Greta Thunberg: Generating Hope and Hate

"This is all wrong. I shouldn't be up here. I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean, yet you all come to us young people for hope. How dare you?"

Her voice wavered with outrage, Greta Thunberg delivered a stinging speech to world leaders at the UN Climate Change Summit this September, one of her many calls to action in the fight to end climate change. Following decades of non-intervention, Thunberg has taken it upon herself to address what is arguably the largest crisis humanity has ever encountered. 

Who is Greta Thunberg? 

Having fostered a concern for the planet since she learned about global warming at age eight, Thunberg's journey to the world stage began in August of 2018 in front of Sweden's Parliament. Armed with a black and white sign reading, in Swedish, "school strike for the climate," she skipped her lessons in the hopes of teaching government officials one. She continued to do so until the Swedish general elections in September, and every Friday of each week thereafter, creating #FridaysForFuture in the process. 

I find this picture so incredibly moving. This is @GretaThunberg aged 15, sat alone outside the Swedish Parliament Aug 2018 - the first school strike. In just one year, she’s created a wave that will change the whole world. Never underestimate the power of one young person 💜💚 pic.twitter.com/84oYgJpnLj

— Louise Macdonald (@Louisemac) September 20, 2019

Eventually, Thunberg's relentless determination began to gain media attention, and subsequently more participants in her strike. By December, more than 20,000 students had struck in over 270 cities around the world, and pre-organized school strikes for climate on September 20 and 27 were partaken in by approximately four million. 

In one of her first major speeches, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Thunberg told world leaders, "I don't want you to be hopeful. I want you to panic. I want you to feel the fear I feel every day. And then I want you to act. I want you to act as you would in a crisis. I want you to act as if the house was on fire—because it is."

Such frank criticisms of global efforts have characterized Thunberg's messages to the people in power. Not only does she continue to assert the severity of the climate crisis, she also holds the generation of adults accountable for their actions, which will have a disproportionately negative effect on the younger generation having to live with the consequences. 

The young activist has come a long way since her solo strike in August 2018, now traveling around the world — primarily by boat and train, to reduce plane emissions — to participate in prestigious conferences and forums, including those of the Extinction Rebellion, the United Nations, European Parliament, and American Congress, to name a few. 

Greta as a symbol of hope and lightning rod for criticism

For many, Thunberg has become a source of hope for the future. She has proven herself unafraid to confront the reality of humanity's most frightening and pressing problem, which is more than can be said for a large majority of world leaders. In doing so, she has already inspired real, concrete change.

Following her meeting with UK Parliament in April, for instance, former leader of the Green party Caroline Lucas announced a decision to "start regular cross-party meetings on climate policy, to open consultations with youth climate activists and to have an independent body assess whether party manifestos were in line with the Paris agreement." Thunberg herself has also submitted an official complaint to the United Nations with 15 other children, concerning Argentina, Brazil, France, Turkey, and Germany's history of "recklessly causing and perpetuating life-threatening climate change."

What's more, on a social level, Thunberg has managed to mobilize a generation of young people to care for and protect the world they live in. 

“Children who historically don’t have a voice in politics are really thrusting their opinions into the public domain,” recognized UK Youth Climate Coalition’s Jake Woodier.

greta 1 : campact.jpg

This being said, Thunberg has had her fair share of backlash, especially from the political right. 

Not only have people taken issue with her message — environmental reform is not in the best interest of the oil and coal industries, for example — but they also feel threatened by the messenger herself. Thunberg is a young female dealing with a disorder, and her presence on the world stage represents a break from tradition. Her unforgiving words strike at the heart of "masculine identity predicated on modern industrial capitalism," as argued by author Camilla Nelson, and are therefore threatening to male leaders dominating the West's political scene. 

Daily Mail's Michael Knowles went so far as to call Thunberg a “mentally ill Swedish child who is being exploited by her parents and by the international left,” on Fox News in September. Although Fox took the rare step of apologizing for Knowles's words, similarly harsh criticisms have been thrown at Thunberg time and time again in an attempt to discourage her efforts. 

Even world leaders such as US President Donald Trump and Australian prime minister Scott Morrison have undermined Thunberg's influence by emphasizing her age and irrational "anxiety" over the environment. 

I honestly don’t understand why adults would choose to spend their time mocking and threatening teenagers and children for promoting science, when they could do something good instead. I guess they must simply feel so threatened by us. ->

— Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) September 25, 2019

No matter how much hate comes her way though, Thunberg appears largely uninfluenced. Her avoidance of advocating for specific policies means attempts to smear her, must be largely based upon her character, something that usually backfires on the critics. In addition, Thunberg disregards social conventions and is not intimidated by social hierarchy, which enables her to not hold back when addressing politicians. 

Above all else though, Thunberg's determination and concern for the planet are what have carried her forward and brought the issue of climate change to the forefront of everyone's attention. The world needs more Greta Thunbergs' if it is going to survive. 

“We can't save the world by playing by the rules, because the rules have to be changed," Thunberg aptly summarized in her 2018 TED Talk. "Everything needs to change - and it has to start today.”