No One Is Too Small to Make a Difference Greta Thunberg

Academics

In February 2019, 224 academics signed an open letter of support stating they were inspired by Thunberg's actions and the striking school children in making their voices heard.[190]

Politicians

Thunberg has met with many politicians and world leaders but said she could not think of a single politician who has impressed her. Asked about New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern, who described the climate crisis as a matter of life or death, Thunberg commented, "It's funny that people believe Jacinda Ardern and people like that are climate leaders. That just tells you how little people know about the climate crisis." Thunberg says that she ignores words and sentiments: "Obviously the emissions haven't fallen. It goes without saying that these people are not doing anything." In fact, New Zealand's greenhouse-gas emissions had increased by 2% in 2019.[26]

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres endorsed the school strikes initiated by Thunberg, admitting: "My generation has failed to respond properly to the dramatic challenge of climate change. This is deeply felt by young people. No wonder they are angry."[191] Speaking at an event in New Zealand in May 2019, Guterres said his generation was "not winning the battle against climate change" and that it was up to the youth to "rescue the planet".[192]

Democratic candidates for the 2020 United States presidential election such as Kamala Harris, Beto O'Rourke, and Bernie Sanders expressed support after her speech at the September 2019 action summit in New York.[193] German Chancellor Angela Merkel indicated that young activists such as Thunberg had driven her government to act faster on climate change.[194]

Thunberg and her campaign have been criticized by politicians as well, ranging from personal attacks to statements that she oversimplifies the complex issues involved. Among them are the Australian prime minister Scott Morrison,[195] German chancellor Angela Merkel,[196] French president Emmanuel Macron,[197] Russian president Vladimir Putin,[198] OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) and, repeatedly by U.S. president Donald Trump.[199]

In September 2019, Trump shared a video of Thunberg angrily addressing world leaders, along with her quote that "people are dying, entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction." Trump wrote about Thunberg, tweeting: "She seems like a very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future. So nice to see!" Thunberg reacted by changing her Twitter bio to match his description, and stating that she could not "understand why grown-ups would choose to mock children and teenagers for just communicating and acting on the science when they could do something good instead."[200] In December 2019, Trump again mocked Thunberg after she was named Person of the Year for 2019 by Time, tweeting: "So ridiculous. Greta must work on her Anger Management problem, then go to a good old fashioned movie with a friend! Chill Greta, Chill!"[201] Thunberg responded by changing her Twitter biography to: "A teenager working on her anger management problem. Currently chilling and watching a good old fashioned movie with a friend."[202] During the 2020 United States presidential election, Thunberg commented on Trump tweeting "Stop the count!" with the text: "So ridiculous. Donald must work on his Anger Management problem, then go to a good old fashioned movie with a friend! Chill Donald, Chill!"[203][204]

In October 2019, Putin described Thunberg as a "kind girl and very sincere", while suggesting she was being manipulated to serve others' interests. Putin criticized her as "poorly informed", adding, "No one has explained to Greta that the modern world is complex and different and people in Africa or in many Asian countries want to live at the same wealth level as in Sweden." Similar to her reaction to Trump, Thunberg updated her Twitter bio to reflect Putin's description of her.[205] In December 2019, Thunberg tweeted: "Indigenous people are literally being murdered for trying to protect the forest from illegal deforestation. Over and over again. It is shameful that the world remains silent about this." When asked about this subject two days later, Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro responded, "Greta said that the Indians were dying because they were trying to protect the Amazon. It is impressive how the press gives voice to such a brat." On the same day, Thunberg changed her Twitter description to pirralha, the Portuguese word for "brat" used by Bolsonaro.[206][207]

In a Time story published in May 2019, Thunberg addressed the criticism she has received online, saying, "It's quite hilarious when the only thing people can do is mock you, or talk about your appearance or personality, as it means they have no argument or nothing else to say."[208] Former U.S. vice-president and Trump's eventual successor Joe Biden responded to Trump's tweet mocking Thunberg after she was named the Time's Person of the Year 2019 by tweeting at Trump: "What kind of president bullies a teenager? @realDonaldTrump, you could learn a few things from Greta on what it means to be a leader."[209]

On 30 March 2021, European Commissioner for Climate Action Frans Timmermans said in a tweet after talking to Thunberg that "The Commission remains committed" to making the Common Agricultural Policy "fulfill the objectives" of the European Green Deal.[210]

Press

In August 2019, Scott Walsman wrote in Scientific American that Thunberg's detractors have "launched personal attacks", "bash [her] autism", and "increasingly rely on ad hominem attacks to blunt her influence".[211] Writing in The Guardian, Aditya Chakrabortty said that columnists including Brendan O'Neill, Toby Young, the blog Guido Fawkes, as well as Helen Dale and Rod Liddle at The Spectator and The Sunday Times, had been making "ugly personal attacks" on Thunberg.[212] British TV presenter Piers Morgan also mocked Thunberg.[213] As part of its climate change denial, Germany's right-wing populist party Alternative for Germany (AfD) has attacked Thunberg "in fairly vicious ways", according to Jakob Guhl, a researcher for the Institute for Strategic Dialogue.[214]

