Greta Thunberg, the Swedish teenager whose social media-savvy brand of eco-activism has inspired tens of thousands of students in Europe to skip classes and protest for faster action against climate change, said Monday that she plans to take her message to America the old-fashioned way: by boat.
The 16-year-old tweeted that she'll sail across the Atlantic aboard a high-tech racing yacht, leaving Britain next month to attend UN climate summits in New York in September and Santiago, Chile, in December.
Thunberg told The Associated Press ahead of her announcement that she spent months trying to figure out how to travel to the US without using planes, which she has long shunned because of their high greenhouse gas emissions.
Cruise ships are also notoriously big polluters, while sailors rarely brave the Atlantic in August because of hurricane risks.
"Taking a boat to North America is basically impossible," she said in an interview during her weekly "Fridays for Future" protest outside the Swedish parliament in Stockholm.
"I have had countless people helping me, trying to contact different boats."
"But also ... one year has passed and still almost nothing has happened."
"I just ignore them."
"Just always refer to the science and we'll just see what happens."
Thunberg wouldn't rule out meeting with President Donald Trump, who wants the US to withdraw from the landmark 2015 Paris climate accord, but appeared doubtful such an encounter would happen because she thinks it would be "just a waste of time."
"Civil disobedience is rebelling. As long as it's peaceful, of course."
"I think this will be a trip to remember."
Disclaimer: No Business Standard Journalist was involved in creation of this content