Global warming from rising CO2 emissions from fossil fuel combustion and industrial processes have increased dramatically in the last few centuries, it in an important issue that is slowly but surely becoming a worldwide crisis. One person has been catapulted onto the worldwide stage campaigning this climate emergency, I like many had seen bits and pieces of her on the news giving passionate speeches. I was fascinated to find out more about her, so I watched this documentary film, that follows her journey. In 2018, in Sweden, Greta Thunberg, a 15-year-old student who has Asperger's syndrome (a form of autism), started protesting in front of the Swedish parliament building, vowing to continue and not to attend school until the Swedish government met the carbon emissions target agreed by world leaders in Paris, in 2015. What started as a young girl sitting outside a building holding a sign (saying "Skolstrejk för klimatet", translated "School strike for climate") slowly built up, with other students joining her in her protest, and social media taking up her cause. Thunberg's activism evolved from solitary protesting to taking part in demonstrations throughout Europe, and then making several high-profile public speeches. Thunberg spoke in many political venues to hundreds and thousands of people. She has also met many famous and important figures of the world, including French President Emmanuel Macron, former governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Pope Francis. In the film, it also shows how Thunberg has made changes to her life to make a point, including going vegan, using public transport rather than cars, and not flying, as planes use the most emissions. Thunberg's father Svante is with her throughout all these journeys and appearances, while many news and television broadcasts either criticised her efforts or supported her, agreeing that things need to change. Thunberg's biggest platform came in 2019 when she was invited to attend the 2019 UN Climate Action Summit. As she refused to fly, she sailed to North America, across the Atlantic Ocean from Plymouth, England, to New York, USA; the voyage lasted 15 days. The last scene of the film shows her most famous and passionate speech at the summit, in front of thousands of politicians, dignitaries, world leaders and many watching across the world. In her speech, she said: "This is all wrong. I shouldn't be up here. I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean. Yet you all come to us young people for hope. How dare you! 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 in the beginning of a mass extinction, and all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth. How dare you!" The end credits show how Thunberg has had an impact to the climate change movement, including the Extinction Rebellion, and many mass protests across the world, demanding that governments and establishments make changes to save our planet. I personally have mixed opinions of Greta Thunberg, what she is doing does make people listen and she has good points, and considering her disability makes it all the more inspiring, but I can see why there are people that criticise her. With home videos of young Thunberg, insights into how she and her family reduced their carbon footprint, and lots of archive footage of her from television, this film is both politically and emotionally stirring. The story just speaks for itself with no need for people interviewed with their opinions, Greta Thunberg is a remarkable teenager who is sure to accomplish even more remarkable things in the years to come, and this is a must-see documentary. Very good!
Review of I Am Greta