Arron Banks' Twitter post saying that "freak yachting accidents do happen in August" in reference to Thunberg, outraged a number of British MPs (Member of Parliament), celebrities, and academics. Tanja Bueltmann, founder of EU Citizens' Champion, said Banks had "invoked the drowning of a child" for his own amusement and said that most of those attacking Thunberg "are white middle-aged men from the right of the political spectrum".[215] Writing in The Guardian, Gaby Hinsliff said Thunberg has become "the new front in the Brexit culture war," arguing that the outrage generated by personal attacks on Thunberg by Brexiteers "gives them the welcome oxygen of publicity."[216]

In September 2019, Nick Gillespie wrote in Reason that "Greta Thunberg's histrionics are likely heartfelt but neither they nor the deplorable responses they conjure are a guide forward to good environmental policy in a world that is getting richer every day."[217] In August 2021, Yasmeen Serhan wrote in The Atlantic that Thunberg had become "the target of a barrage of disinformation and conspiracies" from the far-right and populist right, "including depictions of her as a spoiled child, a leftist pawn, and even a Nazi".[218]

"The Greta effect"

In summarizing Thunberg's global impact on the climate debate, the BBC encapsulated her influence: "she is credited with raising public awareness of climate change across the world, especially amongst young people. Many commentators call this 'the Greta effect'".[219]

In response to her outspoken stance, various politicians have also acknowledged the need to focus on climate change. Britain's secretary for the environment, Michael Gove, said, "When I listened to you, I felt great admiration, but also responsibility and guilt. I am of your parents' generation, and I recognise that we haven't done nearly enough to address climate change and the broader environmental crisis that we helped to create." Labour politician Ed Miliband, who was responsible for introducing the Climate Change Act 2008, said, "You have woken us up. Thank you. All the young people who have gone on strike have held up a mirror to our society ... you have taught us all a really important lesson. You have stood out from the crowd."[12]

In February 2019, Thunberg shared a stage with the then President of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, where he outlined: "In the next financial period from 2021 to 2027, every fourth euro spent within the EU budget will go towards action to mitigate climate change."[220] Climate issues also played a significant role in European Parliament election in May 2019,[221] as Green parties recorded their best ever results,[222] boosting their MEP seat numbers from 52 to 72.[223] Many of the gains came from northern European countries where young people have taken to the streets inspired by Thunberg.[222]

In June 2019, a YouGov poll in Britain found that public concern about the environment had soared to record levels in the UK since Thunberg and Extinction Rebellion had "pierced the bubble of denial".[224] In August 2019, publication and sales of children's books about the climate crisis reportedly doubled compared to the previous year. Publishers attribute this to the "Greta effect".[225]

Inspired by Thunberg, wealthy philanthropists and investors from the United States have donated about $600,000[226] to support Extinction Rebellion and school strike groups to establish the Climate Emergency Fund.[227][228][229] Trevor Neilson, one of the philanthropists, said the three founders would be contacting friends among the global mega-rich to donate "a hundred times" more in the weeks and months ahead.[226] In December 2019, the New Scientist described the impact made by Thunberg and Extinction Rebellion with the headline: "The year the world woke up to climate change."[230]

According to a 2021 study, "those who are more familiar with Greta Thunberg have higher intentions of taking collective actions to reduce global warming and that stronger collective efficacy beliefs mediate this relationship. This association between familiarity with Greta Thunberg, collective efficacy beliefs, and collective action intentions is present even after accounting for respondents' overall support for climate activism."[231]

Flight shame

Thunberg has spearheaded the anti-flying movement, promoting rail travel over flying on environmental grounds.[232] The buzzword associated with this movement is flygskam or "flight shame".[233][234] It is a phenomenon in which people feel social pressure not to fly because of the rising greenhouse gas emissions of the airline industry. It was originally championed by Swedish Olympic athlete Björn Ferry, but has gained significant momentum after Thunberg's refusal to fly on environmental grounds. Thunberg backed the campaign to fly less and made it part of her 2019 "awareness tour" in Europe.[235]

Sweden reported a 4% drop in domestic air travel for 2019 and an increase in rail use. The BBC says that the movement could halve the growth of global air travel, but Airbus and Boeing say that they still expect to grow at around 4% until 2035.[236][237] In June 2019, Swedish Railways (SJ) reported that the number of Swedes taking the train for domestic journeys had risen by 8% from the previous year, reflecting growing public concern (reflected in a survey published by Swedish Railways[238]) about the impact of flying on CO2 emissions.[239]

X-Site sticker

In February 2020, X-Site Energy Services of Alberta, Canada, distributed a sticker with the company's name and an image of a man grabbing the braids of a girl while raping her from behind; the word "Greta" on the image.[240] Then 17-year-old Greta Thunberg posted about it on Twitter: "They are starting to get more and more desperate. This shows that we're winning." Although the general manager of X-Site initially said that neither X-Site nor any X-Site employee was involved in making the sticker,[241][242] X-Site Energy later apologized, admitting that they had distributed it and assumed full responsibility. The letter asserted that they were destroying known extant copies and making organizational changes to prevent future incidents.[243]