Greta Thunberg turns down £40,000 environment award, criticising ‘bragging’ of Nordic countries

‘The climate movement does not need any more awards,’ schoolgirl says

Greta Thunberg has turned down an environmental prize worth 500,000 Swedish kronor (£40,000).

The teenage climate activist won the Nordic Council’s environmental award for 2019. The council is formed of 87 members from across the Nordic countries, including Greta’s home nation of Sweden.

“I have decided to decline this prize,” the 16-year-old wrote in a lengthy post on Instagram.

She thanked the council for the “honour” but was critical about the concept of climate prizes.

The schoolgirl also said Nordic countries “bragged” about their success in combating climate change and criticised their environmental policies, saying they “basically did nothing” to help the cause.

“The climate movement does not need any more awards,” she said. “What we need is for our politicians and the people in power start to listen to the current, best available science.

“The Nordic countries have a great reputation around the world when it comes to climate and environmental issues. There is no lack of bragging about this. There is no lack of beautiful words.

“But when it comes to our actual emissions and our ecological footprints per capita – if we include our consumption, our imports as well as aviation and shipping – then it’s a whole other story.”

The Swedish schoolgirl began a lone climate change protest in October 2018 outside the country’s parliament.

She said she would refuse to attend school on Fridays until the Swedish government dealt with the intensifying ecological crisis.

Greta’s actions have sparked a global protest movement. Inspired by her, schoolchildren have walked out of their classrooms in a series of Friday protests.

The 16-year-old has also spoken in front of world leaders at the UN general assembly and Davos, and was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize which was won by Ethiopian prime minister Abiy Ahmed.

“In Sweden we live as if we had about 4 planets according to WWF and Global Footprint Network. And roughly the same goes for the entire Nordic region,” the teenager said in her Instagram post.

“So until you start to act in accordance with what the science says is needed to limit the global temperature rise below 1.5 degrees or even 2 degrees celsius, I – and Fridays For Future in Sweden – choose not to accept the Nordic Councils environmental award.”