Letters | Greta Thunberg is a force of nature who can change the face of the world

Thunberg embodies the huge moral authority of the youth activist movement that no world leader can ignore, and this will fundamentally change the decision-making process in climate-change lobbying

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Greta Thunberg, centre, stands with other young activists at COP25, the 2019 UN Climate Change Conference, in Madrid on December 9. Photo: AP

Published: 8:00am, 1 Jan 2020Updated: 8:00am, 1 Jan 2020

When Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg was named Time magazine’s 2019 Person of the Year, a huge wave of disappointment swept across social media platforms in Hong Kong, as she had edged out another nominee – “Hong Kong protesters”.

Some congratulated the young climate activist but many more asked: what has she achieved, and does she deserve the honour?

The answer is a resounding “yes”. Thunberg inspired millions of youth to stand against climate change and her activism is an innovative breakthrough for the current global environmental movement.

For decades, science has been clear about the environmental problems we are facing and what we should do, but the international community’s responses and actions have been too little and too slow. Climate change politics is a complex game, and some influential corporations have reportedly invested big money to produce favourable science data that aligns with their needs.

At the same time, science often makes way for international politics and stakeholders’ interests, which is then covered up by “clever accounting and creative PR”, as Thunberg put it at COP25 in Madrid.

Thunberg has made a difference. Her direct and powerful messages have spoken to the heart of millions of young people, empowering them to develop a more visceral understanding of global environmental problems and possible solutions.

Since her appearance on the world stage, climate change is being recognised as a crisis that we should, and can, solve together. Denialism is now discredited and fading away.