Greta Turns Down 'More Money Than I Can Imagine'

$1.15M will go to green groups around the world
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 21, 2020 8:33 AM CDT
Greta Wins $1.15M, Then Gives It Away
Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg speaks with the media as she arrives for a meeting of the Environment Council at the European Council building in Brussels on March 5, 2020.   (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

Greta Thunberg could be swimming in "more money than I can even begin to imagine." Instead, she'll donate $1.15 million to various projects addressing climate and ecological crises and those focused on sustainability. The 17-year-old climate activist was awarded the money as part of the Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity, presented by the Portuguese philanthropic Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation to people or groups "whose contributions to mitigation and adaptation to climate change stand out for its novelty, innovation and impact," per the BBC. The teen was honored for her ability "to mobilize younger generations for the cause of climate change," said Jorge Sampaio, chair of the prize jury, per the Guardian. He added "her tenacious struggle to alter a status quo that persists, makes her one of the most remarkable figures of our days."

"I am incredibly honored and extremely grateful," Thunberg says in a video shared on Twitter on Monday. "I hope that it will help me do more good in the world." She notes all money will be donated through her foundation to groups "working to help people on the front line, affected by the climate crisis and ecological crisis" and those "fighting for a sustainable world." SOS Amazonia, a campaign addressing the coronavirus outbreak in the Amazon, led by Fridays For Future Brazil, will receive $115,000, as will the Stop Ecocide Foundation, which fights to preserve the natural environment, per the Guardian. Thunberg was also awarded a $100,000 prize this year. All money from the Human Act Award, handed out by a Danish anti-poverty NGO, went to the United Nations Children's Fund to help children suffering amidst the coronavirus pandemic. (More Greta Thunberg stories.)

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