I Am Greta (2020) - full transcript
Documentary follows teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg on her international crusade to get people to listen to scientists about the world's environmental problems.
(WIND BLOWING, WAVES LAPPING)
(SAILBOAT CREAKING)
GRETA THUNBERG:
I think that
actually everything I've experienced
over these last few months...
is like being in a dream...
...or in a movie.
But a very bad movie,
because that movie would be
very unrealistic.
MAN 1: It's fashionable these days to
blame everything on global warming.
Particularly on
man-made global warming.
But I'm afraid the evidence
doesn't point in that direction.
MAN 2: A little bit of warming
would not be a bad thing for myself,
being a Canadian
and the people in Russia
wouldn't mind a little...
A couple of degrees warmer either.
MAN 3: All of this with the
global warming, a lot of it's a hoax.
It's a hoax, I mean, it's a money-making
industry, okay. It's a hoax.
MAN 4: The whole
"climate crisis" as they call it,
is not only fake news, it's fake science.
There is no climate crisis.
There is nothing to be afraid of.
MAN 5:
How much warming will you get if you,
let us say, double the CO2 in the air?
The answer is,
you don't get very much.
MAN 6:
The problem is not global warming.
The problem is that we
keep hearing one-sided arguments.
MAN 7: Carbon dioxide is
actually a benefit to the environment,
to agriculture and forestry,
and to the climate of the earth.
MAN 8: There are some people
who are so arrogant to think
that they are so powerful,
they can change climate.
Man can't change climate.
GRETA:
Adults always say one thing
and then do something
completely different.
They say that we only have one planet,
and we should take care of it.
And yet no one gives a damn
about the climate crisis.
My name is Greta Thunberg,
and I am 15 years old.
I am on a school strike for the climate
in front of the Parliament,
until the election day.
♪
GRETA:
Many have heard about climate change
and know vaguely what it means
with rising sea levels,
increased average temperatures,
and so on.
But no one seems to
fully understand the consequences.
That we are right now
living as if we had several Earths.
Sometimes it feels like we
who have Asperger's or autism
are the only ones
who see through the noise.
♪
I am protesting about the climate crisis
because it's such an important issue.
What we are doing now,
future generations can't change.
And no one is doing anything,
nothing is happening.
So I must do what I can.
WOMAN: What did you think
when you first heard her talking
about the idea to start protesting?
SVANTE: I told her if she would
do that, I would not support it.
So she made a very long list of facts
that she's been handing out to people.
And, uh, she knows
the climate issue, I would say
better than 97% of all the politicians,
probably in the world.
She has almost a photographic memory
when it comes
to things she's interested in.
So she can read books and almost
remember everything that's in there.
WOMAN:
Did you expect something like that?
SVANTE:
(CHUCKLES) I didn't expect anything.
I just wanted her to be happy.
And I'm very sure that
she didn't expect anything either.
I mean, she just...
She felt she had to do something
and she had to do it
completely on her own.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
GRETA:
I don't like making small talk with people
or socializing.
Sometimes, I go quiet
and can stay so for hours
only because I simply can't talk.
I like to have routines,
and I notice details.
And once I really get
interested in something,
I can get, like, laser focused on it
and keep doing it for hours,
without getting bored.
We saw a film in school.
There were
starving polar bears, floodings,
hurricanes and droughts.
And the scientists said that
we didn't have much time left
to change our behavior.
That was when
I started getting depressed.
And got anxiety.
And stopped eating and stopped talking.
I was sick.
I almost starved to death.
It took many years
but slowly.
I started to feel better.
♪
I felt that,
why should I give up
when there were so many different things
you could do to make a difference?
"I love seeing someone
who doesn't just complain.
"But gets out and does
something about it.
You inspire me."
GRETA: My name is Greta
Thunberg and I am 15 years old.
And we have had school strikes
for the climate for three weeks.
But we will go on with
the school strike every Friday.
As from now, we will sit
outside the Swedish Parliament
until Sweden is in line
with the Paris Agreement.
Everyone is welcome.
Everyone is needed.
Please join in.
(PHONE RINGING)
(PHONE DISCONNECTS)
GRETA: Once the climate
crisis has gotten your attention,
you can't look away.
Once you fully understand
the magnitude of the problem,
then you can't erase it.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
♪
GRETA: I started turning off lights
and pulling out cords at home.
My parents got very surprised
and they wondered
why I did like that.
And I explained, to save energy.
GRETA: My family lived a very
high-consuming lifestyle.
We bought lots of things,
we ate meat.
GRETA: We drove a petrol
car, we flew all over the world.
Mom and Dad were
just like everyone else.
They didn't understand
how bad things were.
GRETA: They said that
everything would be fine.
"There are lots of things being done.
You don't need to worry."
But that was exactly
what made me so afraid.
That people seemed to think
that we were making progress.
(LAUGHTER)
(BOTH LAUGHING)
GRETA: For many years,
people, especially children
were very unkind or mean to me.
I didn't get invited
to parties or celebrations.
I was always left out.
So I spent most of my time
being with my family, and my dogs.
♪
(LOUD LAUGHTER)
MAN 1: Time is against us as
UN climate talks begin in Poland
and is being attended by around
40 heads of state and government.
MAN 2:
The ambition for the coming days
is to try to put flesh on the bones
of the Paris Agreement.
That was the deal agreed three years ago
in which countries said
they would cut their greenhouse gases.
MAN 3: Basically, the time is very,
very short to make major changes.
Emissions have to essentially
halve over the next 12 years
otherwise the impacts could be
catastrophic for the entire world.
♪
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
GRETA:
"The responsibility is yours, but since..."
"All of our leaders
are behaving like children..."
Uh...
The...
"The children will
have to take responsibility.
"We will take
responsibility for their actions."
"They have ignored us in the past
and they will ignore us this time."
(FEET TAPPING)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
- Just one question, please.
- This is a meeting that can not fail.
Thank you, Sir.
- GIRL: Greta! How are you?
- I am good.
- GIRL: Are you nervous? Don't be.
- No.
Greta, before we start this session,
let's take our selfie.
- So nice to meet you.
You lovely girl.
MAN:
I can join you?
Photobombing a 15-year-old.
She has to be ready, okay. Please.
WOMAN:
Hi, how are you?
MAN: I have to remind all of
us that we have very little time.
Please, Greta, you have the floor.
For 25 years, countless people
have stood in front of the
United Nations Climate Conferences
asking our nations' leaders
to stop the emissions.
But clearly, this has not worked,
since the emissions just continue to rise.
So I will not ask them anything.
Instead, I will ask the people
around the world
to realize that our
political leaders have failed us.
Because we are
facing an existential threat.
And there's no time to
continue down this road of madness.
We have come here to
let them know that change is coming
whether they like it or not.
The people will
rise to the challenge.
And since our leaders
are behaving like children,
we will have to take the responsibility
they should have taken long ago.
Thank you.
(APPLAUSE)
WOMAN: Maybe thumbs up?
ALL: Thumbs up!
MAN: I would like to give the
floor to Miss Greta Thunberg.
Miss Thunberg, you have the floor.
- My name is Greta Thunberg.
I am 15 years old and I am from Sweden.
You only speak of
green eternal economic growth
because you are
too scared of being unpopular.
You only talk about moving forward
with the same bad ideas
that got us into this mess.
But I don't care
about being popular.
I care about climate justice
and a living planet.
