Climate activist Greta Thunberg melted the hearts of social media users after she announced that she would donate the more than $1 million that she received as part of the Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity from a Portuguese philanthropic organisation. Thunberg posted a video on her social media saying that all the money will go to charitable projects. The activist said the first batch of money, worth $114,000, will be given to SOS Amazonia to help tackle the coronavirus pandemic in the indigenous territories of the Amazon, while another $114,000 will go to an environmental organisation campaigning for making ecocide an international crime.
Starting with giving €100.000 to the SOS Amazonia Campaign led by Fridays For Future Brazil to tackle Covid-19 in the Amazon, and €100.000 to the Stop Ecocide Foundation to support their work to make ecocide an international crime. @fcgulbenkian 3/3
— Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) July 20, 2020
Netizens praised Thunberg for her activism and said they wished more young people would pay attention to global issues.
She never ceases to impress me!
— Joanna (@JoannaT40) July 21, 2020
Fantastic. I do wish a lot more children would give just one months worth of pocket money to these great causes. Absolutely incredible stuff Greta.
— Jake Roberts 🌷🏳️🌈 (@JakeRob91145423) July 21, 2020
Others said they would like to see Thunberg at the helm of the United States and even all of Western civilisation
I would trust her as President Of The United States at this point!
— RemoveTrump2020 (@Startrakforce3) July 21, 2020
She should be absolute Monarch of Western Civilization for at least a year.
— Cracklin Synapse (@CracklinSynapse) July 21, 2020
One user said that Thunberg should have donated the money to the United States, which has the highest number of coronavirus cases, in order to troll Donald Trump, who has repeatedly criticised the activist for her doomsday predictions.
I support this effort. But she should have donated the money to United States to say "oh God, this third world country needs my help!" as a slap in the face to Trump
— Steve Catorce (@CatorceSteve) July 21, 2020
Still others contended that there is nothing special about Thunberg’s gesture, as she is giving away money that isn't hers.
Greta Thunberg does not have a job. She is donating other people’s money. The left always confuses reappropriating other people’s money with acts of charity.
— Aiburg (@Aiburg1) July 21, 2020
So would I if I had a generous Uncle Soros
— Kenny Onions (@Kenny_Onions) July 21, 2020
Greta Thunberg rose to prominence in 2018 after she quit school to draw attention to the effects of climate change. Her solo protests in front of the Swedish parliament turned into a global campaign in which millions of people participated last year. The 17-year-old has also attended and spoken at major summits and conferences, including one at the United Nations, where she berated world leaders for their lack of attention to the issue of pollution and climate change. Time Magazine named her the 2019 Person of the Year, while the Nobel Committee nominated her for the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize.
