--- description: Greta Thunberg is one of the leaders, innovators, activists, entertainers, athletes and artists who defined the last century. title: Greta Thunberg: 100 Women of the Year image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt02f2fbd4e7d4b212/698a0aec011682814e97f0df/social-2019_GRETA-THUNBERG.jpg?branch=production --- * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # 2019: Greta Thunberg ## Video: TIME 2019 Person of the Year: Greta Thunberg [Watch (HLS stream): TIME 2019 Person of the Year: Greta Thunberg](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/HSAgZL7P.m3u8) (3:31)  _Published 2019-12-11. Greta Thunberg is the face of a global youth-led climate movement_ Mar 5, 2020 11:42 AM CUT  Evgenia Arbugaeva for TIME by [TIME Staff](/author/time-staff/) ## TIME Staff Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Mar 5, 2020 11:42 AM CUT She started a global movement at the age of 15, dominated headlines and became TIME’s youngest ever individual [Person of the Year](https://time.com/person-of-the-year-2019-greta-thunberg/ "undefined") in 2019\. But Greta Thunberg was understated when reflecting on her year. “I have not accomplished anything,” she told TIME in Lisbon, after a rough trans-Atlantic sailing trip brought her back from a four-month climate strike tour around North America. “I have just acted on my conscience and done what everyone should be doing.” Acting on her conscience has spurred millions around the world to act, whether it’s eating less meat, eschewing air travel or joining a weekly climate strike. What began with the solitary teenager in a blue hoodie striking from school on the steps of the Swedish Parliament in August 2018 to protest government inaction on climate change swelled to an estimated 4 million people joining strikes in September 2019, in the largest climate demonstration in human history. Friends and family, and even Thunberg herself, didn’t expect the movement to grow to that size. She too has grown along with it—from being a quiet teenager to a symbol for millions speaking to the whole world. Her persistence has propelled the climate crisis to the forefront of global public consciousness, and shown that a generation of young leaders are ready to step up where adults have faltered. “We are the ones right now who are leading the way,” Thunberg told thousands at another mass strike in Madrid, at the same time as the U.N. climate talks. “The people in power need to catch up with us.” —_Suyin Haynes_ --- _This article is part of_ [_100 Women of the Year_](https://time.com/100-women-of-the-year/ "undefined")_, TIME’s list of the most influential women of the past century. Read more_ [_about the project_](https://time.com/5793734/time-100-women-of-the-year-issue/ "undefined")_, explore the_ [_100 covers_](https://time.com/5793732/time-100-women-of-the-year-covers/ "undefined") _and sign up for our_ [_Inside TIME newsletter_](https://cloud.newsletters.time.com/newsletters?newsletter%5Fname=INSIDE%5FTIME&source=article-woy-footer "undefined") _for more._ ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5793801/greta-thunberg-100-women-of-the-year/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5793801/greta-thunberg-100-women-of-the-year/"},"headline":"2019: Greta Thunberg","datePublished":"2020-03-05T11:42:57.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T08:22:13.667Z","description":"Greta Thunberg is one of the leaders, innovators, activists, entertainers, athletes and artists who defined the last century.","url":"https://time.com/5793801/greta-thunberg-100-women-of-the-year/","keywords":["Women of the Year"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt02f2fbd4e7d4b212/698a0aec011682814e97f0df/social-2019_GRETA-THUNBERG.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"TIME Staff","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/time-staff/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt02f2fbd4e7d4b212/698a0aec011682814e97f0df/social-2019_GRETA-THUNBERG.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"SOCIAL - Women of the Year: 2019 Greta Thunberg","caption":"","creditText":"","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5793801/greta-thunberg-100-women-of-the-year/","name":"2019: Greta Thunberg"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"TIME 2019 Person of the Year: Greta Thunberg","description":"Greta Thunberg is the face of a global youth-led climate movement","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/HSAgZL7P/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2019-12-11T12:40:31.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/HSAgZL7P.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5793801/greta-thunberg-100-women-of-the-year/","duration":"PT3M31S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5793801/greta-thunberg-100-women-of-the-year/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```