This International Women's Day I've decided to celebrate Greta Thunberg, the 16 year old Swedish climate activist we should all aspire to be like.
Who is Greta Thunberg?
If you've not heard of Greta before, she stared striking from school every Friday to protest outside the Swedish Government last summer. Her initiative has since gained such momentum, students from across 50 nations are planning to join the next Youth for Climate Strike on March 15th.
After Sweden's hottest summer in nearly 300 years, Greta decided to demonstrate because “[she] want[ed] the politicians to focus on the climate and treat it like a crisis.” She protested by sitting quietly on the cobblestone steps outside Stockholm's Parliament everyday for a fortnight, handing out leaflets to politicians that read “I am doing this because you adults are shitting on my future.” (What a legend.)
Greta's protest inspired students around the world to strike from school to call on their Governments for climate action. The first Youth Strike took place on the 15th February and tens of thousands of school and university students in Australia, Belgium, Germany, USA, Japan, the UK and more than a dozen other countries demonstrated. In the UK alone, more than 60 towns and cities took part with over 15,000 protestors.
Greta made a strikingly eloquent speech to UN leaders last year where she explained how "You are not mature enough to tell it like it is, even that burden you leave to us children. But I don't care about being popular, I care about climate justice and the living planet." "Until you start focussing on what needs to be done, rather than what is politically possible, there is no hope. We cannot solve a crisis without treating it as a crisis."
Check out her incredibly powerful speech, in full, to UN leaders below.
How can I be more like Greta?
Students, join the Climate Strike at Fridays For Future the next one is scheduled for the 15th March.
Adults, if you have children, tell them about the Climate Strike! Start putting pressure on your local government to tackle climate change, this could include writing to your local MP, going to council meetings and spreading awareness.
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