A biography for Greta Thunburghasn’t been written yet.
“Learning about climate change triggered my depression in the first place. But it was also what got me out of my depression, because there were things I could do to improve the situation. I don't have time to be depressed anymore.”
“There are thousands of ways to take action. For example, plant trees, pick up litter, join an organisation or movement that makes a difference and especially try to influence adults and put pressure on people in power.”
“When I'm really interested in something, I get superfocused on that. And I can spend hours upon hours not getting tired of reading about it and still be interested to learn more about it.”
“Nothing is being done to stop the climate and ecological emergency from happening and to secure the future wellbeing for future generations.”
“The thing that's made me open my eyes to what was happening to the environment and climate was films and documentaries.”
“People are unaware of what is going on. When I talk to people, they know the basics, they know the planet is warming because of greenhouse gases... but they don't know the actual consequence of that.”
“I want you to panic. I want you to feel the fear I feel every day. And then I want you to act.”
“My message is that if we do not care about the climate crisis and if we do not act now then almost no other question is going to matter in the future.”
“So when I speak in front of thousands, tens of thousands of people, I don't really get nervous because I know what I want to say and I know what message I want to give.”
“I don't think I would be interested in the climate at all if I had been like everyone else.”
“I write all of my own speeches.”
“We all have a choice. We can create transformational action that will safeguard the living conditions for future generations. Or we can continue with our business as usual and fail.”
“If burning fossil fuels was so bad that it threatened our very existence, how could we just continue like before? Why were there no restrictions? Why wasn't it made illegal? To me, that did not add up.”
“I'm telling you there is hope. I have seen it, but it does not come from the governments or corporations. It comes from the people.”
“Social media can be very effective in creating movements. In the beginning, that is how I first got attention.”
“Even if the politics needed doesn't exist today, we still need to use our voices to make sure that the people in power are focused on the right things. Because this is a democracy, and in a democracy, people are the ones who run the country.”
“It felt like I was the only one who cared about the climate and the ecological crisis. My parents didn't care about it, my classmates didn't care about it, my relatives didn't care about this. I mean nobody I knew cared about this and I felt like I was the only one.”
“For way too long the politicians and people in power have got away with not doing anything at all to fight the climate crisis and ecological crisis.”
“I really miss having a routine because now I've been on the road constantly for several months. I like routines, so it would be nice to get those routines back.”
“Many people say that this is not an easy issue, we cannot just say that this is how it is, it's not black and white. But I say that this is black and white. Either we stop the emissions or we don't. There are no gray areas when it comes to survival.”