Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old Swedish climate change activist, is the 2019 TIME Person of the Year. The announcement was made on Wednesday, December 11. Thunberg received worldwide attention after sailing to New York City to attend the U.N. Climate Action Summit.
Then, she had a viral speech for her scolding of world leaders earlier this fall.
“Thunberg has become the biggest voice on the biggest issue facing the planet—and the avatar of a broader generational shift in our culture that is playing out everywhere from the campuses of Hong Kong to the halls of Congress in Washington,” Time editor-in-chief Edward Felsenthal wrote.
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“I see myself as one out of millions in this movement,” Thunberg said in a video from TIME. “People look up to me in some way, I guess. That, of course, puts me in a bit of a different position. People listen to what I have to say. But I’m not a leader or the face of the climate movement. I’m one of many faces.
“We can’t just continue living as if there is no tomorrow, because there is a tomorrow.”
Thunberg beat out Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, President Donald Trump, Hong Kong Protesters, and the Ukraine whistleblower for the honor.