(Bloomberg Businessweek) -- A record August 2018 heat wave in her home country inspired Thunberg to protest outside parliament, urging her leaders to live up to the promises they made when they signed on to the Paris climate accord. A year later, she’s still protesting.
She’s in front of parliament every Friday—unless she’s boating around the world to give political leaders a dressing-down in person. Her dedication to climate change has turned her into a leader of a growing grassroots movement.
Thunberg’s success is a result of her refusal to play nice. In January she told the crowd at Davos that they know “exactly what priceless values they have been sacrificing to continue making unimaginable amounts of money.” Three months later she reprimanded Britain’s government for its “ongoing irresponsible behavior” for allowing fracking and a new coal mine. Her blunt assessments have gotten attention. Earlier this year, OPEC called Thunberg the “greatest threat” to the fossil fuel industry. Thunberg responded, “Thank you!”
To contact the author of this story: Claire Suddath in New York at csuddath@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Bret Begun at bbegun@bloomberg.net, Max Chafkin
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