(APPLAUSE)
Thank you.
♪
REPORTER:
You're very young, 15 years old.
Is climate change an issue
that even children,
like yourself,
should be concerned about?
How can we spread
awareness among children?
- Yes, of course.
Climate change affects mostly children.
Sorry, sorry, it's Deutsche Welle
and Reuters.
But, Deutsche Welle, wait.
GRETA: I have stopped flying,
stopped eating meat and dairy,
and stopped buying
new things, and... yes.
Just small changes.
May I get a selfie?
I have a 16-year-old daughter in America.
Actually in Canada now,
we live in Canada.
She's quite the activist too.
Anyway, proud of you!
A 15-year-old environmental activist
from Sweden is scolding world leaders
on what she says is their
failure to address climate change.
MAN:
So her name is Greta Thunberg.
She comes up on stage, she's not
particularly dressed in any special way.
And she speaks
and her words are devastating.
I can't just sit there and watch her
do all this for
the environment and do nothing.
We stand with you, and on Friday,
I will stand next to you. Stay strong!
GIRL: Fridays for future!
ALL: Future, future!
GIRL: Fridays for future!
ALL: Future, future!
GIRL: Fridays for future!
ALL: Future, future!
GIRL:
We are the children here, speaking up.
And our future is being
destroyed by the minute.
REPORTER 1: Thousands of people in Brisbane
and thousands more across the country
are taking to the street
with passion and posters...
REPORTER 2:
They say they're taking back the streets
to send a message
that the climate crisis is real.
They will not rest until
bold action is taken to address it.
It's all for her, for the movement,
for the climate.
She started this and I just
wanted to help her a little bit.
(CROWD CHEERING)
ALL CHANTING:
Stop the pollution! Stop the pollution!
REPORTER 3: It's a real movement
that's growing. It's growing every week.
These students aren't backing down.
They plan to keep striking until...
My Lords, I do not accept
that taking time off school
in the middle of term
is useful for children.
- Kids should go to school!
And less activism in school!
If it were about science,
it would be led by scientists,
rather than by politicians
and a mentally ill Swedish child
who is being exploited by her parents
and by the international left.
GIRL: If you listen to the
speeches that our politicians give us,
it seems like they've never
even heard of a climate crisis.
Because they are
not treating it like a crisis.
(PROTESTERS CHANTING ON VIDEO)
ALL: Hi!
- GIRL: It's so nice to meet you, Greta.
- You too.
GIRL: So, so, we've done some
strikes here in Belgium.
-Yeah, I know.
GIRL: With you as our big inspiration.
We hit 35,000 last week.
- I know.
That's amazing. I saw pictures
and it was just crowds full
of people, and it was amazing.
GIRL:
Yeah, it's amazing.
And everybody has placards
that say, "Greta for President"
and everybody's shouting your name.
You're a real hero here.
So for us it would be really,
really nice to get to know you.
Yeah. You too.
(LAUGHTER)
♪
It feels almost indescribable
that something is finally happening.
That there are many who care about
the same things as I do.
GRETA: It feels like I'll just wake up
one day and find out this wasn't for real.
♪
(SERVING TROLLEY RATTLES)
- Do you want some tea? Some...
- No, I have water.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
- Hi, Greta.
- Hello.
- Nice to meet you.
- You too.
- Thank you so much.
- We shall sit down.
Thank you so
much for coming, Greta.
Honestly, we would have
never started this if you wouldn't have.
And I would have never
had the courage you showed.
It's not that I should take the focus,
because that's what's so good
about this movement,
that everyone is equally contributing.
No, no, that's right, but everybody's
doing great jobs locally in every country.
But you're, like,
that girl that started it all, you know?
GIRL: I think we needed
this kind of story that you told.
Like a story of, like,
everyone can make a difference.
And that we as young people
can change something.
And we needed the story
to tell to other people and they saw it.
- Yeah, it's really nice.
- Together we can make a difference.
There have now been strikes
on every continent except Antarctica.
I think that it's
amazing that it's not just in...
Western Europe. It's everywhere.
(PROTESTERS CHANTING)
- What do we want?
- Climate justice!
- When do we want it?
- Now!
(CHEERING)
MAN 1:
I'm impressed by the political oomph
that this movement seems to have got.
Climate change has
never been on the headlines like this
for as long as I can remember.
MAN 2: It's really making people understand
that this needs to be tackled now.
It is the most pressing
political issue of our time.
MAN 3:
Society is like an amoeba,
it moves from the margins,
not from the center.
If the young people can sustain this,
this actually could change the world.
EMCEE:
Are you ready to meet Greta?
Make some noise!
(CROWD CHEERING)
This is incredible.
(CROWD CHEERING)
For way too long,
the people in power
have gotten away with not
caring about the climate crisis.
But we will make sure
they will not do that any more.
We will be a pain in the ass, we will
keep on striking until they do something.
WOMAN:
Everybody, raise your hands!
♪ Buddy, you're a boy,
make a big noise ♪
♪ Playing in the street
Gonna be a big man someday ♪
♪ You got mud on your face
You big disgrace ♪
♪ Kicking your can
All over the place, singin' ♪
♪ We will, we will rock you ♪
(SONG FADES)
- Hi, how are you?
- I'm good. You?
- Nice meeting you.
- Nice meeting you too.
It's an honor to meet you.
Thank you for inviting me.
- You are welcome.
We are very happy to have you here.
What I want to discuss with you is
how you see the situation and on
which topic do you want us to focus?
And what are your main
concerns and expectations?
I think we are in a time now
where more and more people
are becoming aware of what is going on.
And I think we have
reached a tipping point.
That people will...
Will demand things.
And will realize where we are at.
And I think that you have a great
opportunity to take that chance and to act
and to become a figure of this.
And also, I think it's
very important that we...
In the rich countries,
we need to lead and to act more.
Obviously, because
the people in poorer countries
need to have a chance to
heighten their standard of living.
So, you are in a rush,
so you should probably get going.
Thank you very much. Thank you.
How do you manage
everything for school and so on?
I... my school is
actually very helpful.
They support me and I do homework
at home and I catch up with them.
I-I work hard.
- Wow. And you travel a lot?
- Yeah. Sometimes. Yeah.
- By train.
- Yeah. Yeah.
Wow. And you
read a lot on the climate?
Yeah, I do, yeah. A lot. I'm a nerd.
(LAUGHING)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
(APPLAUSE)
- My name is Greta Thunberg.
I am a climate activist from Sweden.
People always tell us
that they are so hopeful.
They are hopeful that the young people
are going to save the world.
But we are not.
There is simply not enough time
to wait for us to grow up
and become the ones in charge.
Because by the year 2020, we need to have
bent the emissions curve steeply downward.
That is next year.
We have started
to clean up your mess.
And we will not stop
until we are done. Thank you.
(APPLAUSE)
WOMAN:
And now I have the pleasure and privilege
of giving the floor
to Jean-Claude Juncker.
TRANSLATOR (ON HEADPHONES):
Now I'm going to really focus
on what's happening here today.
I change things...
while trying to
regulate smaller things.
Now, in terms of flushes,
they said that
we need to harmonize all flushes
across all toilets in Europe.
Well, it could be useful because we would
save a very large amount of energy, but...
(JUNCKER CONTINUES IN FRENCH)
GRETA:
I honestly don't understand
why I even get invited.
