0:00:01.071,0:00:04.015
I never planned to become[br]a climate activist.

0:00:04.579,0:00:06.844
But things have changed,

0:00:06.868,0:00:09.928
and now, standing here[br]as a climate activist,

0:00:09.952,0:00:12.308
I ask you all to become one, too.

0:00:13.193,0:00:14.690
Here's why,

0:00:14.714,0:00:16.868
and most importantly, how.

0:00:18.821,0:00:22.312
Ten years ago, when I was 13 years old,

0:00:22.336,0:00:24.935
I first learned about[br]the greenhouse effect.

0:00:25.887,0:00:29.705
Back then, we spent[br]90 minutes on this issue,

0:00:29.729,0:00:31.865
and I remember finding it quite irritating

0:00:31.889,0:00:34.106
that something so fundamental

0:00:34.130,0:00:36.959
would be squeezed into[br]a single geography lesson.

0:00:38.123,0:00:41.969
Some of this irritation remained,[br]so when I graduated from high school,

0:00:41.993,0:00:44.291
I decided to study geography,

0:00:44.315,0:00:48.541
just to make sure I was on the right track[br]with this whole climate change thing.

0:00:49.487,0:00:52.362
And this is when everything changed.

0:00:53.492,0:00:55.690
This was the first time[br]I looked at the data,

0:00:55.714,0:00:58.103
at the science behind the climate crisis,

0:00:58.881,0:01:01.339
and I couldn't believe what I was reading.

0:01:01.985,0:01:04.104
Like many of you,

0:01:04.128,0:01:07.332
I thought that the planet[br]wasn't really in a good state.

0:01:08.562,0:01:13.578
I had no idea that we are rushing[br]into this self-made disaster

0:01:13.602,0:01:15.600
in such a rapid pace.

0:01:16.636,0:01:19.971
There was also the first time[br]I understood what difference it makes

0:01:19.995,0:01:22.149
when you consider the bigger picture.

0:01:22.173,0:01:25.883
Take the CO2 concentration[br]in the atmosphere, for instance,

0:01:25.907,0:01:28.079
the number one driver for global warming.

0:01:28.487,0:01:30.274
Yes, this looks bad.

0:01:30.298,0:01:33.782
This looks like we are on[br]a pretty bad track.

0:01:34.362,0:01:37.585
But it's only once you don't[br]just consider the last 60 years

0:01:37.609,0:01:39.223
but the last 10,000 years

0:01:39.247,0:01:42.173
that you understand[br]how terrifying this really is.

0:01:43.512,0:01:47.147
And this is just one aspect[br]of the crisis we're seeing.

0:01:47.922,0:01:51.284
I'm not going to get into details here,[br]but let me tell you so much:

0:01:52.546,0:01:55.479
we are in a point of history

0:01:55.503,0:02:00.786
that the most destructive force[br]on the planet is humanity itself.

0:02:00.810,0:02:03.224
We are in a point of history

0:02:03.248,0:02:07.586
that no scientist could guarantee you[br]that you will survive this.

0:02:08.547,0:02:11.146
We are in a point of history

0:02:11.170,0:02:14.882
that humanity is creating an environment

0:02:14.906,0:02:18.258
that's not safe for humans anymore.

0:02:20.353,0:02:21.950
Yeah, there I was,

0:02:22.878,0:02:24.214
first year of geography,

0:02:24.238,0:02:25.689
and felt pretty overwhelmed.

0:02:25.713,0:02:26.879
But ...

0:02:27.329,0:02:28.626
there was good news.

0:02:30.087,0:02:33.598
The very same year[br]I first learned about all this,

0:02:33.622,0:02:37.225
leaders from across the globe[br]came together in Paris

0:02:37.249,0:02:43.055
to decide on the common target to limit[br]global warming to below two degrees.

0:02:43.763,0:02:45.376
Pictures went around the world,

0:02:45.400,0:02:47.885
and I was told that history[br]was made that day.

