Teen Activist Greta Thunberg Takes Youth Climate Campaign To Washington

"“Hope is something you need to deserve,” the 16-year-old from Sweden said in an interview with The Post, as she continues her push for global leaders to take more aggressive action."

"Barely a year ago, Greta Thunberg sat alone outside the Swedish parliament each week, holding a handwritten sign that read “School Strike for Climate.”

But by the time the 16-year-old arrived in the United States in late August after a two-week ocean voyage on a zero-emissions boat, she was an icon of the youth climate movement. She has published a book, given barn-burning speeches before audiences of the world’s political and business leaders and been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. This coming Friday, she plans to lead a protest in New York ahead of a United Nations summit on climate action. Hundreds of thousands of students across more than 150 countries have said they plan to walk out of school in solidarity with her.

Before her latest strike, in front of the White House on Friday, Thunberg sat for an interview with The Washington Post. She spoke about how the climate debate is different in the United States, whether she considers herself an optimist and how she approaches the criticism that has accompanied her meteoric rise over the past year."

Sarah Kaplan and Brady Dennis report for the Washington Post September 13, 2019.

Source: Washington Post, 09/16/2019