According to her father, 16-year-old Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg has been "much happier" since she campaigned against global warming. Svante Thunberg told BBC 4 radio.
Greta, who suffers from Asperger's syndrome, had depression before her time as a climate activist, did not speak and even refused to eat at times. That was the "absolute nightmare", said the 50-year-old.
"You may think that Greta is no longer ordinary because she is special and very famous. But for me she is now an ordinary child - she can do all the things other people can do," he said. "She dances around, she laughs a lot, we have a lot of fun."
Parents were concerned about hostility on the Internet
His daughter had drawn strength from the fact that she could induce her parents to behave in a more climate-friendly way. For example, her mother, an opera singer and former participant in the Eurovision Song Contest, swore off flying. He himself became a vegan, said Thunberg. He later accompanied his daughter on sailing trips across the Atlantic.
"I did it all and I knew it was right. But I didn't want to save the climate, I wanted to save my child," said the father. At first, he and his wife thought Greta's commitment was an "obviously bad idea" because she had "exposed herself to all the hate on social media." But he thinks that she is "incredibly good" with it.
More on the subject:
On Monday, Greta Thunberg partially moderated the Today radio program on BBC 4. She interviewed the legendary natural documentary filmmaker David Attenborough, who has also long campaigned for climate protection. The 93-year-old praised Greta's commitment: "She has achieved things that many of us who have worked on for over 20 years have failed. You have shaken the world!"
