Greta Thunberg has sparked criticism after appearing to laugh at protesters who continue to participate in Fridays for Future, the global climate movement she founded in 2018.
The 23-year-old activist was featured in a newly released documentary titled On Tanks into the Climate Crisis – How Activism is Criminalised, where she appeared surprised after being told that a Fridays for Future demonstration was taking place in Berlin.
“Is it?” Thunberg asked before bursting into laughter.
“Really? They still do that?” she exclaimed.
An activist friend sitting beside her also joined in the laughter before Thunberg turned towards the camera and shouted, “Cut!”
Thunberg founded the movement at 15
Thunberg launched Fridays for Future in 2018 when she was 15, after beginning a series of school strikes to demand stronger action against climate change.
Her decision to skip school on Fridays and protest outside the Swedish parliament quickly attracted international attention, inspiring millions of students across the world to participate in demonstrations.
The movement grew into a global youth climate campaign, with students organising rallies and school walkouts in several countries.
Thunberg subsequently became one of the most recognisable figures in international climate activism.
Activism increasingly focused on Palestine
In recent years, Thunberg has become increasingly vocal in her support for the Palestinian cause.
Last winter, she was arrested in central London during a demonstration supporting imprisoned Palestine Action activists who were on hunger strike.
The activist was photographed holding a placard reading, “I support Palestine Action prisoners, I oppose genocide,” outside the headquarters of an insurance company.
Footage showed a City of London Police officer removing the placard before asking her to stand.
Around the same period, Thunberg described several imprisoned Palestine Action members as “political prisoners” and supported calls for the charges against them to be dropped.
Detained by Israeli forces during Gaza aid flotilla missions
Thunberg has also been detained by Israeli authorities on two occasions while participating in separate aid flotillas heading towards Gaza.
The first incident occurred last June, when Israeli forces detained her aboard a vessel travelling towards the Palestinian territory.
She was detained again last year after warships intercepted another aid flotilla carrying humanitarian assistance to Gaza.
Thunberg was among the activists participating in the Global Sumud Flotilla.
Thunberg defends Macklemore following Ed Sheeran tour controversy
More recently, the Swedish activist publicly supported rapper Macklemore after he was dropped from Ed Sheeran’s tour following pro-Palestinian statements made during one of his concerts.
Thunberg also criticised Sheeran in a statement shared on Instagram, accusing him of attempting to present both sides of the conflict involving Israel and Palestinians.
“We are witnessing one of the biggest artists in the world being cancelled because they tried to ‘both sides’ Israel’s genocide against the Palestinian people,” she wrote.
She added that the situation demonstrated a shift in global public opinion, arguing that the normalisation of what she described as an apartheid state would no longer be tolerated.
“Ed, there is only one victim here: the Palestinian people,” she stated.
Social media users divided over her laughter
Thunberg’s apparent reaction to the continuing Fridays for Future demonstrations has attracted criticism online, with several social media users questioning her commitment to the climate movement she established.
One X user commented: “Climate was just the warm-up. Hating Israel is the real job.”
Another wrote: “It suddenly isn’t a problem anymore. So much for climate ’emergency’. Just shows the credibility that she has.”
A third commenter described Fridays for Future as a “cult-like movement”, claiming that its organisers had privately mocked participants before the alleged behaviour became visible in the documentary.
However, other users defended Thunberg, arguing that her laughter was directed at the perceived lack of radicalism within the movement rather than climate activism itself.
One user suggested that she considered the demonstrations too conventional and middle-class, arguing that her reaction reflected dissatisfaction with their approach to protesting.
The commenter also rejected suggestions that Thunberg had abandoned climate protection, describing such interpretations as an oversimplification of her position.
Thunberg returns to UN climate negotiations
Despite the controversy surrounding the documentary, Thunberg attended the United Nations climate talks on Tuesday, marking her first appearance at the negotiations since the 2021 conference in Glasgow.
She became widely recognised during the Glasgow summit after dismissing promises made by world leaders as “blah, blah, blah”.
The latest conference, COP31, is taking place in the Turkish resort city of Antalya following a year marked by deadly climate-related disasters, including heatwaves and floods, as well as another energy shock linked to the Iran war.
Speaking upon her arrival, Thunberg criticised the annual climate negotiations and the countries hosting them.
“It’s a hypocrisy every year that the host countries are given an opportunity to whitewash themselves and we know that these negotiations are filled with lobbyists, paid by the very destructive industries which are benefiting from our extremely violent status quo,” she said.
She also criticised what she described as political and economic systems that had become incompatible with human nature.
Climate crisis threatens everything, Thunberg warns
Thunberg further criticised the continued reliance on fossil fuels by countries hosting international climate negotiations.
COP31 co-hosts Turkey and Australia have promoted renewable energy and rooftop solar installations, but both continue to depend heavily on fossil fuels, particularly coal, for electricity generation.
Previous host countries, including Brazil, the United Arab Emirates and Azerbaijan, are also major oil producers.
Warning about the consequences of climate change, Thunberg said the crisis was “threatening everything”, adding that everything people love was at stake.
She called for political and economic decisions to prioritise protecting people and the environment rather than allowing a small group to continue benefiting financially and maintaining geopolitical power.