It feels like all they
want is to be spotlighted
to make it look like they care,
as if they were doing something.
(APPLAUSE)
They know what to say,
they know what sells.
But in fact,
they're doing basically nothing.
If the solution to the climate crisis was
about changing tea bags for loose-leaf tea
and eating vegetarian once a week,
then it wouldn't be a crisis.
And we wouldn't even have a problem.
REPORTER: Have you heard any
politicians seem to understand the urgency?
Today, President Juncker's
speech did not seem to respond to...
You laid out even science facts
and he didn't even respond to those.
No. I mean, um,
most people like that I talk to
don't really respond, they don't
come with any concrete promises.
They only say that we are trying,
but that's not enough.
♪
MAN 1: If we don't act
now, the world will get so hot
millions of people
will lose their homes
and more than 10% of the world's insects,
plants and animals will die.
WOMAN 1: Japan is experiencing
a record-breaking heat wave
which officials say contributed
to the death of 65 people last week...
MAN 2: The impact on sensitive
ecosystems and the Arctic
will shift from high
to very high risk...
WOMAN 2:
Sixty-three fires are burning in 13 states
and with dangerous heat coming,
the situation will only get worse...
MAN 3:
Now is the time to stop this.
We don't have another decade to wait.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
WOMAN: Greta, I have just one
question for you. How does it feel?
GRETA: I don't know.
It's very overwhelming.
WOMAN: Because they're here
for you. It's all because you started it.
GRETA: No, they're here for
themselves. And for everyone.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
Greta, I think they love you
too much.
(CHATTER CONTINUES)
Please, you're my hero.
Thank you.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
Are you not hungry?
- I don't care. No.
- You don't care?
- Do you want to go elsewhere?
- No, I want to sit here and not eat.
Okay.
(TYPING)
GRETA: Today, we use
100 million barrels of oil every day.
There are no
politics to change that.
There are no rules
to keep that oil in the ground.
But if being carbon-neutral
does not include transportation,
shopping, food,
aviation and shipping
then it doesn't
really mean that much.
(CROWD CHEERING)
Some would say we are wasting lesson time.
We say we are changing the world.
So that when we are older,
we will be able to look back
and say that we
did everything we could.
And we will continue to do so.
We will continue to fight
for our future and for the living planet.
We need to start
treating the crisis as a crisis.
And we also need to communicate
in a way that we connect
all these environmental disasters.
Like everything from
acidification of the oceans, deforestation
to the fact that we are in
the sixth mass extinction right now.
We need to make sure the people
can connect these dots.
Yeah. Absolutely. Connecting the dots,
that's a very good point.
- Hi, Greta, it's a pleasure to meet you.
- You too.
I wish you well and continue to campaign.
Just do what you believe is right.
- Greta, can I have a selfie?
Is that okay?
There we go. One, two, three!
♪
GRETA: Everyone says, "It's
so lovely that you are here,"
and, "We promise to improve."
But they never do.
When I'm in these fancy environments,
all these palaces or castles,
or whatever it is,
I feel very uncomfortable.
It feels like everyone is in
this role-playing game
and just pretending.
It feels kind of fake.
Sometimes it feels like
it doesn't even matter
how many of us go on strike.
What matters is that
the emissions have to be reduced.
And it has to start happen.
(CROWD CHEERING AND APPLAUDING)
(GRETA AND SVANTE LAUGHING)
(LAUGHTER CONTINUES)
Let's be honest, a lot of people
find her very annoying.
And they find her very hyperbolic
and very hysterical
and very over-emotional.
Greta. You know Greta?
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING AND BOOING)
She's not the messiah.
She's just a depressed
and extremely anxious girl.
And a very unhappy one.
Asperger's is very rarely an advantage.
In this case, it's actually a weakness.
MAN: (ON VIDEO)
She's a kid. She talks nonsense.
She tells the climate alarmists
exactly what they want to hear.
You selfish, badly educated,
virtue-signaling little turds.
Wake up, grow up, and shut up.
Until you're sure of the facts
before protesting.
♪
(INDISTINCT ANNOUNCEMENT ON PA)
GRETA:
My parents... I can tell
that they are very worried,
and scared.
We've received several letters home
that contain death threats.
They're saying that
I should avoid going out.
But I am honestly not that scared.
Because I am more worried
what would happen if I didn't do this.
You're okay with
everything that's happening?
GRETA:
Yeah. But I can't really plan my future.
Like, I want to study that,
and then I want to work there,
and I want to get married.
I-I, I can't do...
I can't even plan what I want to do this
weekend because someone calls and says,
"Oh, we have an emergency meeting,"
and I have to go there.
I mean, we don't
want to, like, burn out.
If you understand, like...
You don't have any energy left to
do something, you have used up your...
- Yeah, I know what you mean.
I totally know what you mean.
That's totally true. I think you should
especially be really careful for that.
Yeah, we all should. We just have
to continue saying the same thing
over and over again until people get it.
- Yeah.
- Because if... yeah.
Then we do that.
So the whole area was forest.
It was this ancient,
thousands of years old forest.
And 90% of it was
lost to the coal mine.
- There, on the horizon...
- Is the remaining ten percent.
Yeah. This is our Hambach forest.
It is very important because
this is such an important place,
such a symbolic place.
The Hambach forest is very threatened.
And I felt like I wanted
to come here to visit that.
And also to gain media attention
so that the media would focus on it.
Humanity sees nature
as this giant bag of candy.
That we can just
take as much as we want.
So one day, nature will
probably strike back in some way.
I don't know exactly how.
But there's everything
from heat waves to diseases,
or water shortages,
which might become problems in the future.
And in that context, we're kind of small.
REPORTER: (ON TV) The Amazon
basin is burning at a record rate.
More than 72,000 fires have
scorched the country this year,
an over 80% increase
compared to the same period in 2018.
Flames destroying one-and-a-half football
fields of rainforest every minute.
Smoke spreading
across nearly half of Brazil
visible from space
more than a week ago.
Often called
"the lungs of the earth,"
the rainforest supplies
20% of the world's oxygen.
If it burns to a point of no return,
it could turn into a dry savannah
plunging the planet ever deeper
into a climate change crisis.
I'm a Member of Parliament,
and I have a report I'd like to hand over.
Smile for the cameras.
(APPLAUSE)
- Thank you very much.
- My name is Greta Thunberg.
I come from Sweden,
and I want you to panic.
I want you to act as if
the house was on fire.
I have said those words before.
And a lot of people have
explained why that is a bad idea.
And it's okay if you
refuse to listen to me.
I am, after all, just
a 16-year-old schoolgirl from Sweden.
But you cannot ignore the science.
We are in the midst of
the sixth mass extinction.
Erosion...
(VOICE BREAKING)
of fertile topsoil, defo...
Deforestation of our
great forests, toxic air pollution.
The loss of insects and wildlife.
The acidification of our oceans.
These are all disastrous trends
being accelerated by a way of life that we
here in our financially
fortunate part of the world
see as our right
to simply carry on.
(APPLAUSE)
REPORTER: Then you went
to the Strasbourg Parliament,
and I saw you, during your speech, crying.
- What made you cry?
- I talked about animals going extinct.
Erosion, deforestation, acidification,
things like that, which is...
I mean... It's hard to take in, but...
And I talk about that
all the time, and once...
I have to get emotional once,
it's only reasonable.
- You suffer of Asperger's Syndrome.
Is this true?
