A 16-year-old student from Sweden, Greta Thunberg, has become one of the most famous faces in the world and for all the right reasons. She is an environmental activist fighting for climate activism and global warming, without taking a break. And because of her these constant efforts, she has been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize this year!
Greta is also known worldwide for her protest outside Swedish parliament, where she sat every day for three weeks in August 2018. Being just 15 years old at the time, her protest was in regards to the lack of action on climate issues and crisis. She documented her efforts and actions on social media platforms like Instagram and Twitter, which soon spread like a wildfire.
If you’ve been keeping up with how the world is trying to deal with the climate change problem, you must be aware of France’s Paris agreement. The agreement is within the United Nations Framework Convention and aims to combat climate change and the effects of it. And in September 2018, Greta’s protest was for similar reasons. She wanted the Swedish Parliament to create an agreement to keep the temperature increase below 2°C.
The Result
On 15th March 2019, Greta launched a strike that saw school students from all over the world marching for the efforts for climate change. This mass movement happened in 1659 places across 105 countries! Upon this, Norwegian parliament representative Freddy Andre Ovstegard said,
We have proposed Greta Thunberg because if we do nothing to halt climate change, it will be the cause of wars, conflict and refugees. Greta Thunberg has launched a mass movement which I see as a major contribution to peace.
Why Is This News Important?
If you still don’t understand the magnitude of her efforts, here’s something that will help. If Greta wins the Nobel Peace Prize, she will be the youngest person to receive it in history! As of now, the youngest person to have achieved this is Malala Yousafzai. She is a women’s right and education activist who won the Nobel Peace Prize 2014. Malala was only 17 years old at the time and was awarded for defying the Taliban by demanding women’s education in Pakistan, which is also her native country.
In 2012, Malala was shot in the head by a Taliban member but survived the attack. She then travelled across the world to share her story, while demanding women’s education rights in her country at the same time.
So, if you’re rooting for her just like we are, then keep an eye out for this year’s Nobel Prize winners’ announcement in October. It is conducted by the Nobel Committee on a majority vote basis. And the award ceremony for all the Nobel Prize winners will be happening in Oslo, Norway on 10th December 2019.
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