Greta Thunberg Doesn't Win The Nobel Peace Prize | 22 Words

Greta Thunberg has had a remarkable year. The trailblazing teen climate change activist has started an entire climate change activism revolution with her school strikes each week, which are now happening around the globe, with millions taking to the streets. She's got the world talking about an issue that many have shied away from, and despite having her critics, there's no denying her huge impact on the movement.

She's gone from skipping school on her own to protest outside Swedish parliament, to, within a matter of months, addressing world leaders on the so-called climate crisis, initiating the entire "School Strike for Climate," and, of course, throwing Trump that infamous death stare last month.

After being named the favorite to bag the prestigious award, Greta Thunberg failed to win the 100th Nobel Peace Prize today.

Greta Thunberg has become the face of the youth climate change movement.

The Swedish sixteen-year-old has been responsible for the global school strike movement, which began with weekly friday school strikes to protest for climate change action.

Just a year ago, she was relatively unknown.

via: Twitter

 Greta would regularly sit on her own outside Swedish parliament, first staging a "School Strike for Climate" in August last year. In the weeks leading up to the country’s general election, Thunberg sat on the steps outside of the parliament building in Stockholm, holding up the now-iconic sign that read “Skolstrejk För Klimatet" — translating to “school strike for climate."

The teen sat outside the building during school hours for 3 weeks.

Her demands were that the Swedish government reduce carbon emissions in accordance with the Paris Agreement. By sacrificing her education to protest for action, the teen began to conjure up attention and gain traction online.

Her unwavering commitment to the environment has woken the rest of the world.

While a little over a year ago, the name "Greta Thunberg" was relatively unknown, now, her's is the first name that springs to mind when you think of the climate change movement.

Thunberg is known for delivering blistering, matter-of-fact speeches about the urgency of what she calls the "climate crisis."

If we fast-forward to now, Thunberg continues to hold governments accountable during her powerful talks, which have seen her placed in TIME's top one-hundred influential people in the world list.

Her message is clear: we need to act now.

Having whipped up a gigantic global youth movement, climate change is finally getting the attention it deserves, but Thunberg still believes that governments are the ones who still aren't listening. According to the United Nations, humanity has under twelve years to prevent a climate change crisis. A report released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) at the end of 2018 called for immediate “unprecedented changes" to all aspects of society.

If we do not act, the future, if there is one at all, will be very bleak.

Rising global temperatures pose a high risk of social and environmental disasters, including floods, drought, wildfires, and food shortages for millions of people across our planet.

Thunberg has gone to great lengths to fight her cause.

In July, the teen ditched environmentally damaging air travel and sailed across the Atlantic to attend the U.N. climate summits in the U.S. and Chile.

Little by little, her trailblazing activism seems to be sinking in.

According to Live Kindly, earlier this year, Mohammed Barkindo — the secretary-general of OPEC (the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries) — acknowledged public opinion surrounding the climate crisis as a threat to the oil industry.

And her youth school strike movement is growing on a mass scale.

On September 20, millions around the world, from London to New York, Sydney to Colombia, ditched the classroom to peacefully protest for climate action in what Thunberg dubs "Fridays for Future."

But, Thunberg's movement has been met with waves of criticism.

Her activism has seen her labelled "melodramatic" amongst other things, as well as others saying that she is being used as a political shield.

But her critics don't phase her...

Thunberg addressed world leaders at the U.N. Climate Summit last month and delivered a blistering, anger-tinged speech demanding climate action.

The event is dedicated to world leaders sharing climate solutions and new pledges for climate action.

During her powerful speech, Thunberg highlighted how the science behind climate change has been "crystal clear" for over 3 decades. "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!" she said. "You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words."

As she spoke, the teen got visibly emotional.

via: YouTube

 "People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction. And all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth. How dare you!" She continued: "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 say you 'hear' us and that you understand the urgency. But no matter how sad and angry I am, I don’t want to believe that. Because if you fully understood the situation and still kept on failing to act, then you would be evil. And I refuse to believe that."

