Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg to set sail for U.S.

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg to set sail for U.S.

Plymouth (England), Aug. 14, 2019 (dpa/NAN) Swedish teen climate activist Greta Thunberg on Wednesday is scheduled to set sail from the British city of Plymouth to attend a series of climate summits and protests in the U.S.

Thunberg, 16, who refused to fly because of the CO2 that aviation emits, would be travelling on the Malizia, a racing yacht captained by German sailor Boris Herrmann and Pierre Casiraghi of Monaco.

She planned to attend the UN Climate Action Summit in New York on Sept. 23, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, as well as climate protests planned for Sept. 20 and Sept. 27.

The teen had so far galvanised young people across Europe and beyond with her activism since she began a weekly school strike outside the Swedish parliament in 2018.

It had since snowballed into a global movement demanding action on climate change under the “Fridays for Future slogan“.

Her father Svante Thunberg, and filmmaker Nathan Grossman, were also to join the voyage, which was dependent on weather conditions.

She would also visit Canada and Mexico before joining the annual UN climate change conference hosted by Chile in December.

Earlier, Herrmann said he considered his role in Thunberg’s trip a big responsibility, being her first ever sailing trip.

All electricity on board the Malizia is generated from solar panels and underwater turbines.

Herrmann said the conditions on the yacht were spartan. The ship has no toilets on board, and only thin, tube-like bunks for beds. (dpa/NAN)
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Edited by Yahaya Isah/Silas Nwoha