'We wonder what future we step into', says Greta Thunberg as she graduates school

Greta Thunberg protesting outside the Swedish parliament, with sign saying "School strike for climate" Picture via Twitter, Thunberg

Challenging word leaders, receiving nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize as well as the honorary freedom of Dublin city, have been some highlights of Greta Thunberg's activism before graduating school on Friday.

Reflecting on her years in school as an activist in a Twitter thread, Greta highlights how in 2018, she and a group of children decided to protest every Friday outside the Swedish Riksdag (parliament) where she would hold a sign that said "School strike for climate".

Greta said they have now entered their 251st week of protests, and it has since turned into a global movement that is now known as Fridays for Future. 

School students in the movement would skip Friday classes to participate in demonstrations to demand action from political leaders to prevent climate change and for the fossil fuel industry to transition to renewable energy. 

Fridays for Future in a protest against Fossil Fuels and Fossil Finance in Dublin's City Centre

In December 2022, Ireland's branch of Fridays for Future marked four years of weekly protests outside Dáil Éireann where they called on politicians to take urgent action on climate change. 

In a series of tweets on Friday, Greta highlighted how those who were in school when they joined the movement and have now graduated "wonder what kind of future it is that we are stepping into, even though we did not cause the crisis," like the 20-year-old herself. 

"When I started striking in 2018, I could never have expected that it would lead to anything. After striking for every day for three weeks, we were a small group of children who decided to continue doing this every Friday. And we did, which is how Fridays for Future was formed," Greta said. 

"Some more people joined, and quite suddenly this was a global movement growing every day. During 2019, millions of youth striked from school for the climate, flooding the streets in over 180 countries. When the pandemic started, we had to find new ways to protest. With time, we started to get back on the streets again. We’re still here, and we aren’t planning on going anywhere."

School strike week 251. Today, I graduate from school, which means I’ll no longer be able to school strike for the climate. This is then the last school strike for me, so I guess I have to write something on this day.
Thread🧵 pic.twitter.com/KX8hHFDyNG

— Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) June 9, 2023

However, according to Greta, things are still moving in the wrong direction. 

She said: "Where those in power are allowed to sacrifice marginalised and affected people and the planet in the name of greed, profit and economic growth. 

"They continue to destabilise the biosphere and our life supporting systems. We’re rapidly approaching potential nonlinear ecological and climatic tipping points beyond our control."

"And in so many parts of the world, we are even speeding up the process. There are probably many of us who graduate who now wonder what kind of future it is that we are stepping into, even though we did not cause this crisis."