Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Greta Thunberg: Who is the climate campaigner and what are her aims?

Greta Thunberg: Who is the climate campaigner and what are her aims?

Environmental activist Greta Thunberg is in Glasgow, where the COP26 summit is taking place.

The 18-year-old is one of the world's best known climate campaigners.

What has she said about COP26?


Greta Thunberg has called the climate summit a "failure" and a "PR exercise".

She told a youth protest in Glasgow that world leaders had had "26 COPs, they have had decades of blah, blah, blah - and where has that got us?".

She has also criticised goals for cutting emissions which cause global warming, saying: "We don't just need goals for just 2030 or 2050. We, above all, need them for 2020 and every following month and year to come."

However, Thunberg has avoided getting into the detail of what action should be taken, saying "it is nothing to do with me".

Who is Greta Thunberg?


Thunberg became well-known after she protested outside the Swedish parliament in 2018, when she was 15.

She held a sign saying "School Strike for Climate", to pressure the government to meet carbon emissions targets.

Her small campaign had a global effect, inspiring thousands of young people across the world to organise their own strikes.

By December 2018, more than 20,000 students - from the UK to Japan - had joined her by skipping school to protest.

A year later, she received the first of three Nobel Peace Prize nominations for climate activism.

Greta Thunberg sailed the Atlantic to attend a UN conference in New York


Meeting world leaders


In 2019, Thunberg sailed across the Atlantic on a yacht to attend a UN climate conference in New York.

Delivering what is probably her most famous speech, she angrily told world leaders they were not doing enough.

"You all come to us young people for hope. How dare you? You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words," she said.

Thunberg was named Time Magazine's Person of the Year in December 2019.

What do people say about her?


Thunberg has received support from climate activists, scientists and public figures.

Broadcaster and naturalist Sir David Attenborough told her she has achieved things many others have failed to do, adding: "You have aroused the world. I'm very grateful to you."

Prince Harry praised Thunberg's campaigning, saying "every country, every community, every school, every friendship group, every family needs their own Greta".

Alok Sharma, the president of the COP26 summit, has said that Thunberg's UN speech in 2019 had made him feel "really uncomfortable" because it held up a "mirror" to his generation.

But not all politicians have been as complimentary.

Donald Trump tweeted that she should "work on her anger management problem" while Russian President Vladimir Putin described her as a "kind but poorly informed teenager".

The COP26 global climate summit in Glasgow in November is seen as crucial if climate change is to be brought under control. Almost 200 countries are being asked for their plans to cut emissions, and it could lead to major changes to our everyday lives.

What is her background?


Thunberg has Asperger syndrome, a developmental disorder, and has described it as a gift. She said being different can be a "superpower".

Thunberg's mother, Malena Ernman, is an opera singer and former Eurovision Song Contest participant.

Her father Svante Thunberg, is an actor and a descendant of the scientist who created a model of the greenhouse effect.


Watch as Greta Thunberg says she is still hopeful the world can achieve "massive changes" to combat climate change


AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Character.ai Bets on Future of AI Companionship
China Ramps Up Tax Crackdown on Overseas Investments
Japanese Office Furniture Maker Expands into Bomb Shelter Market
Intel Shares Surge on Possible U.S. Government Investment
Hurricane Erin Threatens U.S. East Coast with Dangerous Surf
EU Blocks Trade Statement Over Digital Rule Dispute
EU Sends Record Aid as Spain Battles Wildfires
Beijing is moving into gold and other assets, diversifying away from the dollar
China Requires Data Centres to Source Majority of AI Chips Locally, For Technological Sovereignty
Escalating Clashes in Serbia as Anti-Government Protests Spread Nationwide
Category 5 Hurricane in the Caribbean: 'Catastrophic Storm' with Winds of 255 km/h
Trump Backs Putin’s Land-for-Peace Proposal Amid Kyiv’s Rejection
Digital Humans Move Beyond Sci-Fi: From Virtual DJs to AI Customer Agents
YouTube will start using AI to guess your age. If it’s wrong, you’ll have to prove it
Jellyfish Swarm Triggers Shutdown at Gravelines Nuclear Power Station in Northern France
OpenAI’s ‘PhD-Level’ ChatGPT 5 Stumbles, Struggles to Even Label a Map
Zelenskyy to Visit Washington after Trump–Putin Summit Yields No Agreement
High-Stakes Trump-Putin Summit on Ukraine Underway in Alaska
The World Economic Forum has cleared Klaus Schwab of “material wrongdoing” after a law firm conducted a review into potential misconduct of the institution’s founder
A Computer That Listens, Sees, and Acts: What to Expect from Windows 12
Bitcoin hits $123,000
Southwest Airlines Apologizes After 'Accidentally Forgetting' Two Blind Passengers at New Orleans Airport and Faces Criticism Over Poor Service for Passengers with Disabilities
United States Sells Luxury Yacht Amadea, Valued at Approximately $325 Million, in First Sale of a Seized Russian Yacht Since the Invasion of Ukraine
Russian Forces Advance on Donetsk Front, Cutting Key Supply Routes Near Pokrovsk
It’s Not the Algorithm: New Study Claims Social Networks Are Fundamentally Broken
Sixty-Year-Old Claims: “My Biological Age Is Twenty-One.” Want the Same? Remember the Name Spermidine
Saudi Arabia accelerates renewables to curb domestic oil use
The Billion-Dollar Inheritance and the Death on the Railway Tracks: The Scandal Shaking Europe
World’s Cleanest Countries 2025 Ranked by Air, Water, Waste, and Hygiene Standards
Denmark Revives EU ‘Chat Control’ Proposal for Encrypted Message Scanning
Perplexity makes unsolicited $34.5 billion all-cash offer for Google’s Chrome browser
Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodríguez announce engagement
Taylor Swift announces 12th studio album on Travis Kelce’s podcast after high-profile year together
Asia-Pacific dominates world’s busiest flight routes, with South Korea’s Jeju–Seoul corridor leading global rankings
Sam Altman challenges Elon Musk with plans for Neuralink rival
Trump and Putin Meeting: Focus on Listening and Communication
Instagram Released a New Feature – and Sent Users Into a Panic
China Accuses: Nvidia Chips Are U.S. Espionage Tools
Mercedes’ CEO Is Killing Germany’s Auto Legacy
US Postal Service Targets Unregulated Vape Distributors in Crackdown
RFK Jr. Announces HHS Investigation into Big Pharma Incentives to Doctors
Australia to Recognize the State of Palestine at UN Assembly
The Collapse of the Programmer Dream: AI Experts Now the Real High-Earners
Security flaws in a carmaker’s web portal let one hacker remotely unlock cars from anywhere
Denmark Pushes for Child Sexual Abuse Scanning Bill in EU, Could Be Adopted by October 2025
Street justice isn’t pretty but how else do you deal with this kind of insanity? Sometimes someone needs to standup and say something
Armenia and Azerbaijan sign U.S.-brokered accord at White House outlining transit link via southern Armenia
Barcelona Resolves Captaincy Issue with Marc-André ter Stegen
US Justice Department Seeks Release of Epstein and Maxwell Grand Jury Exhibits Amid Legal and Victim Challenges
Spain Scraps F-35 Jet Deal as Trump Pushes for More NATO Spending
×