Swedish teen environmental activist Greta Thunberg on Wednesday was named TIME magazine’s 2019 Person of the Year for her role in sparking a global youth-led movement that has brought millions into the streets to pressure governments to act on the climate crisis.
TIME editor-in-chief Edward Felsenthal told NBC‘s “Today” that Thunberg, at just 16 years old, came “from essentially nowhere to lead a worldwide movement.”
“I think what she has done, her rise in influence, has been really extraordinary,” said Felsenthal.
Varshini Prakash, co-founder of the youth-led Sunrise Movement, said Thunberg “symbolizes the agony, the frustration, the desperation, the anger—at some level, the hope—of many young people who won’t even be of age to vote by the time their futures are doomed.”
As TIME‘s Charlotte Alter, Suyin Haynes, and Justin Worland wrote in a feature piece on Thunberg on Wednesday:
Thunberg, the youngest-ever recipient of TIME‘s Person of the Year honor, has been publicly dismissive of awards for climate action. In an October Instagram post explaining why she would be rejecting the Nordic Council’s 2019 Environmental Award, Thunberg said “the climate movement does not need any more awards.”
“What we need is for our politicians and the people in power start to listen to the current, best available science,” Thunberg added.
SCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT