Thunberg has received honours and awards over the course of her activism. In May 2018, before the start of her school strike, she was one of the winners of a climate change essay competition by Svenska Dagbladet (The Swedish Daily News) for young people.[47] Thunberg has refused to attend ceremonies or accept prizes if it requires her to fly, such as for the International Children's Peace Prize.[265] She has received prizes from various NGOs but also from scientific institutions that lauded her success in raising awareness.[266][267]
- Time's 25 most influential teens of 2018, December 2018, an annual list compiled by Time magazine of the most influential teenagers in the world that year.[268]
- Fryshuset scholarship, 2018, for Young Role Model of the Year.[269]
- Nobel Peace Prize nomination, 2019, by three deputies of the Norwegian parliament.[270][271] Again in 2020 by two Swedish lawmakers.[272] Nominated in 2021, 2022 and 2023.[15][16][272]
- Swedish Woman of the Year (Årets Svenska Kvinna), March 2019, awarded by the Swedish Women's Educational Association to "a Swedish woman who, through her accomplishments, has represented and brought attention to the Sweden of today in the greater world."[273]
- Rachel Carson Prize, March 2019, awarded to a woman who has distinguished herself in outstanding work for the environment in Norway or internationally.[274][275]
- Goldene Kamera film and television awards, March 2019, special Climate Action Award. Thunberg dedicated the prize to the activists protesting against the destruction of the Hambach Forest, which is threatened by lignite mining.[276]
- Fritt Ord Award, April 2019, shared with Natur og Ungdom, which "celebrates freedom of speech". Thunberg donated her share of the prize money to a lawsuit seeking to halt Norwegian oil exploration in the Arctic.[277]
- Time 100, April 2019, by Time magazine, an annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world for that year.[278]
- Laudato si' Prize, April 2019, awarded by the Milarepa Foundation of Chile and selected by the International Laudato Si' Group members under the second encyclical of Pope Francis, "on care for our common home".[279]
- Honorary degree of Doctor honoris causa (dr.h.c.), May 2019, conferred by the Belgian University of Mons (Mons, Belgium) for "contribution ... to raising awareness on sustainable development".[267][280]
- Ambassador of Conscience Award, June 2019, Amnesty International's most prestigious award, for her leadership in the climate movement, shared with Fridays for Future.[281][282]
- The Geddes Environment Medal, July 2019, by the Royal Scottish Geographical Society, for "an outstanding practical, research or communications contribution to conservation and protection of the natural environment and the development of sustainability."[283]
- Honorary Fellowship of the Royal Scottish Geographical Society, July 2019, automatically conferred with the Geddes award.[284]
- Right Livelihood Award, September 2019, from the Right Livelihood Foundation and known as Sweden's alternative Nobel Prize, one of four 2019 winners, "for inspiring and amplifying political demands for urgent climate action reflecting scientific facts."[285]
- Keys to the City of Montréal, September 2019, by Mayor of Montréal Valérie Plante.[286]
- International Children's Peace Prize, October 2019, shared with 14-year-old Divina Maloum from Cameroon, awarded by the KidsRights Foundation.[287]
- Maphiyata echiyatan hin win (Woman Who Came from the Heavens), Lakota tribal name conferred, October 2019, at Standing Rock Indian Reservation, following support for the Dakota Access pipeline opposition, after being invited by Tokata Iron Eyes, a 16-year-old Lakota climate activist.[288][289]
- Nordic Council Environment Prize, October 2019. Thunberg declined to accept the award or the prize money of DKK 350,000 (€47,000 as of October 2019) stating that Nordic countries were not doing enough to cut emissions.[290][291]
- Time Person of the Year, December 2019, by Time magazine, the first recipient born in the 21st century and the youngest ever.[292][293] For succeeding in "creating a global attitudinal shift, transforming millions of vague, middle-of-the-night anxieties into a worldwide movement calling for urgent change."[294] And: "For sounding the alarm about humanity's predatory relationship with the only home we have, for bringing to a fragmented world a voice that transcends backgrounds and borders, for showing us all what it might look like when a new generation leads."[295]
- Glamour Woman of the Year Award 2019, 12 November 2019, by Glamour magazine.[296] Accepted by Jane Fonda, quoting Greta as saying "If a Swedish, teenage, science nerd who has shopstop, refuses to fly and has never worn makeup or been to a hairdresser can be chosen a Woman of the Year by one of the biggest fashion magazines in the world then I think almost nothing is impossible."[297][298]
- She was recognized as one of the BBC's 100 women of 2019.[299]
- Nature's 10, 2019, December 2019, an annual list of ten "people who mattered" in science, produced by the scientific journal Nature, specifically, for being a "climate catalyst: A Swedish teenager [who] brought climate science to the fore as she channeled her generation's rage."[266]
- Forbes list of The World's 100 Most Powerful Women, 2019
- Forbes 30 under 30 Europe 2020 – Social Entrepreneurs[300]
- Human Act Award, on Earth Day, 22 April 2020, by the Human Act Foundation, for "her fearless and determined efforts to mobilize millions of people around the world to fight climate change." The USD100,000 prize money was donated to UNICEF and doubled by the Foundation.[301]
- Best in Activism (from Tech & Innovation category) at the 12th Shorty Awards, on 3 May 2020.[302]
- Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity, in July 2020, the first recipient of this prize. Through her foundation, Thunberg donated the €1 million prize money "to charitable projects combatting the climate and ecological crisis and to support people facing the worst impacts, particularly in the Global South."[303]
- Women in Youth Activism Award at the 2021 Women of Europe Awards on 2 December 2021, for "courageous leadership in support for climate justice, social change and youth community organising".[304]
- Honorary Doctor of Laws (LLD), 31 May 2021, conferred by the University of British Columbia, Okanagan Campus, for "her international recognitions for challenging world leaders to take immediate action against climate change."[305][306][307]
- Honorary Doctor of Theology conferred by Helsinki University. The doctorate was scheduled to be granted in June 2023.[308]
Species named in Thunberg's honour
The following species have been described and named after Greta Thunberg:
- Nelloptodes gretae, by Michael Darby, Natural History Museum, UK, December 2019, a new species of beetle from Kenya in the family Ptiliidae.[309] Its long antennae bear a passing resemblance to her braided pigtails.[310][311][312]
- Craspedotropis gretathunbergae, by Schilthuizen et al., 2020, a new species of land snail from Borneo in the family Cyclophoridae.[313]
- Thunberga greta, in a new genus Thunberga gen nov, both by Peter Jäger, June 2020, a new species of huntsman spider in the family Sparassidae.[314] By 2021 the new Thunberga genus contained twenty-five newly described spiders, all from Madagascar and Mayotte, many in honour of other inspirational young people.[315]
- Opacuincola gretathunbergae, by Verhaege & Haase, 2021, a new freshwater snail from New Zealand in the family Tateidae.[316]
- Pristimantis gretathunbergae, by Mebert et al., 2022, a species of frog native to Panama.[317]
