Top award for Greta’s efforts Environmental accolade for Swedish campaigner

a solo strike outside the Swedish Parliament in August last year.

A decision not to attend school until the Swedish general election in early September got her noticed.

She demanded the Swedish Government reduced its carbon emissions as per the Paris Climate Agreement.

Later last year, her inspirational and courageous calls for action changed minds everywhere.

By December 2018, more than 20,000 students had taken to the streets in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands, Germany, Finland, Denmark, Japan, Switzerland, the UK and the United States, plus many, many more.

Since January, more than one and a half million students have taken to the streets to demand action on climate change.

Mike Robinson, long-term climate change campaigner and chief executive of RSGS, based at The Fair Maid’s house in Perth’s North Port, said: “Greta’s example has spearheaded a widespread and deep-rooted demand by our younger generations for a future they can believe in.

“Her incredible example and bold words, whilst challenging to us all, remind us of this urgency and responsibility.

“We need to enact the necessary solutions now – we cannot wait for her generation to take over.”

Keeping to a younger profile, three RSGS representatives in their 20s were chosen to go and present the medal.

The trio - who are the editors of the next edition of the RSGS Young Geographer magazine - avoided plane travel and went out to Sweden to give Greta her medal using only land-based transport.

The medal, along with an honorary fellowship of the society, was then passed over outside the Swedish Parliament during one of Greta’s weekly Friday climate strikes.

Cameron Mackay, who works as a freelance filmmaker and as an environment project assistant at the University of Strathclyde, was one of those who took on the journey.

He said: “Land and sea travel isn’t just a great alternative to high-carbon flying, it is also a fantastic way to spend time with friends, experience beautiful landscapes and get some work done.”

In receiving a medal from RSGS, Greta joins an illustrious list of adventurers, explorers, scientists and policy-makers, amongst the most notable are Sir Ernest Shackleton, Neil Armstrong and Sir Edmund Hillary.