#FridaysForFuture

At just age 16, Swedish environmentalist Greta Thunberg has already been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Her name was put forth by three Norwegian lawmakers in recognition for her work in leading youths around the world to speak out against climate change. If her nomination is successful, she will take the title from Malala Yousafzai as the youngest recipient of the Nobel Prize in history.

Thunberg is known for her powerful speeches, a remarkable feat in itself given that English is not her native language. At the World Economic Forum in Davos Switzerland earlier this year, she scathingly criticised the world’s elite for prioritising financial growth over the climate crisis.

“Adults keep saying: “We owe it to the young people to give them hope.” But I don’t want your hope. 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 our house is on fire. Because it is.”

Her candid personality also shines through her Twitter tweets where she outrightly shoots down politicians’ condemnation of the school climate strikes.

Thunberg first learnt about climate change when she was eight years old. She told the Guardian in an interview, “I remember when I was younger, and in school, our teachers showed us films of plastic in the ocean, starving polar bears and so on. I cried through all the movies. My classmates were concerned when they watched the film, but when it stopped, they started thinking about other things. I couldn’t do that. Those pictures were stuck in my head.”

She was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome four years ago, falling into depression at around the same time. However, Thunberg has since managed to turn her source of despair into the driving force of her life.

During the summer of 2018, there was a record heatwave in northern Europe, giving rise to the worst forest fires the country has ever seen in recent times. Huge expanses of Swedish land, even up to the Arctic Circle, were ravaged by the inferno.

That was the last straw for Thunberg, who believed that her government had the ability to act but chose not to. “Sweden is such a rich country and we have high per capita emissions, so we need to reduce more [than others].”

Inspired by the school strikes that students from Parkland school in Florida conducted after a shoot-out that cost 17 lives, she decided to conduct her own school strike for the climate. Day one was on 20 August 2018.

It has not ended yet. She intends to strike outside parliament every Friday until the Swedish government’s policies are in line with the Paris climate agreement, or until Sweden cuts its carbon emissions by a dramatic 15% a year. The only difference now is that she is no longer alone.

Her campaign gained traction with teens all over the world, and her “school strike for climate” sign was translated from Swedish to over 50 languages in nearly 130 countries on March 15.

That Friday, tens of thousands of young activists skipped school to protest, in a bid to make world leaders pay more attention to global warming.

Undoubtedly, they lived up to their name as members of Generation Z, and taught the world a lesson or two on how to write protest signs. Here are some of the best ones from around the world:

Australia

Germany

Cape Town

New Zealand

India

Bibliography

EcoWatch (2019, March 15). Student-Led Climate Strikes Happening in 130+ Countries. Retrieved from:

https://www.ecowatch.com/school-strike-for-climate-2631719370.html

Damian Carrington (2018, December 4). 'Our leaders are like children,' school strike founder tells climate summit. Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/dec/04/leaders-like-children-school-strike-founder-greta-thunberg-tells-un-climate-summit

Hillary Leung (2019, March 14). Swedish Teen Climate Activist Greta Thunberg Has Been Nominated For The Nobel Peace Prize. Retrieved from: http://time.com/5551172/climate-greta-thunberg-nobel-nominated/

The Guardian (2018, Nov 30). Schools climate strike: the best protest banners and posters. Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/nov/30/schools-climate-strike-the-best-protest-banners-and-posters

The Guardian (2019, March 15) 'There is no planet B': best placards from the youth climate strike. Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/gallery/2019/mar/15/best-placards-from-global-climate-strike

Jonathan Watts (2019, March 11) Interview: Greta Thunberg, schoolgirl climate change warrior: ‘Some people can let things go. I can’t’. Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/11/greta-thunberg-schoolgirl-climate-change-warrior-some-people-can-let-things-go-i-cant

The Guardian (2019, January 25). Our house is on fire': Greta Thunberg, 16, urges leaders to act on climate. Retrieved from: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/greta-thunberg-sixteen-year-old-swedish-climate-activist-roasts-davos-elite/ar-BBSIGpG

Ivana Kottasova and Eliza Mackintosh (2019, January 25). Greta Thunberg: Sixteen-year-old Swedish climate activist roasts Davo’s elite. Retrieved from: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jan/25/our-house-is-on-fire-greta-thunberg16-urges-leaders-to-act-on-climate