TEENAGE climate activist Greta Thunberg is coming to the UK next week to take part in a youth protest in Bristol.

The 17-year-old Swede will be joining the Bristol Youth Strike 4 Climate in College Green on Friday, February 28.

One of the organisers, Milly Sibson, 17, from Bristol, said: "We are all just so excited - everyone is so excited about the thought of hearing her talk.

"I would love the chance to meet her because she is the founder of this movement and she is so important to it - she is an idol even though she is younger than me.

"We really hope loads of people join us to welcome her to Bristol."

 

Milly said Greta had originally planned to visit London, but as the area planned for the protest in the capital was too small the organisers had recommended Bristol instead.

The city was awarded the title of European Green Capital in 2015.

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Greta first made headlines in the summer of 2018 when she skipped school to protest – initially alone – against the Swedish government's action to curb carbon emissions.

Her activism sparked the rise of a global movement of students who demanded an immediate international response to the perils of climate change.

South Wales Argus: Greta Thunberg speaking at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP25) in Madrid, December 2019. Picture: PAGreta Thunberg speaking at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP25) in Madrid, December 2019. Picture: PA

Greta has risen to fame as a figurehead for a new generation of environmental activists. She has made high-profile speeches to the United Nations and the World Economic Forum, as well as regular appearances at students' climate strikes around the world.

In 2019, she was named Time magazine's Person of the Year.

READ MORE: Striking students march through town to mark climate emergency

With fame has come criticism, however, and Greta has become a focal point for columnists, politicians, and members of the public who are either sceptical about climate change or outright deny its existence.

Among Greta's most high-profile critics is US president Donald Trump, who has taken to Twitter to mock the teenager several times, suggesting she "work on her anger management problem".

She has also won widespread praise for her activism, both from world leaders and the international movement of young people who have taken up her cause.

Esteemed naturalist and TV presenter Sir David Attenborough has described Greta's activism as "astonishing".

“She has achieved things that many of us who have been working on it for 20-odd years have failed to achieve and, that is, you have aroused the world," he said.

  • The Bristol Youth Strike 4 Climate event takes place at College Green, Bristol, on Friday, February 28, from 11am.

Additional reporting by PA.