Greta Thunberg's father says activism helped his daughter fight depression

Swedish teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg’s father revealed how activism helped his daughter out of depression. Speaking to a BBC Radio programme, Svante Thunberg said that the 16-year-old has become “very happy” after taking part in climate activism.

“You think she's not ordinary now because she's special, and she's very famous, and all these things. But to me she's now an ordinary child - she can do all the things like other people can,” said Svante.

The father of environment activist said that Greta battled with depression for “three or four years”, and it was an ultimate nightmare for a parent when she stopped talking and refused to eat. Greta’s father started spending more time with her and younger daughter Beata. He not only discussed the climate issue with Greta but also accompanied her on sailing expeditions to the UN climate summits in New York and Madrid.

"I did all these things, I knew they were the right thing to do... but I didn't do it to save the climate, I did it to save my child," he said.

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Family's support

Born to opera singer Malena Ernman and actor Svante Thunberg, Greta was eight years old when she heard about the climate change for the first time and wondered why so little was being done about it. According to the book ‘Scenes from the Heart’, written by Greta’s mother Malena Ernman, Thunberg urged her parents to change the lifestyle to lower the carbon emissions. Her parents eventually responded to it, which meant becoming vegan and giving up flying. These choices came at a cost and Ernman had to give up her international career as an opera singer. 

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Greta’s journey to climate activism started when she won an essay competition on climate change organised by a Swedish newspaper in May 2018. She then decided to make an effort to hold the government accountable for it and demand action against it. In the run-up to 2018 United Nations Climate Change Conference held in Katowice, Poland, many students organised protests and strikes where Thunberg became the centre of the campaign. 

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