She concluded with a poignant message: change is coming, whether you like it or not.

via: YouTube

 "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: We will never forgive you. "We will not let you get away with this. Right here, right now is where we draw the line. The world is waking up. And change is coming, whether you like it or not."

After her speech, the teen activist happened to cross paths with Donald Trump in the lobby.

Safe to say, she understandably isn't his biggest fan and shot him the most intense death stare we've ever seen.

The video went viral online.

When faced with one of the world's most powerful leaders, Thunberg remains fearless, and her death stare has become a somewhat internet sensation.

As you'd expect, Donald Trump had something to say about the whole thing.

In usual Trump-style, he took to Twitter to seemingly mock the teen, writing "She seems like a very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future. So nice to see!" above a video of her speech.

His swipe radiated sarcasm.

And of course, people slammed the president for attacking the young activist.

Many weren't sure of how Thunberg would react to this trolling by the President of the United States...

via: Getty Images

 Her mental health has been a consistent worry of many during her time as an activist over the last year. She rose to fame extremely quickly, with her now having 7.1 million followers on Instagram. Thunberg is a young woman who has a history of depression, OCD, anorexia, was a selective mute for several years, and has been diagnosed with Aspergers Syndrome.

But despite many worrying that she will soon "burn out" or have a breakdown...

Her following and support system is larger than ever, and she recently showed President Trump that he doesn’t intimidate or scare her. In her own swipe right back at Trump, she updated the bio of her Twitter account... “A very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future," her new bio read, which is a clear dig at the president, showing that Thunberg isn’t going to let his childish and petty online comments stop her from doing what she believes is right.

Trump isn't her only critic.

via: Getty Images

 Vladimir Putin has also taken aim at the teenage activist, claiming that she doesn’t know what she’s talking about, and may be being used by the adults around her. He spoke out at the Energy Partnership for Sustainable Growth: "I may disappoint you but I don’t share the common excitement about the speech by Greta Thunberg. “When someone is using children and teenagers in personal interests, it only deserves to be condemned."

But, Greta's hard work has been paying off.

She already snagged the 2019 Right Livelihood Award, which is widely known as the “Alternative Nobel Prize."

Thunberg was honored with the prize for her "inspiring" work.

According to a statement from the Right Livelihood Foundation, “Thunberg is the powerful voice of a young generation that will have to bear the consequences of today’s political failure to stop climate change.
“Her resolve to not put up with the looming climate disaster has inspired millions of peers to also raise their voices and demand immediate climate action."

But Greta had some tough competition for the Nobel Peace Prize.

via: Getty Images

 Worthy competitors, including David Attenborough, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, and even Pope Francis were also up for the award.

But, Thunberg was the favorite to win...

According to British bookmaker, William Hill, this week, 96 percent of Nobel Peace Prize bets had been placed on Thunberg.

Although she didn't win today, congratulations are most definitely in order for the teen activist.

via: Getty Images

 Being nominated for such a prestigious award is an impressive achievement in itself.

So who won?

via: Getty Images

 Ethiopian prime minister, Abiy Ahmed, has bagged the award and, we must say, he definitely deserves it!

Berit Reiss-Andersen, chairwoman of the Norwegian Nobel Institute, announced the winner this morning.

"The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel peace prize for 2019 to Ethiopian prime minister Abiy Ahmed’s efforts to achieve peace and international cooperation and for his decisive initiative to resolve the border conflict with neighboring Eritrea."

Abiy Ahmed has made all-important waves for democracy.

In a feature about the then-new prime minister of the East African country written last year, The Guardian wrote: "Under new prime minister Abiy Ahmed, authoritarianism and state brutality appear to be giving way to something resembling democracy. A country that began the year crippled by anti-government protests is now being lauded as a model for the region. One of Africa’s most autocratic ruling parties, the Ethiopian People’s Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF), is today led by a man who professes to believe deeply in freedom of expression." And today marks the day that Ahmed is thanked for his hard work and kind heart. His win was very well deserved.