Letters | Greta Thunberg is a force of nature who can change the face of the world
- Thunberg embodies the huge moral authority of the youth activist movement that no world leader can ignore, and this will fundamentally change the decision-making process in climate-change lobbying
When Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg was named Time magazine’s 2019 Person of the Year, a huge wave of disappointment swept across social media platforms in Hong Kong, as she had edged out another nominee – “Hong Kong protesters”.
Some congratulated the young climate activist but many more asked: what has she achieved, and does she deserve the honour?
The answer is a resounding “yes”. Thunberg inspired millions of youth to stand against climate change and her activism is an innovative breakthrough for the current global environmental movement.
At the same time, science often makes way for international politics and stakeholders’ interests, which is then covered up by “clever accounting and creative PR”, as Thunberg put it at COP25 in Madrid.
Since her appearance on the world stage, climate change is being recognised as a crisis that we should, and can, solve together. Denialism is now discredited and fading away.