(Daniele COSSU / Shutterstock.com)
Climate activist 16 -year old Greta Thunberg is on her way to address the UN Climate Action Summit in New York. And according to a Facebook post, she will not be flying over the Atlantic Ocean, she will be sailing on the Malizia II, a zero-emissions sailboat.
The Swedish activist has become the face of the youth climate movement after her weekly school strike protests that began in August 2018 led to the Fridays for Future student movement (F4F) that inspired similar action in more than 100 cities globally.
Greta believes going to the Climate Action Summit is critical because Secretary-General António Guterres asked world leaders to present concrete, realistic plans on how to reduce greenhouse emissions by 45 percent over the next decade at the summit.
"The science is clear. We must start bending the emissions curve steeply downwards no later than 2020, if we still are to have a chance of staying below a 1.5 degrees of global temperature rise. We still have a window of time when things are in our own hands. But that window is closing fast. That is why I have decided to make this trip now," said Greta on her Facebook page.
Greta doesn't fly because of the high levels of emissions from air travel. Sailing on the Malizia II will allow her to get to NY with zero emissions. She looked for an environmentally friendly way to get to the UN conference before she decided to go by the sailboat.
The boat will be skippered by Pierre Casiraghi, the founder of team Malizia and Boris Herrmann according to a statement from the team.
“I believe in bringing awareness about rising global emissions and pollution due to human activity. Convincing governments and international institutions to make the step and enforce laws that will protect mankind and biodiversity is of the utmost importance for the future of humanity," said Casiragh in the statement.
"Greta is an ambassador who delivers a fundamental message both for our society and for the survival of future generations. Team Malizia and I are proud to take Greta across the Atlantic in this challenging mode of transport, unfortunately today this is still the only way without fossil fuel emissions. Hopefully this will change in the near future," said Casiraghi.
The UN summit in New York is just the first stop on Greta's journey. She will go to Canada, Mexico, and to the UN COP25 Climate Conference in Santiago, Chile before traveling to additional places in South America. Greta will be leaving from an undisclosed location in the UK in mid-August 2019. The itinerary has not been released yet.
"Together with many other young people across the Americas and the world, I will be there, even if the journey will be long and challenging. We will make our voices heard. It is our future on the line, and we must at least have a say in it," Greta posted.
If anyone has a chance of convincing world leaders of the urgency of climate change, Greta does. This pintsized pixy with her hair still in braids has the guts to tell people exactly how it is and why things must change. Her future and all of our futures are depending on it.
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