Swedish activist and figure in the climate movement Greta Thunberg has announced that she will redistribute the one million euros endowment of the Portuguese Gulbenkian Prize awarded to her on Monday to environmental organizations.
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“It's more money than I can even begin to imagine, but all the money for this award will be donated through my foundation to different organizations and different projects, which are helping people on the front lines of the climate crisis and ecological, especially in the south of the planet, ” explains the 17-year-old teenager in a video posted on her Twitter account. To begin with, 100,000 euros will be donated to the “SOS Amazonia” campaign of the Brazilian branch of Fridays for Future to respond to Covid-19 in this vast territory. And the same amount to the Stop Ecocide Foundation, which aims to establish a crime of "ecocide" in international law, said the young woman.
The sum, greater than that paid to the winner of a Nobel Prize, is the largest ever received by the Swedish activist, known for having popularized since 2018 the strike movement and youth demonstrations for the climate. The "Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity", awarded annually, is the latest and most richly endowed with the prizes of the Portuguese Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation. It aims to “recognize the people, groups of people and or organizations around the world whose contributions to climate change mitigation and adaptation (to it) are distinguished by their novelty, innovation and impact. », Explains the foundation in a press release.
The jury, which includes several renowned scientists and climate experts, is chaired by former Portuguese President Jorge Sampaio. They chose Greta Thunberg from 10 finalists selected from 136 nominees. The young Swede had already won in 2019 the “Right Livelihood Award”, considered an alternative Nobel, endowed with 100,000 euros. She announced in February the creation of a foundation to donate these funds. Greta Thunberg had also declined, in October 2019, a prize awarded by the Nordic Council, judging that "the movement for the climate no longer needed a prize".