeches on the climate crisis in recent times.
Greta’s activism has led to a radical shift in the world’s attitude towards climate change. Through her signature style of using blunt and unflinching words, she has compelled leaders, from mayors to presidents, to step up the action on tackling the climate crisis.
After her speech at the British parliament, the UK government passed a law on eliminating its carbon footprint. Her activism has also provided strength to many other young environmentalists around the world. Vidit Baya, a 17-year-old activist from India started his climate strike after being inspired by Greta. Artemisa Xakriabá, a 19-year-old climate activist from Brazil said that she too was motivated by Greta. In China, 16-year-old Howey Ou protested in front of the city government offices for climate action. In Russia, 25-year-old Arshak Makichyan protested on the streets demanding action on climate change. A 17-year-old Xiye Bastida, originally from the indigenous Otomi community in Mexico, led a 600 people strong climate walkout from her high school in New York City. In Uganda, 22-year-old Hilda Nakabuye launched her own Fridays For Future protests after strong rains caused by global warming destroyed her family’s crops.
Today, Greta is one of the most prominent climate activists in the world and the biggest face of the global youth movement. Her outspoken nature and no-nonsense attitude, which is widely lauded, has made her the most compelling voice on the biggest threat the world is facing. Her “blah blah blah” speech where she derided various presidents and prime ministers for not being serious about meeting the Paris climate targets, spread like wildfire on the Internet.
Her Determination to Combat the Climate Crisis began at an Early Age — Through Green Childhood
Born in Sweden into an artistic family, Greta first learned about the threat climate change poses in 2011, when she was just eight years old. She got really upset when she realized that not enough was being done to address climate change. The situation deteriorated and at the age of 11, she became depressed and stopped eating and talking much.
She was eventually diagnosed with Asperger syndrome, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), and select mutism. Greta has been very vocal about her health conditions and considers them her superpowers.
Greta has made huge lifestyle changes in her bid to bring down her overall impact on the environment. She did it by going vegan, upcycling and giving up flying. Before long, she had got her entire family to reduce their carbon footprint. This marked a turning point for Greta as it made her believe that she could make a difference.
After that, there was no looking back for her. Her relentless climate activism over the years has made her what she is today. She has single-handedly put the focus on climate change front and centre at major events and forced world leaders to take more concrete action on it.
She has earned a lot of recognition too. She has received support from numerous climate activists, scientists, world leaders and also the Pope, urging her to continue her work. Famous personalities like Sir David Attenborough, Prince Harry, Hilary Clinton, etc. have also praised her work.
Greta has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize three times and in 2019 she was named Time magazine’s Person of the Year, making her the youngest individual to receive this honor.
Greta’s work is highly inspirational, and all of it was catalyzed by a small incident in her childhood. Learning about nature at an early age galvanized her to devote her life to protecting and conserving it. And this dedication spread to millions of others as well, causing a ripple effect. Her Green Childhood, while looking ordinary from the outside, has succeeded in spurring a worldwide movement against climate change.
