Greta Thunberg 'a strong candidate' for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize

Image: Greta Thunberg

Mohsina Dodhiya18th September 20209th October 2020Celebrity, Environment, News, Trending

‘Not a single person has done more to get the world to focus on climate change than her’

Vegan climate crusader Greta Thunberg, who is just 17-years-old, has once again been nominated for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize.

The teenager, who is one among the 318 nominated candidates has grabbed global attention through her campaigning, which includes encouraging students to attend protests demanding political action on climate change while ‘on strike’ from school.

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Her ‘Fridays for Future’ movement for action on climate change has since become a global protest.

Strong candidate

The Swedish activist was nominated by three Norwegian lawmakers and two Swedish parliamentarians and with the U.S. West Coast wildfires and rising temperatures in the Arctic “leaving people in no doubt” about global warming, Thunberg is touted to be a strong candidate for this year’s award,

“Not a single person has done more to get the world to focus on climate change than her,” Asle Sveen, a historian and author of several books about the prize told Reuters.

Considering the current coronavirus climate, Dan Smith, the director of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, said Thunberg was a strong contender if the committee wanted to highlight the link between environmental damage and the threat to peace and security.

“There is a relationship between environmental damage and our increasing problem with pandemics and I wonder whether the Nobel Peace Prize Committee might want to highlight that,” he told Reuters.

He added that if the committee decided to highlight this trend, “there is obviously the temptation of Greta Thunberg”.

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While the winner of the $1 million prize will be announced in Oslo on Oct. 9, OddsChecker, a top odds comparison site said Thunberg has a 25 % chance of winning the coveted accolade.

Achievements

In the past Thunberg has been nominated for several honours and won many prestigious ones including The Gulbenkian prize as well as the Amnesty International’s top human rights prize. Additionally, the 17-year-old has won the Swedish Right Livelihood Award, often presented as an alternative Nobel along with being featured on Time magazine’s “100 most influential people in the world.”