0:02:48.949,0:02:50.505
How relieving, right?

0:02:52.358,0:02:53.519
Except ...

0:02:54.430,0:02:57.806
something didn't quite[br]work out about this.

0:02:59.314,0:03:02.132
After this agreement was signed,

0:03:02.156,0:03:04.225
things didn't really get better.

0:03:04.249,0:03:06.799
Actually, they got much worse.

0:03:07.823,0:03:11.867
Decision makers and industries,[br]leaders and politicians,

0:03:11.891,0:03:15.434
they went back to business as usual,

0:03:15.458,0:03:19.426
exploiting our livelihoods[br]like there is literally no tomorrow,

0:03:20.252,0:03:23.892
building coal power plants[br]again and again,

0:03:23.916,0:03:26.467
even though we know that needs to stop,

0:03:26.491,0:03:28.501
according to the Paris Agreement.

0:03:30.369,0:03:33.561
So while there are also[br]good developments, of course --

0:03:33.585,0:03:37.727
there are installations of wind and solar[br]energy all over the globe, yes --

0:03:37.751,0:03:41.871
but these positive changes[br]are slow -- too slow, in fact.

0:03:41.895,0:03:44.570
So since the Paris Agreement was signed,

0:03:44.594,0:03:47.649
climate graphs keep racing to the top,

0:03:47.673,0:03:50.408
smashing records every year.

0:03:50.432,0:03:52.864
The five hottest years ever recorded

0:03:52.888,0:03:55.391
were the previous five years,

0:03:55.415,0:04:00.846
and at no time have global emissions[br]been higher than today.

0:04:03.003,0:04:04.184
So there I was,

0:04:04.208,0:04:07.215
seeing and understanding[br]the science on the one side,

0:04:07.239,0:04:12.295
but not seeing answers,[br]not seeing the action, on the other side.

0:04:13.684,0:04:16.617
At that point, I had enough.

0:04:16.641,0:04:20.048
I wanted to go to the UN[br]Climate Conference myself,

0:04:20.072,0:04:24.624
that very place that was created[br]to bring people together

0:04:24.648,0:04:26.511
to fix the climate --

0:04:26.535,0:04:29.006
except not really, apparently.

0:04:29.030,0:04:30.180
This was last year.

0:04:30.204,0:04:33.452
I traveled to the Climate Conference[br]and wanted to find out

0:04:33.476,0:04:35.842
what this is really like,[br]what this is about.

0:04:37.344,0:04:41.459
For political realists,[br]this might be no surprise,

0:04:42.253,0:04:44.378
but I found it hard to bear:

0:04:44.402,0:04:49.854
that fossil fuel industries[br]and political leaders

0:04:49.878,0:04:54.392
are doing everything, everything[br]to prevent real change from happening.

0:04:54.823,0:04:58.431
They are not keen to set targets[br]that are ambitious enough

0:04:58.455,0:05:01.071
to put us on a below-two-degree pathway.

0:05:02.163,0:05:07.641
After all, these are the only ones who[br]benefit from this climate crisis, right?

0:05:07.665,0:05:10.556
The fossil fuel industry[br]generates profits,

0:05:10.580,0:05:14.154
and political leaders, well,[br]they look at the next election,

0:05:14.178,0:05:15.659
at what makes them popular,

0:05:15.683,0:05:18.945
and I guess that's not asking[br]the inconvenient questions.

0:05:19.760,0:05:23.065
There is no intention for them[br]to change the game.

0:05:23.393,0:05:28.519
There is no country in the world[br]where either companies or political powers

0:05:28.543,0:05:31.811
are sanctioned for wrecking the climate.

0:05:34.201,0:05:39.973
With all the strangeness[br]and the sadness about this conference,

0:05:39.997,0:05:42.231
there was one someone who was different,

0:05:42.255,0:05:46.496
someone who seemed to be quite worried,

0:05:46.520,0:05:48.391
and that was Greta Thunberg.