Yeah. Maybe I wouldn't say
"suffer from," but I have it.
- You have it, okay.
- Yeah.
Listen, Greta, in Italy,
we have talked a lot about you.
And some people
describe you like a radical baby.
You know, that... (VOICE FADES)
♪
GRETA: Sometimes,
when they just sit and talk...
I wonder to myself, "What would happen
if I just stood up and screamed here?"
It feels like I'm speaking
a completely different language.
Or as if the microphone isn't really on.
MAN: ...of all colleagues across the
House to welcome Greta Thunberg
who is with us today, an enthusiastic
and dedicated environmental campaigner.
(APPLAUSE)
GRETA:
Is the microphone on?
Is the microphone really on?
(CROWD EXCLAIMING)
Is my English okay?
ALL: Yes!
GRETA:
Because I'm beginning to wonder.
(CROWD LAUGHING)
GRETA:
You lied to us. You gave us false hope.
You told us that the future
was something to look forward to.
During the last six months,
I've traveled around Europe
for hundreds of hours on trains,
electric cars and buses
repeating these
life-changing words over and over again.
But no one seems to be talking
about it and nothing has changed.
Despite all the beautiful words
and promises, emissions are still rising.
We have not taken to the streets
for you to take selfies with us
and tell us that
you really admire what we do.
We children are doing this
for you to put your differences aside
and start acting as
you would in a crisis.
We children are doing this because
we want our hopes and dreams back.
I hope my microphone was on.
I hope you could all hear me. Thank you.
♪
In a few weeks, school will end.
After the summer holidays,
I am starting gymnasium.
It's like Swedish high school.
And this is what I really
want to do because I love studying.
But I have also been invited to attend the
United Nations Climate Summit in New York.
And since time is running out,
I have decided to go there.
(CROWD CHEERING)
And since I don't fly because of
the enormous climate impact of aviation,
it's going to be a challenge.
(CROWD CHEERING)
♪
- Greta! It's good, what you're doing.
- You too.
Thanks, first of all, for your interest
in our suggestion to sail over together.
It may be a crazy idea,
but I really like it.
And please, ask me any
question you want on the boat.
I'll show you
around with the camera. Um, so...
This, for example, is a bunk bed.
A carbon fiber tube
with just a cloth on it.
And a rope, where I can pull.
It's a race boat for a small crew,
to, um...
to be, uh, to be efficient.
I'll show you the kitchen as well.
- This is the kitchen.
- Ah-ha!
BORIS:
And we heat water here.
And then, this area here
we spend most of our time.
(MALENA SOBBING)
(GRETA LAUGHING AND SHOUTING)
♪ Primal paradise
But there you go again ♪
♪ Saying everything ends ♪
♪ Saying you can't depend on anything
Or anyone ♪
♪ If the end of the world was near ♪
♪ Where would you choose to be? ♪
♪ If there was five more minutes of air ♪
♪ Would you panic and hide
Or run for your life ♪
♪ Or stand here and spend it with me? ♪
♪ If we had five more minutes ♪
♪ Would I, could I, make you happy? ♪
GRETA:
I don't want to be a person
says one thing
and then does something else.
I don't want to be the kind of person
who says, "This is so important"
and then the next second, flies across
the world because it's easier that way.
WOMAN:
Many people would say this is crazy.
Just take a flight.
Why do you not want to do that?
GRETA:
Because by taking a boat,
it shows that it's basically
impossible to live sustainable today.
♪ Would you panic and hide
Or run for your life ♪
♪ Or stand here and spend it with me? ♪
♪ If we had five more minutes ♪
♪ Would I, could I, make you happy? ♪
She faces a really,
really tough journey.
I mean, it's an incredible boat.
It's fantastically exciting to sail.
It's basically a huge sail
attached to a super-light hull.
It leaps in the wind,
really muscular, jumps forward.
What that means is,
that it crashes against the waves.
Essentially, it's a giant drum
that bangs against the waves. As the...
And then, here's a button.
There's only one button,
so you will remember that.
And this sends your GPS position...
This has a GPS.
It sends it to a satellite.
This is kind of
the worst-case scenario thing.
It transmits for probably 24 hours
your position.
The problem, why is it dangerous
to fall in the water?
It's because you can get very cold.
Um, the other thing is
to find you is difficult.
For finding you,
this is one thing to have...
(SILENCE)
- Greta, lots of love.
- Yeah, you too.
- The UK strikers made you a video.
- Oh, thank you! Yeah.
(CROWD CHATTERING)
The whole world thinks
you're wonderful. Be a brave girl.
ALL:
Hip, hip, hooray! Hip, hip, hooray!
(WIND BLOWS, WAVES CRASH)
(BOAT CREAKS)
And here the wind is
from behind, and light.
Here's a high pressure.
This will be quite bumpy.
And after that,
the wind is strong from behind.
It starts to blow stronger at
five in the morning tomorrow morning.
It will be a bit challenging,
but nothing dramatic, really.
(WAVES CRASHING)
(WIND AND WAVES INCREASING)
(BOAT CREAKING,
FAINT WIND AND WAVES OUTSIDE)
♪
(CHEERING CROWD)
GRETA:
Humans are social animals.
And in a herd,
everyone has different roles.
We are dependent
on each other to survive.
If you see a threat...
It's your responsibility
to sound the alarm.
And I feel like this is
my responsibility, in a way.
HOST:
Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,
welcome to the 2019 Climate Action Summit.
If I may ask you to
please take your seats.
(APPLAUSE)
WOMAN:
Greta, your first climate strike
was a lonely event,
a little over a year ago
demanding action for climate change.
What's your message
to world leaders today?
GRETA: This is all wrong.
I shouldn't be up here.
I should be back in school,
on the other side of the ocean.
Yet you all come to
us young people for hope.
How dare you?
You have stolen my dreams and
my childhood with your empty words.
And, yet,
I'm one of the lucky ones.
People are suffering.
People are dying.
Entire ecosystems are collapsing
and all you can talk about is money and
fairy tales of eternal economic growth.
How dare you?
For more than 30 years,
the science has been crystal clear.
How dare you
continue to look away?
And come here,
saying that you are doing enough?
When the politics and solutions
needed are still nowhere in sight.
You are failing us!
But the young people are
starting to understand your betrayal.
The eyes of all future
generations are upon you.
And if you choose to fail us,
I say that we will never forgive you.
The world is waking up.
And change is coming,
whether you like it or not.
(CROWD CHEERING)
(PROTESTERS CHANTING)
If you deal with crises in time,
instead of waiting...
the problems won't get as big.
(CROWD CHEERING)
Because if you do that,
you come out on the other side.
And there, it's better.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
♪
Actually, I don't see the world
in black and white.
It's just the climate issue
I see in black and white.
Sometimes I feel like it would be good
if everyone had a bit more Asperger's.
At least when it comes to the climate.
♪
WOMAN 1: We, the youth,
say you are not doing enough!
We, the youth, demand action now!
WOMAN 2:
We're on the outskirts
of the biggest catastrophe
humanity has ever faced
and our
government is doing nothing!
WOMAN 3: Tell me why there are children
who have to stand up for themselves.
Where are our parents,
where are our grandparents?
We, as a human population,
need to be the change.
Because I will not sit and worry
about a future that I might not have!
WOMAN 4: Shout out, for
the sake of our environment.
And we, the younger generation,
we need to raise our voice.
