Teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg has been named Time magazine’s Person of the Year.
Thunberg, who turns 17 in January and who is known for her blunt, straightforward speaking manner, has urged immediate action to address what she describes as the global climate crisis.
She began her climate strikes by skipping school and embarking on a solo protest outside the Swedish parliament in August 2018. Since then she has become a symbol for youth demanding radical change with globally inspired school strikes also taking place.
“In the 16 months since, she has addressed heads of state at the UN, met with the Pope, sparred with the president of the United States and inspired 4m people to join the global climate strike on September 20, 2019, in what was the largest climate demonstration in human history,” the magazine said.
“Margaret Atwood compared her to Joan of Arc. After noticing a hundredfold increase in its usage, lexicographers at Collins Dictionary named Thunberg’s pioneering idea, climate strike, the word of the year,” Time said.
Last week Thunberg spoke in Madrid to say the voices of climate strikers are being heard but politicians are still not taking action.
Thunberg was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019, which was later awarded to Ethiopia’s prime minister Abiy Ahmed.