0:05:49.129,0:05:53.470
I decided right there[br]that everything else seemed hopeless

0:05:53.494,0:05:54.971
and didn't seem to make sense,

0:05:54.995,0:05:58.268
so I joined her climate strike[br]right there at the conference.

0:05:58.292,0:06:01.087
It was my very first climate strike ever

0:06:01.111,0:06:03.333
and an incredibly strange setting,

0:06:03.357,0:06:06.574
just me and her sitting there[br]at this conference hall,

0:06:06.598,0:06:11.546
surrounded by this busyness[br]of the suit-wearing conference crowd

0:06:11.570,0:06:14.677
who had no idea what to do with us.

0:06:15.602,0:06:19.600
And yet, this felt more powerful

0:06:19.624,0:06:23.051
than anything I had expected[br]in a very long time.

0:06:24.279,0:06:28.006
And it was right there[br]that I felt it was maybe time

0:06:28.030,0:06:29.673
to start striking in Germany.

0:06:29.697,0:06:33.243
I was now certain that no one else[br]was going to fix this for us,

0:06:33.267,0:06:39.109
and if there was just the slightest chance[br]that this could make a difference,

0:06:39.133,0:06:42.195
it seemed almost foolish[br]not to give it a go.

0:06:43.482,0:06:45.620
So I --

0:06:45.644,0:06:52.624
(Applause)

0:06:54.805,0:06:56.565
So I traveled back to Berlin.

0:06:56.589,0:07:00.419
I found allies who had[br]the same idea at the same time,

0:07:00.443,0:07:04.434
and together we thought we'd give[br]this "Fridays For Future" thing a go.

0:07:04.458,0:07:07.563
Obviously, we had no idea[br]what we were getting into.

0:07:07.991,0:07:10.979
Before our first strike,[br]many of us, including me,

0:07:11.003,0:07:15.927
had never organized a public demonstration[br]or any kind of protest before.

0:07:15.951,0:07:17.843
We had no money, no resources

0:07:17.867,0:07:21.722
and absolutely no idea[br]what climate striking really is.

0:07:21.746,0:07:24.539
So we started doing what we were good at:

0:07:25.099,0:07:26.910
we started texting,

0:07:26.934,0:07:29.812
texting en masse, night and day,[br]everyone we could reach,

0:07:29.836,0:07:33.094
organizing our first[br]climate strike via WhatsApp.

0:07:34.105,0:07:38.091
The night before our first strike,[br]I was so nervous I couldn't sleep.

0:07:38.481,0:07:41.982
I didn't know what to expect,[br]but I expected the worst.

0:07:44.188,0:07:50.072
Maybe it was because[br]we weren't the only ones

0:07:50.096,0:07:54.558
who had been longing to have a voice[br]in a political environment

0:07:54.582,0:07:58.810
that had seemingly forgotten[br]how to include young people's perspective

0:07:58.834,0:08:01.418
into decision-making, maybe.

0:08:02.049,0:08:04.470
But somehow this worked out.

0:08:04.987,0:08:07.490
And from one day to the other,

0:08:07.514,0:08:09.067
we were all over the place.

0:08:09.666,0:08:12.890
And I, from one day to the other,

0:08:12.914,0:08:14.515
became a climate activist.

0:08:17.459,0:08:18.754
Usually,

0:08:19.983,0:08:22.250
in these kind of TED Talks,

0:08:22.274,0:08:25.263
I would now say how it's overly hopeful,

0:08:25.287,0:08:27.763
how we young people[br]are going to get this sorted,

0:08:27.787,0:08:31.231
how we're going to save the future[br]and the planet and everything else,

0:08:31.255,0:08:33.596
how we young people[br]striking for the climate

0:08:33.620,0:08:34.911
are going to fix this.

0:08:35.671,0:08:36.855
Usually.

0:08:38.677,0:08:40.214
But this is not how this works.

0:08:40.238,0:08:43.208
This is not how this crisis works.