We have contaminated the Earth
and all the water,
we have polluted the air.
What have we done?
♪
(SAILBOAT CREAKING)
GRETA THUNBERG:
I think that
actually everything I've experienced
over these last few months...
is like being in a dream...
...or in a movie.
But a very bad movie,
because that movie would be
very unrealistic.
MAN 1: It's fashionable these days to
blame everything on global warming.
Particularly on
man-made global warming.
But I'm afraid the evidence
doesn't point in that direction.
MAN 2: A little bit of warming
would not be a bad thing for myself,
being a Canadian
and the people in Russia
wouldn't mind a little...
A couple of degrees warmer either.
MAN 3: All of this with the
global warming, a lot of it's a hoax.
It's a hoax, I mean, it's a money-making
industry, okay. It's a hoax.
MAN 4: The whole
"climate crisis" as they call it,
is not only fake news, it's fake science.
There is no climate crisis.
There is nothing to be afraid of.
MAN 5:
How much warming will you get if you,
let us say, double the CO2 in the air?
The answer is,
you don't get very much.
MAN 6:
The problem is not global warming.
The problem is that we
keep hearing one-sided arguments.
MAN 7: Carbon dioxide is
actually a benefit to the environment,
to agriculture and forestry,
and to the climate of the earth.
MAN 8: There are some people
who are so arrogant to think
that they are so powerful,
they can change climate.
Man can't change climate.
GRETA:
Adults always say one thing
and then do something
completely different.
They say that we only have one planet,
and we should take care of it.
And yet no one gives a damn
about the climate crisis.
My name is Greta Thunberg,
and I am 15 years old.
I am on a school strike for the climate
in front of the Parliament,
until the election day.
♪
GRETA:
Many have heard about climate change
and know vaguely what it means
with rising sea levels,
increased average temperatures,
and so on.
But no one seems to
fully understand the consequences.
That we are right now
living as if we had several Earths.
Sometimes it feels like we
who have Asperger's or autism
are the only ones
who see through the noise.
♪
I am protesting about the climate crisis
because it's such an important issue.
What we are doing now,
future generations can't change.
And no one is doing anything,
nothing is happening.
So I must do what I can.
WOMAN: What did you think
when you first heard her talking
about the idea to start protesting?
SVANTE: I told her if she would
do that, I would not support it.
So she made a very long list of facts
that she's been handing out to people.
And, uh, she knows
the climate issue, I would say
better than 97% of all the politicians,
probably in the world.
She has almost a photographic memory
when it comes
to things she's interested in.
So she can read books and almost
remember everything that's in there.
WOMAN:
Did you expect something like that?
SVANTE:
(CHUCKLES) I didn't expect anything.
I just wanted her to be happy.
And I'm very sure that
she didn't expect anything either.
I mean, she just...
She felt she had to do something
and she had to do it
completely on her own.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
GRETA:
I don't like making small talk with people
or socializing.
Sometimes, I go quiet
and can stay so for hours
only because I simply can't talk.
I like to have routines,
and I notice details.
And once I really get
interested in something,
I can get, like, laser focused on it
and keep doing it for hours,
without getting bored.
We saw a film in school.
There were
starving polar bears, floodings,
hurricanes and droughts.
And the scientists said that
we didn't have much time left
to change our behavior.
That was when
I started getting depressed.
And got anxiety.
And stopped eating and stopped talking.
I was sick.
I almost starved to death.
It took many years
but slowly.
I started to feel better.
♪
I felt that,
why should I give up
when there were so many different things
you could do to make a difference?
"I love seeing someone
who doesn't just complain.
"But gets out and does
something about it.
You inspire me."
GRETA: My name is Greta
Thunberg and I am 15 years old.
And we have had school strikes
for the climate for three weeks.
But we will go on with
the school strike every Friday.
As from now, we will sit
outside the Swedish Parliament
until Sweden is in line
with the Paris Agreement.
Everyone is welcome.
Everyone is needed.
Please join in.
(PHONE RINGING)
(PHONE DISCONNECTS)
GRETA: Once the climate
crisis has gotten your attention,
you can't look away.
Once you fully understand
the magnitude of the problem,
then you can't erase it.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
♪
GRETA: I started turning off lights
and pulling out cords at home.
My parents got very surprised
and they wondered
why I did like that.
And I explained, to save energy.
GRETA: My family lived a very
high-consuming lifestyle.
We bought lots of things,
we ate meat.
GRETA: We drove a petrol
car, we flew all over the world.
Mom and Dad were
just like everyone else.
They didn't understand
how bad things were.
GRETA: They said that
everything would be fine.
"There are lots of things being done.
You don't need to worry."
But that was exactly
what made me so afraid.
That people seemed to think
that we were making progress.
(LAUGHTER)
(BOTH LAUGHING)
GRETA: For many years,
people, especially children
were very unkind or mean to me.
I didn't get invited
to parties or celebrations.
I was always left out.
So I spent most of my time
being with my family, and my dogs.
♪
(LOUD LAUGHTER)
MAN 1: Time is against us as
UN climate talks begin in Poland
and is being attended by around
40 heads of state and government.
MAN 2:
The ambition for the coming days
is to try to put flesh on the bones
of the Paris Agreement.
That was the deal agreed three years ago
in which countries said
they would cut their greenhouse gases.
MAN 3: Basically, the time is very,
very short to make major changes.
Emissions have to essentially
halve over the next 12 years
otherwise the impacts could be
catastrophic for the entire world.
♪
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
GRETA:
"The responsibility is yours, but since..."
"All of our leaders
are behaving like children..."
Uh...
The...
"The children will
have to take responsibility.
"We will take
responsibility for their actions."
"They have ignored us in the past
and they will ignore us this time."
(FEET TAPPING)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
- Just one question, please.
- This is a meeting that can not fail.
Thank you, Sir.
- GIRL: Greta! How are you?
- I am good.
- GIRL: Are you nervous? Don't be.
- No.
Greta, before we start this session,
let's take our selfie.
- So nice to meet you.
You lovely girl.
MAN:
I can join you?
Photobombing a 15-year-old.
She has to be ready, okay. Please.
WOMAN:
Hi, how are you?
MAN: I have to remind all of
us that we have very little time.
Please, Greta, you have the floor.
For 25 years, countless people
have stood in front of the
United Nations Climate Conferences
asking our nations' leaders
to stop the emissions.
But clearly, this has not worked,
since the emissions just continue to rise.
So I will not ask them anything.
Instead, I will ask the people
around the world
to realize that our
political leaders have failed us.
Because we are
facing an existential threat.
And there's no time to
continue down this road of madness.
We have come here to
let them know that change is coming
whether they like it or not.
The people will
rise to the challenge.
And since our leaders
are behaving like children,
we will have to take the responsibility
they should have taken long ago.
Thank you.
(APPLAUSE)
WOMAN: Maybe thumbs up?
ALL: Thumbs up!
MAN: I would like to give the
floor to Miss Greta Thunberg.
Miss Thunberg, you have the floor.
- My name is Greta Thunberg.
I am 15 years old and I am from Sweden.
You only speak of
green eternal economic growth
because you are
too scared of being unpopular.
You only talk about moving forward
with the same bad ideas
that got us into this mess.
But I don't care
about being popular.
I care about climate justice
and a living planet.
(APPLAUSE)
Thank you.
♪
REPORTER:
You're very young, 15 years old.
