24 Powerful Quotes by Greta Thunberg That Inspire Climate Activism

The climate is a long-term weather that impacts the atmospheric conditions of our world. Since the beginning of time, the climate has had its fair share of variations, causing extreme weather events like heat waves, cold waves, and tropical cyclones.

These events don’t occur by themselves. Quite the opposite, as strange as it may seem, we human beings are responsible. We must realize that there’s always a level of moral responsibility involved in all of this. Sooner or later, we do contribute to the rise of climate change.

Many activists have discussed climate change at great length, including Greta Thunberg, a climate activist from Sweden. As of now, she’s in the limelight because of her unwavering challenge to heads of government to exercise “climate change mitigation.”

In the current scenario, there are inspiring quotes about climate change that command integrity and action. Through the quotes, Greta Thunberg has managed to encourage millions of people around the globe to be vocal when it comes to planet preservation and environmental safety.

These quotes by Greta Thunberg are calls to change the attitude towards climate and the earth in general. It falls upon us to respond to her calls and act quickly.

Let’s read the 24 climate change quotes from Greta Thunberg and address the increasing weather concerns with might and main.

1. People power for hope and action.

“We can no longer let the people in power decide what is politically possible. We can no longer let the people in power decide what hope is. Hope is not passive. Hope is not blah, blah, blah. Hope is telling the truth. Hope is taking action. And hope always comes from the people.”

2. Young voices demand change.

“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.”

3. Panic, feel fear, and act!

“Adults keep saying: “We owe it to the young people to give them hope.” But I don’t want your hope. I don’t want you to be hopeful. I want you to panic. I want you to feel the fear I feel every day. And then I want you to act. I want you to act as you would in a crisis. I want you to act as if the house is on fire. Because it is.”

4. Anger for stolen dreams.

“You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words. And yet I’m one of the lucky ones. People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are at the beginning of a mass extinction, and all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth. How dare you!”

5. Commitment to climate action.

“I have promised myself that I’m going to do everything I can for as long as I can.”

6. Sacrifices for the few.

“Our civilization is being sacrificed for the opportunity of a very small number of people to continue making enormous amounts of money. Our biosphere is being sacrificed so that rich people in countries like mine can live in luxury. It is the sufferings of the many which pay for the luxuries of the few.”

7. Silence on climate is harmful.

“To all of you who choose to look the other way every day because you seem more frightened of the changes that can prevent catastrophic climate change than the catastrophic climate change itself. Your silence is almost worst of all.”

8. Change requires rule-breaking.

“So, we can’t save the world by playing by the rules, because the rules have to be changed. Everything needs to change and it has to start today.”

9. Children awaken adults to crisis.

“We children are doing this to wake the adults up. We, children, are doing this for you to put your differences aside and start acting as you would in a crisis. We children are doing this because we want our hopes and dreams back.”

10. Emergency demands behavior change.

“We do it because we want to influence the people around us, we want to send a clear signal that we are facing an emergency and when you are in an emergency you change your behavior.”

11. Personal impact over persuasion.

“I’m not that special. I can’t convince everyone. I’m just going to do what I want to do and what will have the most impact.”

12. Feel the fear and take action.

“I want you to panic. I want you to feel the fear I feel every day. And then I want you to act.”

13. Our planet is in crisis.

“Our house is on fire. I am here to say, our house is on fire.”

14. Change is inevitable.

“Change is coming, whether you like it or not.”

15. Hate won’t deter the message.

“I am just a messenger, and yet I get all this hate. I am not saying anything new, I am just saying what scientists have repeatedly said for decades.”

16. Impossible actions are essential.

“You say you love your children above all else, and yet you are stealing their future in front of their very eyes.”

17. Children hold adults accountable.

“The eyes of all future generations are upon you. And if you choose to fail us, I say: We will never forgive you.”

18. Reject false hope, and demand action.

“I don’t want your awards. I don’t want your praise. I want you to panic and act as if the house was on fire because it is.”

19. Every individual makes a difference.

“You are never too small to make a difference.”

20. Overcome hate, and focus on winning.

“When haters go after your looks and differences, it means they have nowhere left to go. And then you know you’re winning!”

21. Take action, never give up.

“You must take action. You must do the impossible. Because giving up is never an option.”

22. Climate survival is black or white.

“You say nothing in life is black or white. But that is a lie. A very dangerous lie. Either we prevent 1.5 degrees [Celsius] of warming or we don’t. Either we avoid setting off that irreversible chain reaction beyond human control or we don’t. Either we choose to go on as a civilization or we don’t. That is as black or white as it gets. There are no grey areas when it comes to survival.”

23. False hope leads to suffering.

“You lied to us. You gave us false hope. You told us that the future was something to look forward to. And the saddest thing is that most children are not even aware of the fate that awaits them. We will not understand it until it’s too late. And yet we are the lucky ones. Those who will be affected the hardest are already suffering the consequences. But their voices are not heard.”

24. Future generations judge our actions.

“In the year 2078, I will celebrate my 75th birthday. If I have children or grandchildren, maybe they will spend that day with me. Maybe they will ask me about you, the people who were around back in 2018. Maybe they will ask why you didn’t do anything while there still was time to act. What we do or don’t do right now will affect my entire life and the lives of my children and grandchildren. What we do or don’t do right now, me and my generation can’t undo in the future.”

Greta Thunberg’s quotes on climate change have emerged as a new hope for friends of the earth. Her protests and speeches are the epitome of climate activism.