Greta Thunberg

Teenage climate activist sparking global youth movements for environmental justice

Greta Thunberg (born 2003) is a Swedish environmental activist known for challenging world leaders to take immediate action on climate change. She began skipping school to protest outside the Swedish parliament in August 2018, sparking the global Fridays for Future movement that inspired millions of students worldwide to strike for climate action. Her speech at the 2019 UN Climate Action Summit, where she declared 'How dare you?' to world leaders, became iconic. Thunberg has sailed across the Atlantic in a zero-emission yacht to attend climate conferences, refusing air travel. She was named Time magazine's Person of the Year in 2019 and received the Right Livelihood Award. Her advocacy led to the historic 2019 UN Climate Summit and influenced over 60 countries to declare climate emergencies. Thunberg's autism diagnosis and neurodivergent perspective inform her direct communication style. She co-authored No One Is Too Small To Make A Difference and works with scientists through the IPCC. Her activism connects climate justice with social equity issues like indigenous rights and economic inequality.