Is climate change an issue
that even children,
like yourself,
should be concerned about?
How can we spread
awareness among children?
- Yes, of course.
Climate change affects mostly children.
Sorry, sorry, it's Deutsche Welle
and Reuters.
But, Deutsche Welle, wait.
GRETA: I have stopped flying,
stopped eating meat and dairy,
and stopped buying
new things, and... yes.
Just small changes.
May I get a selfie?
I have a 16-year-old daughter in America.
Actually in Canada now,
we live in Canada.
She's quite the activist too.
Anyway, proud of you!
A 15-year-old environmental activist
from Sweden is scolding world leaders
on what she says is their
failure to address climate change.
MAN:
So her name is Greta Thunberg.
She comes up on stage, she's not
particularly dressed in any special way.
And she speaks
and her words are devastating.
I can't just sit there and watch her
do all this for
the environment and do nothing.
We stand with you, and on Friday,
I will stand next to you. Stay strong!
GIRL: Fridays for future!
ALL: Future, future!
GIRL: Fridays for future!
ALL: Future, future!
GIRL: Fridays for future!
ALL: Future, future!
GIRL:
We are the children here, speaking up.
And our future is being
destroyed by the minute.
REPORTER 1: Thousands of people in Brisbane
and thousands more across the country
are taking to the street
with passion and posters...
REPORTER 2:
They say they're taking back the streets
to send a message
that the climate crisis is real.
They will not rest until
bold action is taken to address it.
It's all for her, for the movement,
for the climate.
She started this and I just
wanted to help her a little bit.
(CROWD CHEERING)
ALL CHANTING:
Stop the pollution! Stop the pollution!
REPORTER 3: It's a real movement
that's growing. It's growing every week.
These students aren't backing down.
They plan to keep striking until...
My Lords, I do not accept
that taking time off school
in the middle of term
is useful for children.
- Kids should go to school!
And less activism in school!
If it were about science,
it would be led by scientists,
rather than by politicians
and a mentally ill Swedish child
who is being exploited by her parents
and by the international left.
GIRL: If you listen to the
speeches that our politicians give us,
it seems like they've never
even heard of a climate crisis.
Because they are
not treating it like a crisis.
(PROTESTERS CHANTING ON VIDEO)
ALL: Hi!
- GIRL: It's so nice to meet you, Greta.
- You too.
GIRL: So, so, we've done some
strikes here in Belgium.
-Yeah, I know.
GIRL: With you as our big inspiration.
We hit 35,000 last week.
- I know.
That's amazing. I saw pictures
and it was just crowds full
of people, and it was amazing.
GIRL:
Yeah, it's amazing.
And everybody has placards
that say, "Greta for President"
and everybody's shouting your name.
You're a real hero here.
So for us it would be really,
really nice to get to know you.
Yeah. You too.
(LAUGHTER)
♪
It feels almost indescribable
that something is finally happening.
That there are many who care about
the same things as I do.
GRETA: It feels like I'll just wake up
one day and find out this wasn't for real.
♪
(SERVING TROLLEY RATTLES)
- Do you want some tea? Some...
- No, I have water.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
- Hi, Greta.
- Hello.
- Nice to meet you.
- You too.
- Thank you so much.
- We shall sit down.
Thank you so
much for coming, Greta.
Honestly, we would have
never started this if you wouldn't have.
And I would have never
had the courage you showed.
It's not that I should take the focus,
because that's what's so good
about this movement,
that everyone is equally contributing.
No, no, that's right, but everybody's
doing great jobs locally in every country.
But you're, like,
that girl that started it all, you know?
GIRL: I think we needed
this kind of story that you told.
Like a story of, like,
everyone can make a difference.
And that we as young people
can change something.
And we needed the story
to tell to other people and they saw it.
- Yeah, it's really nice.
- Together we can make a difference.
There have now been strikes
on every continent except Antarctica.
I think that it's
amazing that it's not just in...
Western Europe. It's everywhere.
(PROTESTERS CHANTING)
- What do we want?
- Climate justice!
- When do we want it?
- Now!
(CHEERING)
MAN 1:
I'm impressed by the political oomph
that this movement seems to have got.
Climate change has
never been on the headlines like this
for as long as I can remember.
MAN 2: It's really making people understand
that this needs to be tackled now.
It is the most pressing
political issue of our time.
MAN 3:
Society is like an amoeba,
it moves from the margins,
not from the center.
If the young people can sustain this,
this actually could change the world.
EMCEE:
Are you ready to meet Greta?
Make some noise!
(CROWD CHEERING)
This is incredible.
(CROWD CHEERING)
For way too long,
the people in power
have gotten away with not
caring about the climate crisis.
But we will make sure
they will not do that any more.
We will be a pain in the ass, we will
keep on striking until they do something.
WOMAN:
Everybody, raise your hands!
♪ Buddy, you're a boy,
make a big noise ♪
♪ Playing in the street
Gonna be a big man someday ♪
♪ You got mud on your face
You big disgrace ♪
♪ Kicking your can
All over the place, singin' ♪
♪ We will, we will rock you ♪
(SONG FADES)
- Hi, how are you?
- I'm good. You?
- Nice meeting you.
- Nice meeting you too.
It's an honor to meet you.
Thank you for inviting me.
- You are welcome.
We are very happy to have you here.
What I want to discuss with you is
how you see the situation and on
which topic do you want us to focus?
And what are your main
concerns and expectations?
I think we are in a time now
where more and more people
are becoming aware of what is going on.
And I think we have
reached a tipping point.
That people will...
Will demand things.
And will realize where we are at.
And I think that you have a great
opportunity to take that chance and to act
and to become a figure of this.
And also, I think it's
very important that we...
In the rich countries,
we need to lead and to act more.
Obviously, because
the people in poorer countries
need to have a chance to
heighten their standard of living.
So, you are in a rush,
so you should probably get going.
Thank you very much. Thank you.
How do you manage
everything for school and so on?
I... my school is
actually very helpful.
They support me and I do homework
at home and I catch up with them.
I-I work hard.
- Wow. And you travel a lot?
- Yeah. Sometimes. Yeah.
- By train.
- Yeah. Yeah.
Wow. And you
read a lot on the climate?
Yeah, I do, yeah. A lot. I'm a nerd.
(LAUGHING)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
(APPLAUSE)
- My name is Greta Thunberg.
I am a climate activist from Sweden.
People always tell us
that they are so hopeful.
They are hopeful that the young people
are going to save the world.
But we are not.
There is simply not enough time
to wait for us to grow up
and become the ones in charge.
Because by the year 2020, we need to have
bent the emissions curve steeply downward.
That is next year.
We have started
to clean up your mess.
And we will not stop
until we are done. Thank you.
(APPLAUSE)
WOMAN:
And now I have the pleasure and privilege
of giving the floor
to Jean-Claude Juncker.
TRANSLATOR (ON HEADPHONES):
Now I'm going to really focus
on what's happening here today.
I change things...
while trying to
regulate smaller things.
Now, in terms of flushes,
they said that
we need to harmonize all flushes
across all toilets in Europe.
Well, it could be useful because we would
save a very large amount of energy, but...
(JUNCKER CONTINUES IN FRENCH)
GRETA:
I honestly don't understand
why I even get invited.
It feels like all they
want is to be spotlighted
to make it look like they care,
as if they were doing something.
(APPLAUSE)
They know what to say,
they know what sells.
