Greta Thunberg

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Greta has to be one of the world's most famous 16 year olds. So famous, we don't even need to say her last name. It's Thunberg, by the way. Now, she's been named Time's Person of the Year. Every year, the US magazine profiles a person, group, object or idea that "for better or for worse has done the most to influence the events of the year." Over the years, it's featured some pretty famous and sometimes controversial people, like Indian Resistance leader, Mahatma Gandhi, Adolf Hitler, US President John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump! Greta is the youngest person to ever be chosen but TIME says she's become the face of a global movement that's making a real impact. It's hard to believe that just over a year ago, Greta was an ordinary teenager. She believed her country's government wasn't doing enough to fight climate change so she decided to send a message. GRETA: My name is Greta Thunberg and every Friday I am school striking for the climate outside the Swedish parliament until we're in line with the paris agreement, She says her parents, friends, and teachers didn't initially didn't support her but after 3 days she had 35 other strikers with her and after 3 weeks she had 10,000. Greta's actions attracted heaps of attention and pretty soon kids all over the world had joined in - including here in Australia. They were inspired to see someone their age trying to make a difference and decided to do the same. There have now been several global marches involving millions of young people and their supporters, and leaders have started to pay attention. In September, Greta spoke at the United Nation's big New York climate summit. GRETA: This is all wrong. I shouldn't be up here. I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean, yet you all come to us young people for hope. How dare you. You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction and all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth. It's a message many experts around the world agree with. The UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, or IPCC says the world is at a tipping point, temps are going up and we can expect sea levels to rise in a big way. They say we need to act quickly and that's why it's important that people like Greta are drawing attention to the issue. GRETA: Well I am telling you there is hope. I have seen it. But it does not come from governments or corporations. It comes from the people. She says it's a great honour to receive the title and that she'll continue fighting for global action.

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