0:08:44.223,0:08:45.398
Here's a twist:

0:08:47.049,0:08:52.550
today, three and a half years[br]after that Paris Agreement was signed,

0:08:52.574,0:08:55.215
when we look at the science,

0:08:55.239,0:08:58.319
we find it's still possible[br]to keep global warming

0:08:58.343,0:08:59.915
to below two degrees --

0:09:01.107,0:09:02.422
technically.

0:09:03.442,0:09:07.306
And we also see it's still possible[br]to hold other disastrous developments

0:09:07.330,0:09:10.320
we're seeing, such as mass[br]extinction and soil degradation --

0:09:10.344,0:09:12.403
yes, technically.

0:09:13.668,0:09:18.825
It's just incredibly, incredibly unlikely.

0:09:21.341,0:09:23.800
And in any case,

0:09:23.824,0:09:27.151
the world would have to see changes

0:09:27.175,0:09:29.434
which we have never experienced before.

0:09:30.102,0:09:34.012
We'd have to fully decarbonize[br]our economies by 2050

0:09:34.036,0:09:36.697
and transform the distribution of powers

0:09:36.721,0:09:40.676
that is currently allowing those fossil[br]fuel giants and political leaders

0:09:40.700,0:09:42.516
to stay on top of the game.

0:09:43.562,0:09:47.711
We are talking of nothing less[br]than the greatest transformation

0:09:47.735,0:09:49.693
since the Industrial Revolution.

0:09:49.717,0:09:51.918
We are talking, if you want[br]to put it that way,

0:09:51.942,0:09:54.177
we are talking of a climate revolution

0:09:55.637,0:09:57.798
in a minimum amount of time.

0:09:57.822,0:10:01.009
We wouldn't have a single[br]further year to lose.

0:10:02.875,0:10:06.889
And in any case, for any[br]of that change to happen,

0:10:07.889,0:10:11.378
the world needs to stop relying on

0:10:11.402,0:10:15.491
one or two or three million school[br]strikers to sort this out.

0:10:16.286,0:10:18.827
Yes, we are great,[br]we are going to keep going,

0:10:18.851,0:10:22.364
and we are going to go to places[br]no one ever expected us, yes.

0:10:22.888,0:10:24.733
But we are not the limit;

0:10:24.757,0:10:26.278
we are the start.

0:10:27.414,0:10:29.851
This is not a job for a single generation.

0:10:29.875,0:10:31.956
This is a job for humanity.

0:10:32.692,0:10:36.523
And this is when all eyes are on you.

0:10:38.411,0:10:39.754
For this change to happen,

0:10:39.778,0:10:43.477
we will have to get[br]one million things sorted.

0:10:44.051,0:10:46.481
It's an incredibly[br]complex thing, after all.

0:10:47.897,0:10:49.048
But ...

0:10:50.376,0:10:53.240
there are some things that everyone[br]can get started with.

0:10:53.721,0:10:57.489
Bad news first: if you thought[br]I would tell you now to cycle more

0:10:57.513,0:11:00.884
or eat less meat, to fly less,[br]or to go secondhand shopping,

0:11:00.908,0:11:03.453
sorry, this is not that easy.

0:11:03.477,0:11:05.158
But here comes the good news:

0:11:05.633,0:11:09.882
you are more than consumers and shoppers,

0:11:09.906,0:11:13.602
even though the industry would like you[br]to keep yourselves limited to that.

0:11:13.626,0:11:18.397
No; me and you --[br]we are all political beings,

0:11:18.421,0:11:21.968
and we can all be part of this answer.

0:11:21.992,0:11:26.554
We can all be something[br]that many people call climate activists.

0:11:26.578,0:11:27.742
Yay?

0:11:27.766,0:11:29.296
(Laughter)

0:11:29.320,0:11:30.738
So what are the first steps?

0:11:30.762,0:11:34.708
Four first steps that are essential[br]to get everything else done,

0:11:34.732,0:11:38.505
four first steps that everyone[br]can get started with,

0:11:38.529,0:11:44.432
four first steps that decide[br]about everything that can happen after.

0:11:45.178,0:11:46.553
So what's that?

0:11:47.573,0:11:48.783
Number one:

0:11:50.086,0:11:54.054
we need to drastically reframe[br]our understanding of a climate activist,

0:11:54.078,0:11:59.016
our understanding of who[br]can be the answer to this.

0:11:59.977,0:12:03.668
A climate activist isn't that one person[br]that's read every single study

0:12:03.692,0:12:08.650
and is now spending every afternoon[br]handing out leaflets about vegetarianism

0:12:08.674,0:12:09.840
in shopping malls.

0:12:09.864,0:12:11.076
No.

0:12:11.100,0:12:14.226
A climate activist can be everyone,

0:12:14.250,0:12:19.441
everyone who wants to join a movement[br]of those who intend to grow old

0:12:19.465,0:12:23.369
on a planet that prioritizes[br]protection of natural environments

0:12:23.393,0:12:26.106
and happiness and health for the many

0:12:26.130,0:12:30.450
over the destruction of the climate[br]and the wrecking of the planet

0:12:30.474,0:12:32.109
for the profits of the few.

0:12:33.232,0:12:37.905
And since the climate crisis is affecting[br]every single part of our social,

0:12:37.929,0:12:40.468
of our political and of our private life,

0:12:40.492,0:12:43.545
we need climate activists[br]everywhere on every corner,

0:12:43.569,0:12:44.947
not only in every room,

0:12:44.971,0:12:48.392
but also in every city and country[br]and state and continent.

0:12:50.478,0:12:51.730
Second:

0:12:53.341,0:12:57.939
I need you to get out of[br]that zone of convenience,

0:12:57.963,0:13:01.066
away from a business as usual[br]that has no tomorrow.

0:13:02.931,0:13:06.893
All of you here, you are[br]either a friend or a family member,

0:13:06.917,0:13:09.513
you are a worker, a colleague,[br]a student, a teacher

0:13:09.537,0:13:11.150
or, in many cases, a voter.

0:13:11.632,0:13:14.656
All of this comes along[br]with a responsibility

0:13:14.680,0:13:17.726
that this crisis requires you[br]to grow up to.

0:13:18.776,0:13:22.258
There's the company that employs you

0:13:22.282,0:13:23.937
or that sponsors you.

0:13:24.477,0:13:27.265
Is it on track of meeting[br]the Paris Agreement?

0:13:27.932,0:13:31.028
Does your local parliamentarian know[br]that you care about this,

0:13:31.052,0:13:33.649
that you want this to be a priority[br]in every election?

0:13:33.673,0:13:35.609
Does your best friend know about this?

0:13:36.077,0:13:40.051
Do you read a newspaper[br]or write a newspaper? Great.

0:13:40.075,0:13:43.435
Then let them know you want them[br]to report on this in every issue,

0:13:43.459,0:13:48.268
and that you want them to challenge[br]decision makers in every single interview.

0:13:49.878,0:13:53.451
If you're a singer, sing about this.[br]If you're a teacher, teach about this.

0:13:53.475,0:13:56.727
And if you have a bank account,[br]tell your bank you're going to leave

0:13:56.751,0:13:58.750
if they keep investing in fossil fuels.

0:13:59.410,0:14:02.716
And, of course, on Fridays,[br]you should all know what to do.

0:14:05.495,0:14:06.703
Thirdly:

0:14:07.340,0:14:13.251
leaving that zone of convenience[br]works best when you join forces.

0:14:14.608,0:14:17.750
One person asking for inconvenient change

0:14:17.774,0:14:21.397
is mostly inconvenient.

0:14:21.421,0:14:25.302
Two, five, ten, one hundred people[br]asking for inconvenient change

0:14:25.326,0:14:26.883
are hard to ignore.

0:14:26.907,0:14:29.873
The more you are, the harder it gets[br]for people to justify

0:14:29.897,0:14:31.962
a system that has no future.

