Quotes by Greta Thunburg
Greta Thunberg, a Swedish environmental activist, rose to prominence as a powerful advocate for urgent action against climate change. Beginning with her solitary "Fridays for Future" school strikes outside the Swedish parliament, Thunberg's passionate speeches and unyielding dedication quickly galvanized a global movement. Her ability to succinctly communicate complex scientific issues and her unwavering call for governmental and societal action have earned her respect from activists, world leaders, and individuals across the globe. Thunberg's impact extends beyond her youth, highlighting the capacity of young people to effect change on a global scale. Her advocacy emphasizes the importance of intergenerational collaboration and the pressing need to address environmental challenges for the well-being of current and future generations.
Greta Thunburg Quotes
Act as if our house is on fire. (Meaning)
I want you to panic. (Quote Meaning)
Change is coming, whether you like it or not. (Meaning)
You are never too small to make a difference. (Quote Meaning)
I don't want your hope. I want you to panic. (Meaning)
You are failing us. Young people are starting to understand your betrayal. (Quote Meaning)
You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words. (Meaning)
If solutions within the system are so impossible to find, maybe we should change the system itself. (Quote Meaning)
Why should I be studying for a future that soon may not exist?
I see the world in black and white, and I don't like compromising.
We are living in the beginning of a mass extinction and our climate is breaking down.
I thought I couldn't make a difference because I was too small.
Being young is a great advantage, since we see the world from a new perspective and we are not afraid to make radical changes.
We can no longer save the world by playing by the rules.
I'm telling you there is hope. I have seen it, but it does not come from the governments or corporations. It comes from the people.
I believe that one person can make a difference.
We can't just continue living as if there was no tomorrow, because there is a tomorrow.
Before I started school striking I had no energy, no friends and I didn't speak to anyone. I just sat alone at home, with an eating disorder. All of that is gone now, since I have found a meaning, in a world that sometimes seems shallow and meaningless to so many people.
My message to the Americans is the same as to everyone - that is to unite behind the science and to act on the science.
Not having hope is not an excuse for not doing something.
The symbolism of the climate strike is that if you adults don't give a damn about my future, I won't either.
It's empowering to know I am doing something, I am taking a stand, I am disrupting.
Many people seem to have this double moral. They say one thing and then do another thing. They say that the climate crisis is very important and yet they do nothing about it.
When I was maybe eight or nine years old, I first learned about the climate crisis in school. My teachers taught me about it and we saw films and pictures of plastic in the ocean and extreme weather events. Those pictures were just stuck in my head; I thought, there is no point in anything.
By stopping flying, you don't only reduce your own carbon footprint but also that sends a signal to other people around you that the climate crisis is a real thing and that helps push a political movement.
We are not going to be satisfied by politicians saying 'we support you' and then walking away. We won't be satisfied until they meet our demands and act. That's why simply taking a selfie or posting support on Twitter isn't enough. That's why we have to keep striking.
The climate crisis is both the easiest and the hardest issue we have ever faced. The easiest because we know what we must do. We must stop the emissions of greenhouse gases. The hardest because our current economics are still totally dependent on burning fossil fuels, and thereby destroying ecosystems in order to create everlasting economic growth.
We all have a choice. We can create transformational action that will safeguard the living conditions for future generations. Or we can continue with our business as usual and fail.
We should no longer measure our wealth and success in the graph that shows economic growth, but in the curve that shows the emissions of greenhouse gases.
I have promised myself that I'm going to do everything I can for as long as I can.
The real danger is not inaction. The real danger is when politicians and CEOs are making it look like action is happening when in fact nothing is being done.
It is our future on the line, and we must at least have a say in it.
To do your best is no longer good enough. We now have to do the seemingly impossible.
Some people say that I should study to become a climate scientist so that I can 'solve the climate crisis.' But the climate crisis has already been solved. We already have all the facts and solutions. All we have to do is to wake up and change.
Solving the climate crisis is the greatest and most complex challenge that homo sapiens have ever faced. The main solution, however, is so simple that even a small child can understand it. We have to stop our emissions of greenhouse gases.
People tell me that they are so hopeful when they see me and other children 'school-striking,' and they say, 'Oh the children are going to save us.' But no, we aren't. We are too young to be able to do that. We don't have time to wait for us to grow up and fix this in the future.
I don't use any animal products, both because of ethical and environmental and climate reasons.
Many people say that this is not an easy issue, we cannot just say that this is how it is, it's not black and white. But I say that this is black and white. Either we stop the emissions or we don't. There are no gray areas when it comes to survival.
My message to all the activists is to just keep going, and I know it really may seem impossible and hopeless sometimes - it always does - so you just have to keep going because if you try hard enough and long enough you will make a difference.
Most emissions aren't caused by individuals, they're caused by corporations and states.
I'm not saying that people should stop flying. I'm just saying it needs to be easier to be climate neutral.
Once we start to act, hope is everywhere. So instead of looking for hope, look for action. Then, and only then, hope will come.
Some people say that the climate crisis is something that we will have created, but that is not true, because if everyone is guilty then no one is to blame. And someone is to blame.
I don't care about age. Nor do I care about those who do not accept the science. I don't have as much experience, and therefore I listen more. But I also have the right to express my opinion, no matter my age.
Learning about climate change triggered my depression in the first place. But it was also what got me out of my depression, because there were things I could do to improve the situation. I don't have time to be depressed anymore.
Giving up cannot be an option.
I want you to panic. I want you to feel the fear I feel every day. And then I want you to act.
I know so many people who feel hopeless, and they ask me, 'What should I do?' And I say: 'Act. Do something.' Because that is the best medicine against sadness and depression.
My message is that if we do not care about the climate crisis and if we do not act now then almost no other question is going to matter in the future.
There are thousands of ways to take action. For example, plant trees, pick up litter, join an organisation or movement that makes a difference and especially try to influence adults and put pressure on people in power.
I just know what is right and I want to do what is right.
We have to understand what the older generation has dealt to us, what mess they have created that we have to clean up and live with.
People are unaware of what is going on. When I talk to people, they know the basics, they know the planet is warming because of greenhouse gases but they don't know the actual consequence of that.
We are at a time in history where everyone with any insight of the climate crisis that threatens our civilisation - and the entire biosphere - must speak out in clear language, no matter how uncomfortable and unprofitable that may be.
Social media can be very effective in creating movements. In the beginning, that is how I first got attention.
I think in many ways that we autistic are the normal ones and the rest of the people are pretty strange. They keep saying that climate change is an existential threat and the most important issue of all. And yet they just carry on like before.
I'm very weak in a sense. I'm very tiny and I am very emotional, and that is not something people usually associate with strength.
― Greta Thunburg Quotes
Chief Editor
Tal Gur is an author, founder, and impact-driven entrepreneur at heart. After trading his daily grind for a life of his own daring design, he spent a decade pursuing 100 major life goals around the globe. His journey and most recent book, The Art of Fully Living, has led him to found Elevate Society.
