Swedish activist Greta Thunberg has given a definitive thumbs down to the offer of an environmental ... [+]

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Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old who achieved superstardom for shaming world leaders on their failure to take action on climate change, has rejected an environmental award from the Nordic Council.

The Nordic Council Environment Prize, which has been awarded annually since 1995, typically goes to institutions and companies involved with environmental initiatives and sustainability. This year, the Swedish teenager was selected for her climate activism.

But Thunberg was not present at the award ceremony in Stockholm, and took to Instagram yesterday to lay out exactly why she wouldn't be accepting the prize.

"The climate movement does not need any more awards," Thunberg said in the post. "What we need is for our politicians and the people in power start to listen to the current, best available science."

She then took the Nordic nations represented by the council to task.

"The Nordic countries have a great reputation around the world when it comes to climate and environmental issues. There is no lack of bragging about this. There is no lack of beautiful words. But when it comes to our actual emissions and our ecological footprints per capita . . . it's a whole other story."

Thunberg highlighted a 2019 report from the WWF and Global Footprint Network, titled "EU Overshoot Day: Living Beyond Nature's Limits," which revealed that Nordic nations such as Sweden and Norway are in fact falling way behind on their environmental commitments. "In Sweden we live as if we had about four planets," Thunberg said.

In her statement, Thunberg took Norway to task for its continued exploration of oil and gas fields.

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"We belong to the countries that have the possibility to do the most," Thunberg continued. "And yet our countries still basically do nothing."

Thunberg concluded by saying that until the Nordic nations "start to act in accordance with what the science says is needed to limit the global temperature rise below 1.5 degrees or even 2 degrees Celsius," she and her campaign Fridays For Future would not accept the award nor the 500,000 Swedish krona ($51,472) in prize money attached to it.

Formed in 1952, the Nordic Council comprises representatives from Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland, as well as the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and the Åland Islands. Other Nordic Council prizes include awards for outstanding achievement in literature, film and music.

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