Review
Greta Thunberg began her activism at the age of 15 with a school climate strike that has had a huge international impact. Her impact on the world stage, which some media have described as the Greta Thunberg effect has led to large-scale student mobilisations around the world and demonstrations calling for effective measures to stop climate change.
One of the activist's most recognised speeches was given on 4 December 2018, at the 2018 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP24), which was being held in Katowice, Poland. In May 2019, she was featured on the cover of Time magazine in recognition as a leader of the next generation.
Biography
She was born in Stockholm, Sweden, in January 2003, the daughter of actor Svante Thunberg and opera singer Malena Ernman.
From an early age Greta had experienced a certain bewilderment about climate change and did not understand why nothing was being done about it. Later diagnosed with Asperger's Syndrome, this has shaped her later activism as she has made her cause the central focus of her work and life.
Thunberg began by changing her family's lifestyle to reduce their carbon footprint. The changes she observed led her to believe that she could make a difference and make a difference.
On 20 August 2018, Greta Thunberg decided to stay out of school until Sweden's 2018 general election, which was to be held on 9 September, following a heatwave and forest fires in Sweden. Her demand was for the Swedish government to reduce carbon emissions based on the Paris Agreement, so she decided to protest by sitting outside the Riksdag every day during the school day, holding a sign that read in Swedish: School strike for climate.
After the election, he continued to protest every Friday, which attracted international attention and inspired young people all over the world to take part in student strikes.
Thunberg addressed the COP24 UN climate change summit on 4 December 2018, and also spoke to the plenary assembly on 12 December 2018. On 23 January 2019, she was invited by the Davos Forum (Switzerland) to continue her climate campaign. On 21 February 2019, she participated in a conference of the European Economic and Social Committee and spoke to the head of the European Commission, Jean-Claude Juncker, to whom she demanded that the EU meet climate targets by reducing its CO2 emissions by 80%.
In March 2019 she continued with regular protests outside the Swedish parliament on Fridays, where other students joined her, although her activism did not interfere with her school performance. By that month more than 1600 cities around the world had joined the protests to call for action against climate change.
In May 2019, Greta published a collection of her climate action speeches in a book entitled: No one is too small to make a difference. Also in May 2019, she was featured on the cover of Time magazine, which named her a leader of the next generation and noted that many see her as a role model.
On Fridays 15 March, 24 May and 20 September 2019, there were three major calls for student mobilisations around the world and demonstrations to call for effective action to stop climate change, following the global call for Friday for the Future, promoted by Greta Thunberg.
Thunberg has continued her activism, participating in different international assemblies and receiving various awards and prizes. Among others, she has been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize three years in a row (2019, 2020 and 2021).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greta_Thunberg (15/01/22/)
Didactic approach
As a climate activist, Greta Thunberg fits well in bioethics units, especially bioenvironmental ethics, but also in any thematic block on advocacy (especially third generation rights and rights of future generations). In this sense, the subject of Ethical Values in all secondary school grades is appropriate. Likewise, it can also be included in Biology (1stESO).
It is recognised that Greta Thunberg has been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, obsessive-compulsive disorder and selective mutism. This is why she can be used as a reference of functional diversity that uses her singularity as a spur for her purposes.
Finally, its capacity to generate global mobilisation through discourses can be used in linguistic areas for discourse analysis, its rhetoric and its persuasive potential.
