Greta expectations: Spotlight is on the young climate activist
STOCKHOLM: The announcement of the Nobel Medicine Prize on Monday opened an unusual 2019 Nobel season in which two literature laureates will be crowned after a scandal postponed last year’s award, amid speculation Greta Thunberg could nab the prestigious Peace Prize.
As the schedule goes, the prizes for physics will be revealed on Tuesday, chemistry on Wednesday, literature on Thursday, and economics on Monday, October 14.
In between, the Peace Prize will be awarded in Oslo on Friday, October 11, with Swedish teen climate activist Greta seen as the favourite on betting sites such as Ladbrokes.
Predictions about possible winners are notoriously difficult as the prize-awarding institutions keep the names of the nominees secret for 50 years. For the Peace Prize, the Norwegian Nobel Committee received 301 nominations this year.
Traditionally sensitive to issues gripping the public’s attention, the committee has undoubtedly noted the recent “Greta phenomenon”. Experts remain however divided on whether there is an actual link between armed conflicts and climate change. Her young age could also work against her. The youngest laureate so far is Malala Yousafzai, who won the 2014 Peace Prize at the age of 17.
Other names circulating are Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who clinched a peace deal with arch foe Eritrea, and NGOs such as Reporters without Borders and Committee to Protect Journalists.