But in fact,
they're doing basically nothing.
If the solution to the climate crisis was
about changing tea bags for loose-leaf tea
and eating vegetarian once a week,
then it wouldn't be a crisis.
And we wouldn't even have a problem.
REPORTER: Have you heard any
politicians seem to understand the urgency?
Today, President Juncker's
speech did not seem to respond to...
You laid out even science facts
and he didn't even respond to those.
No. I mean, um,
most people like that I talk to
don't really respond, they don't
come with any concrete promises.
They only say that we are trying,
but that's not enough.
♪
MAN 1: If we don't act
now, the world will get so hot
millions of people
will lose their homes
and more than 10% of the world's insects,
plants and animals will die.
WOMAN 1: Japan is experiencing
a record-breaking heat wave
which officials say contributed
to the death of 65 people last week...
MAN 2: The impact on sensitive
ecosystems and the Arctic
will shift from high
to very high risk...
WOMAN 2:
Sixty-three fires are burning in 13 states
and with dangerous heat coming,
the situation will only get worse...
MAN 3:
Now is the time to stop this.
We don't have another decade to wait.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
WOMAN: Greta, I have just one
question for you. How does it feel?
GRETA: I don't know.
It's very overwhelming.
WOMAN: Because they're here
for you. It's all because you started it.
GRETA: No, they're here for
themselves. And for everyone.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
Greta, I think they love you
too much.
(CHATTER CONTINUES)
Please, you're my hero.
Thank you.
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
Are you not hungry?
- I don't care. No.
- You don't care?
- Do you want to go elsewhere?
- No, I want to sit here and not eat.
Okay.
(TYPING)
GRETA: Today, we use
100 million barrels of oil every day.
There are no
politics to change that.
There are no rules
to keep that oil in the ground.
But if being carbon-neutral
does not include transportation,
shopping, food,
aviation and shipping
then it doesn't
really mean that much.
(CROWD CHEERING)
Some would say we are wasting lesson time.
We say we are changing the world.
So that when we are older,
we will be able to look back
and say that we
did everything we could.
And we will continue to do so.
We will continue to fight
for our future and for the living planet.
We need to start
treating the crisis as a crisis.
And we also need to communicate
in a way that we connect
all these environmental disasters.
Like everything from
acidification of the oceans, deforestation
to the fact that we are in
the sixth mass extinction right now.
We need to make sure the people
can connect these dots.
Yeah. Absolutely. Connecting the dots,
that's a very good point.
- Hi, Greta, it's a pleasure to meet you.
- You too.
I wish you well and continue to campaign.
Just do what you believe is right.
- Greta, can I have a selfie?
Is that okay?
There we go. One, two, three!
♪
GRETA: Everyone says, "It's
so lovely that you are here,"
and, "We promise to improve."
But they never do.
When I'm in these fancy environments,
all these palaces or castles,
or whatever it is,
I feel very uncomfortable.
It feels like everyone is in
this role-playing game
and just pretending.
It feels kind of fake.
Sometimes it feels like
it doesn't even matter
how many of us go on strike.
What matters is that
the emissions have to be reduced.
And it has to start happen.
(CROWD CHEERING AND APPLAUDING)
(GRETA AND SVANTE LAUGHING)
(LAUGHTER CONTINUES)
Let's be honest, a lot of people
find her very annoying.
And they find her very hyperbolic
and very hysterical
and very over-emotional.
Greta. You know Greta?
(AUDIENCE LAUGHING AND BOOING)
She's not the messiah.
She's just a depressed
and extremely anxious girl.
And a very unhappy one.
Asperger's is very rarely an advantage.
In this case, it's actually a weakness.
MAN: (ON VIDEO)
She's a kid. She talks nonsense.
She tells the climate alarmists
exactly what they want to hear.
You selfish, badly educated,
virtue-signaling little turds.
Wake up, grow up, and shut up.
Until you're sure of the facts
before protesting.
♪
(INDISTINCT ANNOUNCEMENT ON PA)
GRETA:
My parents... I can tell
that they are very worried,
and scared.
We've received several letters home
that contain death threats.
They're saying that
I should avoid going out.
But I am honestly not that scared.
Because I am more worried
what would happen if I didn't do this.
You're okay with
everything that's happening?
GRETA:
Yeah. But I can't really plan my future.
Like, I want to study that,
and then I want to work there,
and I want to get married.
I-I, I can't do...
I can't even plan what I want to do this
weekend because someone calls and says,
"Oh, we have an emergency meeting,"
and I have to go there.
I mean, we don't
want to, like, burn out.
If you understand, like...
You don't have any energy left to
do something, you have used up your...
- Yeah, I know what you mean.
I totally know what you mean.
That's totally true. I think you should
especially be really careful for that.
Yeah, we all should. We just have
to continue saying the same thing
over and over again until people get it.
- Yeah.
- Because if... yeah.
Then we do that.
So the whole area was forest.
It was this ancient,
thousands of years old forest.
And 90% of it was
lost to the coal mine.
- There, on the horizon...
- Is the remaining ten percent.
Yeah. This is our Hambach forest.
It is very important because
this is such an important place,
such a symbolic place.
The Hambach forest is very threatened.
And I felt like I wanted
to come here to visit that.
And also to gain media attention
so that the media would focus on it.
Humanity sees nature
as this giant bag of candy.
That we can just
take as much as we want.
So one day, nature will
probably strike back in some way.
I don't know exactly how.
But there's everything
from heat waves to diseases,
or water shortages,
which might become problems in the future.
And in that context, we're kind of small.
REPORTER: (ON TV) The Amazon
basin is burning at a record rate.
More than 72,000 fires have
scorched the country this year,
an over 80% increase
compared to the same period in 2018.
Flames destroying one-and-a-half football
fields of rainforest every minute.
Smoke spreading
across nearly half of Brazil
visible from space
more than a week ago.
Often called
"the lungs of the earth,"
the rainforest supplies
20% of the world's oxygen.
If it burns to a point of no return,
it could turn into a dry savannah
plunging the planet ever deeper
into a climate change crisis.
I'm a Member of Parliament,
and I have a report I'd like to hand over.
Smile for the cameras.
(APPLAUSE)
- Thank you very much.
- My name is Greta Thunberg.
I come from Sweden,
and I want you to panic.
I want you to act as if
the house was on fire.
I have said those words before.
And a lot of people have
explained why that is a bad idea.
And it's okay if you
refuse to listen to me.
I am, after all, just
a 16-year-old schoolgirl from Sweden.
But you cannot ignore the science.
We are in the midst of
the sixth mass extinction.
Erosion...
(VOICE BREAKING)
of fertile topsoil, defo...
Deforestation of our
great forests, toxic air pollution.
The loss of insects and wildlife.
The acidification of our oceans.
These are all disastrous trends
being accelerated by a way of life that we
here in our financially
fortunate part of the world
see as our right
to simply carry on.
(APPLAUSE)
REPORTER: Then you went
to the Strasbourg Parliament,
and I saw you, during your speech, crying.
- What made you cry?
- I talked about animals going extinct.
Erosion, deforestation, acidification,
things like that, which is...
I mean... It's hard to take in, but...
And I talk about that
all the time, and once...
I have to get emotional once,
it's only reasonable.
- You suffer of Asperger's Syndrome.
Is this true?
Yeah. Maybe I wouldn't say
"suffer from," but I have it.
- You have it, okay.
