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Greta Thunberg Is Time Person of the Year for 2019
The 16-year-old from Stockholm rose to global prominence this year with her impassioned pleas for governments to take far-reaching action to avert climate catastrophe.
Update, Dec. 12: On Thursday, President Trump mocked Greta Thunberg, and she hit back.
Time on Wednesday named the young climate activist Greta Thunberg as its person of the year, in a nod to the next generation’s surging prominence in worldwide efforts to prevent the worst effects of climate change.
It was an irony, perhaps, that the designation, announced on television and online, is a ritual marketing stunt that is one of the last vestiges of an era when weekly print magazines were a major force in the news cycle.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi, President Trump, the Ukraine whistle-blower and the Hong Kong protesters were all on the shortlist for this year’s selection, according to the anchors of the “Today” show.
“I could never have imagined anything like that happening,” Ms. Thunberg told The Associated Press on Wednesday, adding that she was “surprised” by the news.
Although Ms. Thunberg said she was “grateful” for it, she said the honor should be shared with others taking action against climate change.
“It should be everyone in the Fridays for Future movement because what we have done, we have done together,” she said.
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