Greta Thunberg named Time's Person of the Year

A look at the activism of Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old activist from Sweden who has urged immediate action to address a global climate crisis and was named Time Magazine's Person of the Year for 2019. Greta Tintin Eleonora Ernman Thunberg (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, 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 her activism in August 2018 when, at age 15, she began spending her school days outside the Swedish parliament to call for stronger action on global warming by holding up a sign saying (in Swedish) "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 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 one million students each. 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.

Her sudden rise to world fame has made her a leader and a target. In May 2019, Thunberg was featured on the cover of Time magazine, which named her a "next generation leader" and noted that many see her as a role model. Thunberg and the school strike movement were also featured in a 30-minute Vice documentary titled Make the World Greta Again. Some media have described her impact on the world stage as the "Greta Thunberg effect". Thunberg has been the recipient of numerous honours and awards, including 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 Person of the Year. In September 2019, she addressed the UN Climate Action Summit in New York. Thunberg was also nominated for the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize.