♪ >> STEPHEN: WELCOME BACK.
MY GUEST TONIGHT IS AN ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVIST WHO HAS
INSPIRED MILLIONS TO JOIN THE FIGHT AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE AND
IS THE YOUNGEST PERSON EVER TO BE NAMED "TIME" MAGAZINE'S
PERSON OF THE YEAR.
PLEASE WELCOME, GRETA THUNBERG!
GRETA, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE.
>> HI.
THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME.
>> Stephen: I'VE SO LOOKED FORWARD TO TALKING TO YOU, AND
I'M SO GLAD YOU'VE MADE SOME TIME FOR US TODAY BECAUSE YOU
HAVE BEEN EXTRAORDINARILY BUSY IN JUST THE LAST WEEK.
I MEAN, OBVIOUSLY FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS.
BUT IN JUST THE LAST WEEK, I UNDERSTAND, YESTERDAY, YOU WERE
AWARDED THE FIRST EVER GULBENKIAN PRIZE FOR HUMANITY,
WHICH IS A PORTUGUESE PRIZE, I UNDERSTAND.
>> YES.
>> Stephen: AND WHAT IS THE AWARD FOR?
WHAT WAS THE PRESENTATION LIKE?
>> WELL, IT'S CALLED THE GULBENKIAN PRIZE FOR HUMANITY,
SO IT'S THE HUMANITARIAN AWARD, AND IT'S, OF COURSE, A HUGE
HONOR.
THE PRIZE MONEY IS FOR 1 MILLION EUROS, WHICH IS MORE MONEY THAN
I CAN EVEN BEGIN TO IMAGINE.
>> Stephen: WOW, THAT IS A LOT OF -- THAT'S A LOT OF EURO-EURO
BILLS, Y'ALL.
>> YEAH.
>> Stephen: WHAT WILL HAPPEN WITH THAT MONEY NOW?
>> WELL, ALL OF THAT MONEY WILL BE DONATED THROUGH MY FOUNDATION
TO PROJECTS AND ORGANIZATIONS WHO ARE WORKING, WHO ARE
FIGHTING FOR A SUSTAINABLE WORLD AND DEFENDING NATURE AND HELPING
THOSE WHO HAVE ALREADY BEEN HIT HARDEST BY THE CLIMATE, THE
ECOLOGICAL CRISIS.
>> Stephen: THIS PAST FRIDAY MARKED 100 WEEKS OF YOUR SCHOOL
STRIKE FOR THE CLIMATE.
IT STARTED IN AUGUST OF 2018.
YOU SAT ALONE OUTSIDE THE SWEDISH PARLIAMENT.
WHAT DID YOU IMAGINE WOULD HAPPEN, AND WHAT DO YOU THINK OF
WHAT HAS HAPPENED, WHAT YOU'VE INSPIRED SINCE THEN?
>> WELL, TO BE HONEST, I DIDN'T HAVE ANY EXPECTATIONS AT ALL.
I JUST THOUGHT THAT'S -- WELL, I NEED TO DO SOMETHING BECAUSE
THIS IS SUCH A CRUCIAL TIME, AND IT IS MY MORAL DUTY AS A HUMAN
BEING, AS A CITIZEN, TO DO EVERYTHING I CAN.
SO I JUST THOUGHT, WELL, I'LL JUST DO SOMETHING.
SO I JUST SAT DOWN AND STARTED SCHOOL STRIKING.
I DIDN'T THINK IT WOULD LEAD TO ANYTHING.
I JUST THOUGHT I NEED TO DO SOMETHING, ANYTHING.
BUT THEN IT JUST KIND OF EXPLODED OUT OF NOWHERE.
IT STARTED SPREADING TO DIFFERENT COUNTRIES AND THEN
DIFFERENT CONTINENTS AND THEN SUDDENLY, IT WAS A GLOBAL
MOVEMENT.
>> Stephen: TO ME, IT SPOKE TO A HUNGER FOR AN OPPORTUNITY TO
TAKE ACTION AND FOR PEOPLE TO SPEAK OUT, AND YOU WERE A SPARK
THAT LIT THAT FIRE FOR PEOPLE.
WHAT IS IT ABOUT THE LAST 100 WEEKS OF YOU DOING THIS THAT
SURPRISED YOU THE MOST?
LIKE, WHAT SURPRISED YOU THE MOST IN A POSITIVE AND A
NEGATIVE DIRECTION?
>> WELL, I GUESS WHAT HAS SURPRISED ME THE MOST IS JUST
HOW MANY PEOPLE THAT CARED AND HOW MANY PEOPLE, ESPECIALLY
YOUNG PEOPLE, WHO ACTUALLY SEE THIS AND SORT OF UNDERSTAND THAT
THIS IS AN EXISTENTIAL CRISIS.
>> Stephen: YES, BECAUSE LAST SEPTEMBER WAS THE LARGEST SINGLE
GLOBAL PROTEST DAY IN HISTORY, 4 MILLION PEOPLE TURNED OUT
AROUND THE WORLD IN ONE DAY TO TALK ABOUT THE ONGOING CLIMATE
CRISIS.
>> YEAH.
AND THEN THE WEEK AFTER THAT, WE HAD ANOTHER 3 MILLION.
SO, YEAH, IT REALLY SHOWS THAT THINGS ARE STARTING TO HAPPEN.
MORE AND MORE PEOPLE ARE STARTING TO BECOME AWARE.
THE LEVEL OF AWARENESS IS STILL CLOSE TO -- NOT EVEN CLOSE TO
WHERE WE NEED TO BE, BUT, STILL, IT FEELS LIKE WE'RE SLOWLY
STARTING TO WAKE UP.
>> Stephen: AND IS THERE ANYTHING THAT SURPRISED YOU
ABOUT, LIKE, NEGATIVE REACTIONS YOU GOT TO THIS?
BECAUSE YOU BECAME THE FOCUS OF HOSTILITY FOR REASONS THAT I
DON'T ENTIRELY UNDERSTAND, BUT FROM MEDIA FIGURES, FROM
POLITICIANS.
WHAT DID THAT FEEL LIKE?
>> WELL, I THINK -- YEAH, THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT HAVE
SURPRISED ME.
I MEAN, FIRST OF ALL, HOW FAR SOME PEOPLE ARE WILLING TO GO TO
JUST KEEP THE FOCUS AWAY FROM THE CLIMATE CRISIS.
I MEAN, EVERYTHING FROM ORGANIZED HATE CAMPAIGNS TO
THREATS, JUST BECAUSE THEY FEEL THREATENED BY A COUPLE OF YOUNG
KIDS TAKING TO THE STREETS.
AND ALSO THAT PEOPLE IN SUCH POWERFUL POSITIONS, LIKE
PRESIDENTS AND HEADS OF STATE, GO ON , TO FOR INSTANCE, SOCIAL
MEDIA, TO ACTIVELY TRY TO SILENCE YOUNG ACTIVISTS AND
MOCK, AND I JUST FIND THAT VERY -- WELL, IN ONE WAY, IT'S
HILARIOUS BECAUSE IT SHOWS THEY HAVE NOWHERE LEFT TO GO, AND IT
ALSO SHOWS THAT WE ARE ACTUALLY HAVING -- WE ARE HAVING AN
IMPACT BECAUSE THERE MUST BE A REASON WHY THEY'RE TRYING TO
SILENCE US, AND THAT MUST BE BECAUSE WE ARE BEING LOUD AND WE
ARE HAVING AN IMPACT.
>> Stephen: YEAH, THEY WOULDN'T REACT THIS WAY UNLESS
THEY SAW THE CLIMATE MOVEMENT A THREAT SOMEHOW TO THEIR STATUS
QUO.
>> YEAH, EXACTLY.
>> Stephen: WHAT'S IT LIKE TO GO TO SOMETHING LIKE DAVOS AND
SPEAK TO PEOPLE IN THE ROOM WHO YOU KNOW ARE IN POSITIONS OF
POWER -- FIRST OF ALL, WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT SUCH MEETINGS IF
YOU THINK ABOUT THEM AT ALL AND, SECOND, WHAT'S IT LIKE TO
ADDRESS THOSE PEOPLE?
>> IT'S VERY STRANGE AND SURREAL TO ADDRESS THESE PEOPLE AND,
HONESTLY, I DON'T REALLY UNDERSTAND WHY I GET INVITED TO
THESE KINDS OF MEETING BECAUSE I JUST GO THERE AND I TELL THEM
THAT YOU NEED TO START GETTING TO WORK AND TAKE THIS SERIOUSLY,
AND THEY JUST SAY, YEAH, WE AGREE, AND THEY APPLAUD, AND
THEN BACK TO -- BACK TO HOW IT WAS BEFORE.
>> Stephen: WHEN YOU CAME TO THE UNITED STATES, YOU SAILED --
WHEN YOU CAME TO NEW YORK FOR THE U.N., YOU SAILED OVER.
HAD YOU EVER DONE A BIG SAIL LIKE THAT BEFORE?
BECAUSE THAT'S A LONG WAY TO BE ON A BOAT.
>> ACTUALLY, BEFORE THAT, I HAD NEVER -- I THINK I HAD ONE TIME
STEPPED MY FOOT ON A SAILING BOAT, NEVER SAILED BEFORE.
>> Stephen: WHAT WAS THAT LIKE?
BECAUSE I'VE DONE SOME VERY LONG OCEAN SAILING VOYAGES, JUST
UNDER SAIL POWER, NO MOTOR POWER AT ALL, AND IT'S VERY STRANGE
OUT THERE, ISN'T IT?
>> IT IS.
>> Stephen: BUT YOU ALSO GET THIS EXTRAORDINARY FEELING THAT,
WAIT, THERE'S SO MUCH OF THE WORLD I DON'T KNOW ANYTHING
ABOUT BECAUSE 75% OF THE WORLD IS THIS, WHERE MOST PEOPLE NEVER
GO.
>> YEAH.
>> Stephen: HOW DID THAT AFFECT YOUR VIEW OF THE WORLD
THAT YOU'RE TRYING TO DO SO MUCH TO SAVE?
>> I MEAN, BOTH -- LIKE YOU SAID, YOU REALIZE HOW MUCH I
DON'T KNOW, HOW MUCH WE DON'T KNOW.
I MEAN, WHEN YOU'RE OUT THERE, YOU'RE JUST COMPLETELY AT THE
MERCY OF NATURE, AND YOU HAVE TO ACT ACCORDINGLY.
SO IT JUST REALLY PUTS THINGS INTO A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE.
AND WHEN YOU ARE OUT THERE, YOU ALSO HAVE TO COMPLETELY TRUST
THE SCIENTIFIC DATA AND THE WEATHER MODELS AND THE
METEOROLOGISTS THAT SEND WEATHER UPDATES, YOU JUST HAVE TO TRUST
THAT.
AND, YEAH, YOU DON'T TAKE ANY UNNECESSARY RISKS, YOU DON'T ACT
IRRESPONSIBLY, AND, I MEAN, YOU WOULDN'T COME TO THINK OF, LIKE,
IF YOU GET COLD, YOU WOULD NOT LIGHT A FIRE ON DECK BECAUSE YOU
ARE COLD.
AND IT FEELS LIKE WE ARE, RIGHT NOW, HUMANITY, WE ARE
CIVILIZATION IN THE MIDDLE OF THE OCEAN AND WE ARE RIGHT NOW
SETTING FIRE TO THE BOAT BECAUSE WE HAVE NOWHERE LEFT TO TURN TO.
>> Stephen: GRETA, WE HAVE TO TAKE A BREAK.
STICK AROUND, EVERYBODY.
WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK WITH MORE GRETA THUNBERG.
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