Speeches of Greta Thunberg facts for kids

Greta Thunberg giving a speech in Berlin (July 2019).

Greta Thunberg is a young climate activist from Sweden. She became well-known for her powerful speeches. Her talk at the 2018 United Nations climate summit made her famous around the world. Before she started giving speeches, Greta protested outside the Swedish Riksdag (their parliament building). She held a sign that said "skolstrejk för klimatet," which means "school strike for the climate."

Greta's Early Speeches

Sharing Her Message at TEDxStockholm

On November 24, 2018, Greta spoke at a TEDx event in Stockholm. She shared how she realized, when she was just eight years old, that climate change was happening. She wondered why it wasn't the biggest news story everywhere, like a world war. Greta explained that she didn't need to become a climate scientist because the science was already clear. She felt that only denial, not knowing, and not acting were left. She worried that her future children would ask why people didn't act in 2018 when there was still time. She ended her talk by saying, "we can't change the world by playing by the rules, because the rules have to be changed."

Speaking at the UN Climate Summit (COP24)

Greta spoke at the COP24 United Nations climate change summit on December 4, 2018. She also spoke to the main meeting on December 12, 2018. This was a big step for her, as she was addressing world leaders.

Warning Leaders at the World Economic Forum

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

On January 25, 2019, Greta gave a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. She told global leaders, "I don't want you to be hopeful. I want you to panic. I want you to feel the fear I feel every day. And then I want you to act." She added, "I want you to act as if the house was on fire—because it is." She also stressed that politicians and decision-makers must listen to what scientists say.

Addressing the European Union

On February 21, 2019, Greta spoke to the European Economic and Social Committee and to European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker. She said that to keep global warming below the two-degree Celsius goal from the Paris Agreement, the EU needed to cut its CO₂ emissions by 80% by 2030. This was double the 40% goal set in Paris. She warned that if they failed, it would be "the greatest failure of human history."

Protesting at the Brandenburg Gate

Greta visited Berlin from March 29 to 31, 2019. On March 29, she spoke to about 25,000 people near the Brandenburg Gate. She said, "We live in a strange world where children must sacrifice their own education in order to protest against the destruction of their future." She also noted that those who contributed least to the crisis would be affected the most. On March 30, Greta received the 'Golden Camera' Special Award at a German TV show. In her speech, she asked famous people to use their influence to help with climate activism.

Challenging European and British Parliaments

In April 2019, Greta met with members of the European Parliament in Strasbourg. She criticized them for having many emergency meetings about Brexit but none about the climate crisis. She said the world was facing its "sixth mass extinction" and called it an "existential crisis."

On April 23, 2019, Greta spoke to the British Parliament in Westminster. She told the Members of Parliament (MPs), "You don’t listen to the science because you are only interested in solutions that will enable you to carry on like before." She repeatedly asked if her microphone was on, wondering if they were truly listening.

Meeting Leaders at the Austrian World Summit

In May 2019, Greta met with Arnold Schwarzenegger, UN Secretary-General António Guterres, and Austrian President Alexander Van der Bellen. She quoted a science report, saying, "If we haven't made the changes required by approximately the year 2030, we will probably set off an irreversible chain reaction beyond human control." She warned that this would lead to a "point of no return."

Receiving the Normandy's Freedom Prize

On July 21, 2019, Greta received the Normandy's Freedom Prize. In her speech, she spoke about visiting Omaha Beach with a D-day veteran. She said, "It was a day I will never forget. Not only because of the unimaginable bravery and sacrifices made by those who gave their lives to defend the freedom and democracy of the world." She felt that the least people could do to honor them was to stop destroying the world they fought to save.

Global Climate Strikes and UN Speeches

Leading the Global Climate Strike in New York City

On September 20, 2019, Greta spoke to the large crowd in New York City during the Global Climate Strike. This event was one of hundreds around the world, with millions of people joining in. For the first time, many adults joined the young people's strikes. Greta made the crowd laugh when she said that politicians she met would ask for selfies and say they admired what activists did, but then did nothing about the climate crisis.

Her Famous "How Dare You!" Speech at the UN

On September 23, 2019, Greta spoke to world leaders at the 2019 UN Climate Action Summit in New York City. She accused them of "stealing her dreams and her childhood" by not acting on climate change. Her powerful opening words were widely reported:

"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. US President Donald Trump, who briefly attended the meeting, tweeted about her, saying she seemed like "a very happy young girl." Greta then changed her Twitter bio to match his words. This speech was also used in several musical performances.

Speaking at the Montreal Climate Strike

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 First Nations Indigenous people to lead the climate march. After the march, Greta gave a speech in both English and French. She told the marchers that the fight against climate change would continue until world leaders took the problem seriously.

Addressing COP25 in Madrid

On December 11, 2019, Greta spoke at the COP25 climate conference. She said, "For about a year I have been constantly talking about our rapidly declining carbon budgets over and over again. But since that is still being ignored, I will just keep repeating it."

Later Speeches and Activism

Return to School and Pandemic Impact

On August 24, 2020, Greta ended her "gap year" from school and went back to class. The COVID-19 pandemic greatly limited travel and meetings in 2020 and 2021.

Speaking at the UN Pre-Conference (2021)

On September 28, 2021, Greta gave a speech at a Youth4Climate event before COP26 in Milan, Italy. She said there had been "thirty years of blah, blah, blah" from leaders. She felt that leaders only pretended to listen to young people. She stressed, "There is no planet B... Change is not only possible but necessary."

Climate Strike in Glasgow (2021)

On November 5, 2021, Greta spoke 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, a PR campaign" that pretended to act on global warming without doing anything real. She described it, like previous meetings, as "blah blah blah" and a failure.