Greta Thunberg, who started a global movement of schoolchildren striking to demand climate change action, has been nominated for the Nobel peace prize.
Greta Thunberg, a 16-year-old schoolgirl from Sweden is the founder of the Youth Strike for Climate movement, and on the eve of the biggest day yet of global action, has been nominated for the Nobel peace prize.
If she were to win, she would be the youngest recipient since Pakistan’s Malala Yousafzai, who was 17 when she received the prize.
Thunberg began a solo protest in Sweden in August but has since inspired students around the globe. Strikes are expected in 1,659 towns and cities in 105 countries around the world on Friday, involving hundreds of thousands of young people.
The Swedish teenager – who on her Twitter page describes herself as “a 16-year-old climate activist with Asperger [syndrome]”, has been missing lessons most Fridays to stage her regular protests.
She continued to gain international attention after speaking at the UN Climate Talks in Poland in December and at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January.
The nomination was made by Freddy André Øvstegård, a member of the Norwegian parliament, and two colleagues in the Socialist Left Party.
“Climate change is maybe the most important driver for war, conflict and refugees already, and especially into the future,” says Øvstegård. “When Greta sat down in front of the Swedish parliament and started a mass movement all around the globe for climate action, she made a contribution to peace too.”
“[I am] honoured and very grateful for this nomination,” said Thunberg on Twitter. Tomorrow we #schoolstrike for our future. And we will continue to do so for as long as it takes.”
This comes as the UN Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohammed, said that 2019 should be the “year of transformative solutions” and “[to] avoid the disastrous effects of climate change”, which threaten ecosystems, the global economy, health and security. She was speaking in Nairobi at the UN Environment Assembly, on Thursday.
