Speeches of Greta Thunberg facts for kids

Greta Thunberg is a young climate activist from Sweden. She became famous for her strong speeches about climate change. Before she started giving speeches, Greta began a "school strike for climate" outside the Swedish parliament. She held a sign that said Skolstrejk för klimatet, which means "School strike for climate" in Swedish. Her powerful words at the 2019 United Nations climate summit helped make her a well-known name around the world.

Greta Thunberg's Important Speeches

Greta Thunberg giving a speech in Berlin (July 2019)

Greta Thunberg has given many important speeches. She has spoken to world leaders, politicians, and large crowds. Her goal is to make everyone understand the urgency of climate change. She wants people to take action to protect our planet.

Early Calls for Climate Action

TEDxStockholm: Realizing the Climate Crisis

On November 24, 2018, Greta spoke at TEDxStockholm. She shared that she learned about climate change when she was eight years old. She wondered why it wasn't the biggest news story everywhere. Greta explained that the science about climate change is clear. She believes that only denial and inaction remain. She ended her speech by saying, "we can't change the world by playing by the rules, because the rules have to be changed."

Addressing the United Nations COP24 Summit

In December 2018, Greta spoke at the COP24 United Nations climate change summit. She addressed the leaders there on December 4 and again on December 12. This was one of her first times speaking on such a big global stage.

World Economic Forum: Our House is on Fire

Extinction Rebellion banner citing Thunberg's speech "Our house is on fire" (London, October 2019)

On January 25, 2019, Greta gave a memorable speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos. She told global leaders, "I don't want you to be hopeful. I want you to panic." She urged them to act as if their house was on fire, because, she said, "it is." Greta also stressed that politicians must listen to what scientists say about the climate.

Speaking to European Leaders

European Economic and Social Committee: Urgent Emission Cuts

On February 21, 2019, Greta spoke to the European Economic and Social Committee. She also met with European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker. She explained that to keep global warming below two degrees Celsius, the EU needed to cut CO₂ emissions by 80% by 2030. This was double the goal set in the Paris Agreement. She warned that failing to do so would be "the greatest failure of human history."

Brandenburg Gate: Children's Sacrifice

Greta visited Berlin from March 29 to 31, 2019. On March 29, she spoke to about 25,000 people near the Brandenburg Gate. She pointed out that children were sacrificing their education to protest for their future. She also noted that those least responsible for the crisis would be most affected. On March 30, Greta received the 'Golden Camera' Special Award. In her speech, she asked celebrities to use their fame to help with climate activism.

European Parliament: An Existential Crisis

In April 2019, Greta spoke at the European Parliament in Strasbourg. She criticized leaders for holding many emergency meetings about Brexit but none about the climate crisis. She called climate change an "existential crisis," meaning it threatens our very existence. She said it was more important than anything else.

British Parliament: Listen to the Science

On April 23, 2019, Greta spoke to the British Parliament in Westminster. She told the Members of Parliament (MPs) that they were not listening to science. She felt they only wanted solutions that let them continue as before. She repeated, "Did you hear what I just said? Is my English OK? Is the microphone on?" She did this to highlight that her message was not being heard.

Messages at Global Summits and Rallies

Austrian World Summit R20: Point of No Return

In May 2019, Greta met with important figures like Arnold Schwarzenegger and António Guterres. This was at a conference to speed up progress on the Paris Agreement. She quoted a report saying that if big changes aren't made by around 2030, we could face an "irreversible chain reaction." This would be beyond human control and "catastrophic."

Normandy's Freedom Prize: Honoring Sacrifices

On July 21, 2019, Greta received the Normandy's Freedom Prize. She spent time with D-Day veteran Charles Norman Shay at Omaha Beach. In her speech, she honored the bravery of those who fought for freedom. She said the least we could do to honor them was to stop destroying the world they saved.

Global Climate Strike in New York City

On September 20, 2019, Greta spoke at the Global Climate Strike in New York City. Millions of people joined hundreds of demonstrations worldwide. For the first time, adults joined the young people striking. Greta humorously mentioned that politicians often asked for selfies and admired their work, but did nothing about the crisis.

UN Climate Action Summit: "How Dare You!"

On September 23, 2019, Greta addressed world leaders at the 2019 UN Climate Action Summit in New York City. She gave a very emotional speech, accusing leaders of stealing her dreams and childhood. She famously said:

"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. And yet I’m one of the lucky ones. People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction. And all you can talk about is money and fairytales of eternal economic growth. How dare you!" "You are failing us... But the young people are starting to understand your betrayal. The eyes of all future generations are upon you. And if you choose to fail us, I say: We will never forgive you."

Many people, including philosopher Peter Singer, called it a very powerful speech. Even US President Donald Trump commented on it, and Greta humorously changed her Twitter bio in response. Her speech was also used in several musical pieces.

Global Climate Strike in Montreal

Greta Thunberg speaking at the Climate March in Montreal (Canada)

On September 27, 2019, Greta was in Montreal, Canada, for its Global Climate Strike. She joined Indigenous people to lead the climate march. She gave a speech in both English and French. She told the marchers that the fight would continue until world leaders took the climate problem seriously.

COP25 United Nations Climate Conference in Madrid

On December 11, 2019, Greta spoke at the COP25 conference in Madrid, Spain. She repeated her message about the world's quickly shrinking "carbon budgets." She said she would keep repeating it because it was still being ignored.

Continuing the Fight for Our Future

Youth4Climate Event: "Blah, Blah, Blah"

On September 28, 2021, Greta spoke at a Youth4Climate event in Milan, Italy. This event was before the COP26 conference. She said that for "thirty years" there had been "blah, blah, blah" from leaders. She felt leaders pretended to listen to young people but were not truly acting. She reminded everyone, "There is no planet B."

Climate Strike in Glasgow: Greenwash Campaign

On November 5, 2021, Greta gave a speech during the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Glasgow. She criticized world leaders for allowing the "exploitation of people and nature." She believed they were creating ways to keep profiting from harmful systems. She called COP26 a "greenwash campaign," meaning it was just for show, not real action. She again described the meetings as "blah blah blah" and called COP26 a failure.