[D66] Greta Thunberg's 'How dare you?' a major moment for climate movement | phys.org

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Greta Thunberg's 'How dare you?' a major moment for climate movement
By
Ivan Couronne
phys.org
4 min
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Her imperious "How dare you?" to world leaders at the UN cemented
Swedish teen Greta Thunberg's role as her generation's leading
spokeswoman on climate change, the culmination of a year of dogged
relentlessness, say those who know her.

Though her words did not seem to move the leaders who spoke after her,
her speech of only four and a half minutes immediately went viral,
racking up tens of thousands of shares and comments on social media.

Thunberg's dominant status in the climate movement is easy to explain,
say those who have met the 16-year-old high school student, who is
taking a year off from her studies.

"She's done something that seems so unusual: a school strike. School is
a very important thing for kids all around the world," said Jennifer
Morgan, the executive director of Greenpeace International.

Thunberg started the strikes by herself in Stockholm, with just a sign,
in August 2018.

The simplicity of her actions quickly caught the world's attention, and
one year later, strikes are occurring in scores of countries, spurred on
by social media.

"She's very clear in how she speaks, and I think her words at the summit
were words that many people feel," Morgan added.

Winnie Byanyima, the executive director of Oxfam International, agreed,
telling AFP that Greta "speaks so powerfully that we must listen."

Thunberg's way of speaking—brief, forceful and backed up by well-chosen
scientific data points—contrasts sharply with the style of her peers, as
was apparent over the weekend during a youth summit.

Some of the young activists already speak like their elders, reciting
long texts lacking in nuance.

The uniqueness of Thunberg's speech—at times reserved, at others
blunt—partly comes from her Asperger's syndrome, a mild form of autism
that the teen says has made her very direct.

"The whole movement that she has helped inspire, and her speech
yesterday, are playing a big part in the long-term task of changing the
zeitgeist," said Bill McKibben, the founder of 350.org, an international
environmental organization that has been active in the climate protests.

"Our sense of what's normal and natural and proper is shifting, and
shifting faster now because of the work that Greta's doing," added the
ecologist, who met Thunberg in Washington and New York.

The voice of science

Like young Pakistani activist Malala Yousafzai, who advocates for girls'
education, or American student and Parkland shooting survivor David
Hogg, who advocates for gun control, Thunberg has been accused of being
manipulated to promote an agenda.

She responded to the accusations on her Facebook page: "There is no one
'behind' me except for myself."

"And yes, I write my own speeches. But since I know that what I say is
going to reach many, many people I often ask for input," she wrote.

Her team shared with AFP the names of reputed scientists whom she has
consulted: They include Johan Rockstrom, Stefan Rahmstorf, Kevin
Anderson, Jean-Pascal van Ypersele, Glen Peters and others.

"I'm convinced that she writes the bulk of her speeches herself, even if
she has them proofread," said Belgian climate scientist Jean-Pascal van
Ypersele, who is in regular contact with both Thunberg and her father.

Over messages last week, he helped Thunberg clarify a point before she
testified in the United States Congress.

Kevin Anderson of the University of Manchester echoed the same
sentiments: "I am confident that Greta writes her own speeches, but
quite appropriately checks the robustness of facts, scientific
statements and any use of numbers with a range of specialists in those
particular areas."

For McKibben, Thunberg's abilities are a no-brainer: "If you sat her and
President Trump down for 10 minutes and had a basic discussion of
planetary physics and chemistry, who do you think would prevail?" he
asked admiringly.

Of course, Thunberg does not travel alone. Her father, former actor and
producer Svante Thunberg, accompanies her, as well as a longtime family
friend.

Callum Grieve, from the organization Every Breath Matters, was also with
her in Washington.

Thunberg also has help managing the flood of invitations and interview
requests. Climate-oriented communications firms Climate Nexus and GSCC
help handle media inquiries, free of charge.
Students participate in the Global Climate Strike march on September 20,
2019 in New York City

Multiple NGOs work with Thunberg to coordinate events, such as 350.org,
which passes along invitations.

"She doesn't have big NGOs behind her. She is her own person," said Kim
Bryan, the spokeswoman for 350.org.

Greenpeace Sweden also helped Thunberg some during the winter by
providing her with food and support, said Morgan, but nothing other than
that.

"She knows she can call on us, but she's very much her own personality,"
Morgan said.

"That's pure Greta."

© 2019 AFP