Topic: Greta Thunberg

Thunberg, Greta (b. 2003, Swedish climate activist)

Greta Thunberg became known to the world in August 2018 when she started the “school strike for climate” [skolstrejk för klimatet]. At first, her strike was directed towards the Swedish government and the upcoming election, but it soon became a form of activism among young people all around the world, most clearly expressed through the youth-led movement #FridaysForFuture. Thunberg has become an icon for young people’s environmental awareness and activism and has encouraged, supported, and participated in collective initiatives, demonstrations, and protests.

After her school strike, Thunberg was invited to give speeches at several climate action summits organized by the UN. Her speeches were short, to the point, and emotionally charged. She addressed politicians and responsible adults and claimed that their inaction had stolen her childhood and was ruining young people’s future. She rhetorically asked “how dare you,” and pointed out that economic growth keeps overshadowing sustainable solutions. The speeches, most of them published in No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference (2019), became both acclaimed and disputed. In particular, Donald Trump’s mocking reaction to Thunberg’s speech is an example of both ageism and gender discrimination.

However, many adults want to collaborate with Thunberg. The volume The Climate Book: The Facts and the Solutions (2022), edited by Thunberg, is a striking example of her collaboration with adults in which experts and activists across fields and geographies present their knowledge about, and how to fight against, the current climate crisis.

Two types of action that Thunberg takes which may motivate other people is her use of non-fossil fuel transport when joining big events like summits and demonstration, and her selfless support of other young people’s climate activism, like various Sami people’s fight against governmental-capitalist exploitation or destruction of natural resources. The independent Greta Thunberg Foundation also “works to support sustainability from a holistic perspective, promoting ecological, climatic and social sustainability.”

©2023 ClimateLit (Nina Goga)

Related terms: Environmental JusticeYouth Climate ActivismSchool Strike for Climate

Interviews and articles

Books by Greta Thunberg

  •  No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference. Penguin Books, 2019.
  • Our House Is on Fire: Scenes of a Family and a Planet in Crisis. Penguin Books, 2020.
  • The Climate Book: The Facts and the Solutions. Penguin Press, 2022.

Children’s books featuring Greta Thunberg

  • Camerini, V. & Carratello, V. Greta’s Story: The Schoolgirl Who Went On Strike To Save The Planet. Aladdin, 2019.
  • Doeden, M. Greta Thunberg: Climate Crisis Activist. Lerner Publications, 2020.
  • Leonard, J. & Gutierrez, M. Who Is Greta Thunberg? Who HQ Now. Penguin, 2020.
  • Sánchez Vegara, M. I. & Weckmann, A. Greta Thunberg. Frances Lincoln Children’s Books, 2020.
  • Tucker, Z. Greta and the Giants: Inspired by Greta Thunberg’s Stand the Save the World. Frances Lincoln Children’s Books, 2019.

Scholarly discussions of Greta Thunberg-books

 

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by Emma Reynolds

“We can’t eat money or drink oil. One day I will be an ancestor and I want my descendants to know I used my voice so they can have a future.”

Greta and the Giants: Inspired by Greta Thunberg’s Stand the Save the World, Climate Lit

by Zoë Tucker

“And no one told them to stop because everyone was scared of them”

by Greta Thunberg

“We will never stop fighting for the living planet and for our future.”

by Greta Thunberg

“This is the biggest story in the world”