Greta Tintin Eleonora Ernman Thunberg is a Swedish environmental activist known for challenging world leaders to take immediate action to mitigate the effects of human-caused climate change.
Thunberg's climate activism began when she persuaded her parents to adopt lifestyle choices that reduced her family's carbon footprint. In August 2018, aged 15, Thunberg began skipping school, vowing to remain out of school until after a Swedish election to attempt to influence the outcome. She protested outside the Swedish parliament where she called for stronger action on climate change by holding up a Skolstrejk för Klimatet (School Strike for Climate) sign and handing out informational flyers. After the election, Thunberg spoke in front of supporters, telling them to use phones to film her. She then said she would continue school striking for the climate every Friday until Sweden was in compliance with the Paris climate agreement. Thunberg's youth and blunt speaking manner fueled her rise to the status of a global icon.
After Thunberg's first school strike for the climate, other students engaged in similar protests. They united and organized the school strike for climate movement. After Thunberg addressed the 2018 United Nations Climate Change Conference, weekly climate strike protests took place on Fridays around the world. In 2019, coordinated multi-city protests involved over a million students each. To avoid carbon-intensive flying, Thunberg sailed on a carbon-free yacht from England to New York where she addressed the 2019 UN Climate Action Summit. In her speech, Thunberg scolded the world's leaders by exclaiming "How dare you" in reference to their perceived indifference and inaction to the climate crisis. Her admonishment made worldwide headlines. After Thunberg graduated from high school in 2023, her activism continued to gain international attention and her protest tactics have become increasingly assertive. As an adult, her protests have included both peaceful demonstrations and acts of civil disobedience such as defying lawful orders to disperse, which have led to arrests, convictions, and an acquittal. Thunberg's activism has evolved to include other causes, taking a pro-Palestinian stance in response to the Israel–Hamas war.
Thunberg's rise to world fame made her an ad hoc leader in the climate activist community. She faced heavy criticism, much of it mocking her as a naïve teenager. Thunberg's influence on the world stage has been described by The Guardian and other media as the "Greta effect". She has received honours and awards, including in Time's 100 most influential people, named the youngest Time Person of the Year in 2019, inclusion in the Forbes list of The World's 100 Most Powerful Women (2019), and nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize.