- Yeah.
Listen, Greta, in Italy,
we have talked a lot about you.
And some people
describe you like a radical baby.
You know, that... (VOICE FADES)
♪
GRETA: Sometimes,
when they just sit and talk...
I wonder to myself, "What would happen
if I just stood up and screamed here?"
It feels like I'm speaking
a completely different language.
Or as if the microphone isn't really on.
MAN: ...of all colleagues across the
House to welcome Greta Thunberg
who is with us today, an enthusiastic
and dedicated environmental campaigner.
(APPLAUSE)
GRETA:
Is the microphone on?
Is the microphone really on?
(CROWD EXCLAIMING)
Is my English okay?
ALL: Yes!
GRETA:
Because I'm beginning to wonder.
(CROWD LAUGHING)
GRETA:
You lied to us. You gave us false hope.
You told us that the future
was something to look forward to.
During the last six months,
I've traveled around Europe
for hundreds of hours on trains,
electric cars and buses
repeating these
life-changing words over and over again.
But no one seems to be talking
about it and nothing has changed.
Despite all the beautiful words
and promises, emissions are still rising.
We have not taken to the streets
for you to take selfies with us
and tell us that
you really admire what we do.
We children are doing this
for you to put your differences aside
and start acting as
you would in a crisis.
We children are doing this because
we want our hopes and dreams back.
I hope my microphone was on.
I hope you could all hear me. Thank you.
♪
In a few weeks, school will end.
After the summer holidays,
I am starting gymnasium.
It's like Swedish high school.
And this is what I really
want to do because I love studying.
But I have also been invited to attend the
United Nations Climate Summit in New York.
And since time is running out,
I have decided to go there.
(CROWD CHEERING)
And since I don't fly because of
the enormous climate impact of aviation,
it's going to be a challenge.
(CROWD CHEERING)
♪
- Greta! It's good, what you're doing.
- You too.
Thanks, first of all, for your interest
in our suggestion to sail over together.
It may be a crazy idea,
but I really like it.
And please, ask me any
question you want on the boat.
I'll show you
around with the camera. Um, so...
This, for example, is a bunk bed.
A carbon fiber tube
with just a cloth on it.
And a rope, where I can pull.
It's a race boat for a small crew,
to, um...
to be, uh, to be efficient.
I'll show you the kitchen as well.
- This is the kitchen.
- Ah-ha!
BORIS:
And we heat water here.
And then, this area here
we spend most of our time.
(MALENA SOBBING)
(GRETA LAUGHING AND SHOUTING)
♪ Primal paradise
But there you go again ♪
♪ Saying everything ends ♪
♪ Saying you can't depend on anything
Or anyone ♪
♪ If the end of the world was near ♪
♪ Where would you choose to be? ♪
♪ If there was five more minutes of air ♪
♪ Would you panic and hide
Or run for your life ♪
♪ Or stand here and spend it with me? ♪
♪ If we had five more minutes ♪
♪ Would I, could I, make you happy? ♪
GRETA:
I don't want to be a person
says one thing
and then does something else.
I don't want to be the kind of person
who says, "This is so important"
and then the next second, flies across
the world because it's easier that way.
WOMAN:
Many people would say this is crazy.
Just take a flight.
Why do you not want to do that?
GRETA:
Because by taking a boat,
it shows that it's basically
impossible to live sustainable today.
♪ Would you panic and hide
Or run for your life ♪
♪ Or stand here and spend it with me? ♪
♪ If we had five more minutes ♪
♪ Would I, could I, make you happy? ♪
She faces a really,
really tough journey.
I mean, it's an incredible boat.
It's fantastically exciting to sail.
It's basically a huge sail
attached to a super-light hull.
It leaps in the wind,
really muscular, jumps forward.
What that means is,
that it crashes against the waves.
Essentially, it's a giant drum
that bangs against the waves. As the...
And then, here's a button.
There's only one button,
so you will remember that.
And this sends your GPS position...
This has a GPS.
It sends it to a satellite.
This is kind of
the worst-case scenario thing.
It transmits for probably 24 hours
your position.
The problem, why is it dangerous
to fall in the water?
It's because you can get very cold.
Um, the other thing is
to find you is difficult.
For finding you,
this is one thing to have...
(SILENCE)
- Greta, lots of love.
- Yeah, you too.
- The UK strikers made you a video.
- Oh, thank you! Yeah.
(CROWD CHATTERING)
The whole world thinks
you're wonderful. Be a brave girl.
ALL:
Hip, hip, hooray! Hip, hip, hooray!
(WIND BLOWS, WAVES CRASH)
(BOAT CREAKS)
And here the wind is
from behind, and light.
Here's a high pressure.
This will be quite bumpy.
And after that,
the wind is strong from behind.
It starts to blow stronger at
five in the morning tomorrow morning.
It will be a bit challenging,
but nothing dramatic, really.
(WAVES CRASHING)
(WIND AND WAVES INCREASING)
(BOAT CREAKING,
FAINT WIND AND WAVES OUTSIDE)
♪
(CHEERING CROWD)
GRETA:
Humans are social animals.
And in a herd,
everyone has different roles.
We are dependent
on each other to survive.
If you see a threat...
It's your responsibility
to sound the alarm.
And I feel like this is
my responsibility, in a way.
HOST:
Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen,
welcome to the 2019 Climate Action Summit.
If I may ask you to
please take your seats.
(APPLAUSE)
WOMAN:
Greta, your first climate strike
was a lonely event,
a little over a year ago
demanding action for climate change.
What's your message
to world leaders today?
GRETA: This is all wrong.
I shouldn't be up here.
I should be back in school,
on the other side of the ocean.
Yet you all come to
us young people for hope.
How dare you?
You have stolen my dreams and
my childhood with your empty words.
And, yet,
I'm one of the lucky ones.
People are suffering.
People are dying.
Entire ecosystems are collapsing
and all you can talk about is money and
fairy tales of eternal economic growth.
How dare you?
For more than 30 years,
the science has been crystal clear.
How dare you
continue to look away?
And come here,
saying that you are doing enough?
When the politics and solutions
needed are still nowhere in sight.
You are failing us!
But the young people are
starting to understand your betrayal.
The eyes of all future
generations are upon you.
And if you choose to fail us,
I say that we will never forgive you.
The world is waking up.
And change is coming,
whether you like it or not.
(CROWD CHEERING)
(PROTESTERS CHANTING)
If you deal with crises in time,
instead of waiting...
the problems won't get as big.
(CROWD CHEERING)
Because if you do that,
you come out on the other side.
And there, it's better.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
♪
Actually, I don't see the world
in black and white.
It's just the climate issue
I see in black and white.
Sometimes I feel like it would be good
if everyone had a bit more Asperger's.
At least when it comes to the climate.
♪
WOMAN 1: We, the youth,
say you are not doing enough!
We, the youth, demand action now!
WOMAN 2:
We're on the outskirts
of the biggest catastrophe
humanity has ever faced
and our
government is doing nothing!
WOMAN 3: Tell me why there are children
who have to stand up for themselves.
Where are our parents,
where are our grandparents?
We, as a human population,
need to be the change.
Because I will not sit and worry
about a future that I might not have!
WOMAN 4: Shout out, for
the sake of our environment.
And we, the younger generation,
we need to raise our voice.
We have contaminated the Earth
and all the water,
we have polluted the air.
What have we done?
♪