0:14:32.831,0:14:35.968
Power is not something[br]that you either have or don't have.

0:14:35.992,0:14:38.914
Power is something you either take[br]or leave to others,

0:14:38.938,0:14:41.211
and it grows once you share it.

0:14:42.317,0:14:44.834
We young people on the streets,[br]we school strikers,

0:14:44.858,0:14:47.056
we are showing how this can work out.

0:14:47.080,0:14:51.339
One single school striker will always be[br]one single school striker --

0:14:51.363,0:14:52.798
well, Greta Thunberg.

0:14:52.822,0:14:56.017
Two, five, ten, one thousand people[br]striking school are a movement,

0:14:56.041,0:14:57.834
and that's what we need everywhere.

0:14:57.858,0:14:59.079
No pressure.

0:14:59.103,0:15:00.356
(Laughter)

0:15:00.955,0:15:03.876
And number four, finally --

0:15:03.900,0:15:08.692
and this is probably the most[br]important aspect of all of this --

0:15:11.653,0:15:15.384
I need you to start taking[br]yourselves more seriously.

0:15:16.457,0:15:18.727
If there's one thing I've learned

0:15:18.751,0:15:22.610
during seven months[br]of organizing climate action,

0:15:22.634,0:15:24.952
it's that if you don't go for something,

0:15:25.840,0:15:28.525
chances are high that no one else will.

0:15:29.724,0:15:33.340
The most powerful[br]institutions of this world

0:15:33.364,0:15:38.367
have no intention of changing the game[br]they're profiting from most,

0:15:38.391,0:15:41.133
so there's no point[br]in further relying on them.

0:15:42.308,0:15:43.817
That's scary, I know.

0:15:44.341,0:15:48.351
That's a huge responsibility, a huge[br]burden on everyone's shoulders, yes.

0:15:49.716,0:15:51.584
But this also means,

0:15:51.608,0:15:53.063
if we want to,

0:15:53.857,0:15:55.722
we can have a say in this.

0:15:57.191,0:16:00.251
We can be part of that change.[br]We can be part of that answer.

0:16:01.038,0:16:03.087
And that's quite beautiful, right?

0:16:04.484,0:16:06.602
So let's give it a try,[br]let's rock and roll,

0:16:06.626,0:16:09.079
let's flood the world[br]with climate activists.

0:16:09.649,0:16:11.992
Let's get out of the zones of convenience

0:16:12.016,0:16:15.662
and join forces and start[br]taking ourselves more seriously.

0:16:17.119,0:16:19.694
Imagine what this world would look like,

0:16:19.718,0:16:22.633
where children would grow up,

0:16:22.657,0:16:28.780
knowing their future was this one[br]great adventure to look forward to

0:16:28.804,0:16:30.397
and nothing to be scared of,

0:16:31.905,0:16:35.568
what this world would look like[br]when the next climate conference

0:16:35.592,0:16:40.066
is this great happening of people[br]who come together,

0:16:40.090,0:16:42.636
who had heard the voices of millions,

0:16:42.660,0:16:46.913
who would then roll up their sleeves,[br]ready to create real change.

0:16:48.152,0:16:49.313
You know,

0:16:50.394,0:16:52.041
I dream of this world

0:16:53.057,0:16:59.052
where geography classes[br]teach about the climate crisis

0:16:59.076,0:17:02.123
as this one greatest challenge

0:17:02.147,0:17:05.826
that was won by people like you and me,

0:17:06.865,0:17:09.176
who had started acting in time

0:17:09.200,0:17:12.896
because they understood[br]they had nothing to lose

0:17:12.920,0:17:14.931
and everything to win.

0:17:16.472,0:17:17.988
So why not give it a go?

0:17:18.012,0:17:20.235
No one else will save the future for us.

0:17:20.842,0:17:23.285
This is more than an invitation.[br]Spread the word.

0:17:23.309,0:17:24.519
Thank you.

0:17:24.543,0:17:29.683
(Applause)