Greta Thunberg has organized her latest school climate strike today as she graduates at the age of 20, five years after the Swedish activist and her classmates first walked out to call attention to climate change.
After the strike began in 2018 to raise awareness about rising sea levels and temperatures, the young activist’s impact began to be felt around the world in what became known as the “Greta Effect.”
Since then, millions of young people have taken to the streets to protest for the future of the planet, and Greta spoke at the UN and raised her cause before governments around the world.
Just out of her teens, she is now one of the most recognizable figures in the world and arguably the face of the fight against climate change.
Here MailOnline charts Greta’s rise from quiet schoolgirl to one of the most outspoken and impactful activists of her generation.
Great Thunberg held her last school climate strike today as she graduates at the age of 20.
Greta and other climate activists protest outside the Swedish Parliament in Stockholm.
started at home
Greta first learned about climate change in 2011 at the age of eight and soon became depressed at the prospect of the planet dying.
She was later diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome, OCD, and selective mutism, which she later noted, in reference to her battle against climate change, means she “only speaks when necessary.”
In her first climate win, Greta convinced her parents that they needed to change their lifestyle.
Initially unsure about her activism and concerned about her missing school, they soon reached out to her Fridays for Future initiative.
friday for future
Greta began skipping school to go on strike in 2018. Her protests became part of the Fridays for Future movement.
Greta organized her first school strike on August 20, 2018.
The student, who had just started ninth grade, decided not to attend school until the 2018 Swedish general election on September 9.
Their decision to go on strike was prompted by Sweden’s hottest summer in more than 260 years and the country’s devastating forest fires.
He organized his protest in front of the Riksdag and demanded that the Swedish government cut carbon emissions in accordance with the Paris Climate Agreement.
She protested every day for three weeks during school hours under the Skolstrejk för klimatet (School Strike for Climate) banner, which she has used to this day.
The movement has seen massive youth mobilization against climate change, with children as young as five putting pressure on governments around the world.
Greta leading a Fridays For Future rally demanding action against climate change in Turin in 2019
UN Climate Conference 2018
Greta’s impassioned speech criticizing adults for not doing enough to save the planet for their children went viral in 2018, sparking widespread activism against climate change.
The precocious 15-year-old shocked the world with her speech, telling the leaders present that they were ‘not mature enough to tell it like it is’.
‘What I hope we achieve at this conference is that we realize that we are facing an existential threat.
‘This is the biggest crisis humanity has ever faced. We have to realize this first and then, as quickly as possible, do something to stop emissions and try to save what we can save.”
UK Parliament speech
Greta addressed politicians, media and guests at the Houses of Parliament on April 23, 2019.
Greta gave a talk to a multi-party group of MPs in 2019, with then-Prime Minister Theresa May notably absent.
“We just want people to listen to the science,” the 16-year-old told those gathered for the roundtable on climate change.
“The UK’s current active support for new fossil fuel developments, such as the UK shale gas fracking industry, North Sea oil expansion, airport expansion and planning permission for a new coal mine is beyond absurd.
‘You heard me? Is my english ok? Because I’m starting to wonder,” Thunberg said.
His visit coincided with the Extinction Rebellion mass action in London, which saw days of disruption to roads and transport.
Donald Trump’s ‘death stare’
Greta Thunberg’s ‘death stare’ at Donald Trump (above) as he upstaged her at the UN Climate Summit on Monday has already become a viral meme on social media.
Greta became an internet sensation again when she attended the United Nations Climate Summit in New York at age 16.
She told delegates ‘my dreams and my childhood have been stolen from me’ and that world leaders were ‘failing’ humanity.
Among those who did not attend was the then President of the United States, Donald Trump.
When the pair briefly passed each other at the UN headquarters, she was seen giving him a steely look, labeled a “death stare” by many online.
The angry expression on his face quickly became an internet sensation and a social media storm ensued between the two.
Following her emotional speech at the UN, the US president wrote in a mocking tweet that Greta “seems like a very happy girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future.”
But appearing today on a Swedish talk show from New York, the teen climate activist said Trump’s taunts “don’t make a difference.”
In December 2019, President Trump mocked her again after Time named her 2019 Person of the Year.
He tweeted: ‘So ridiculous. Greta needs to work on her anger management issue and then go see a good old fashioned movie with a friend! Relax, Greta, relax!
Greta responded by changing her Twitter bio to: ‘A teenager working on her anger management problem. Currently chilling out and watching a good old fashioned movie with a friend.
He later repeated the back and forth during the 2020 presidential election, commenting on Trump’s tweet: “Stop the count!” with the text: ‘So ridiculous. Donald needs to work on his anger management problem and then go see a good old fashioned movie with a friend! Relax, Donald, relax!
sailing to the UN
Greta arrives in the US after a 15-day voyage across the Atlantic on the Malizia II, a zero-carbon yacht
The green warrior used her 2019 UN speech to blast Trump over his climate record, but it was his ride to the New York conference that got many talking.
The 16-year-old sailed to Manhattan on a zero-carbon yacht. to avoid the use of gas emissions from an airplane.
She was greeted by hundreds of activists when she got off the yacht near the World Trade Center.
He has spearheaded an anti-flight movement during his campaign years, promoting boat and train travel over high-carbon flights.
taken away by the police
Police officers lead Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg away from the edge of the Garzweiler II open-cast lignite mine in January.
The Swedish climate activist was kidnapped by police during a protest at a mine in Lutzerath in January.
Greta was again taken away by police officers during a protest in Oslo against a wind farm built on indigenous land in Norway.
The Swedish climate activist joined indigenous Sami protesters in blocking access to the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to protest wind turbines that remained on reindeer herding lands, despite a court ruling.
Whats Next?
Greta Thunberg stands with a sign reading School Strike for Climate on what was ‘technically’ the last day of her school strike for the action, before her graduation.
While her school strike days may be over, Greta vowed to continue her weekly strikes.
“Those of us who can speak have a duty to do so. To change everything, we need everyone,’ she wrote on Twitter.
I will continue to protest on Fridays, even though it’s not technically a “school strike.”
We simply have no choice but to go all out. The fight has only begun.
I am Rakesh Sharma, I associated with Elite News as an Editor, since 2021. I take care of all the news operations like content, budget, hiring and policy making.