Was Greta Thunberg, the Climate Activist, Arrested, Charge with Disobeying Swedish Police? Why?

News about Greta Thunberg, an environmental activist, has gone viral among social media and other news sources, stating Swedish police had arrested her for disobeying them in a protest last month.

Also, in Sri Lankan newspapers and media, this news has been published today stating she is in danger of being jailed for six months in Sweden.

The Climate Fact Checks team decided to fact-check this.

Who is Greta Thunberg?

Greta Thunberg is a Swedish environmental and climate activist famous worldwide for challenging world leaders to take immediate action against climate change. She started a ‘Friday for Future’ movement among school children in 2018. Back then, she was only 15 years old. 

She skipped classes on Fridays and protested outside the Swedish parliament, compelling the Swedish government to take immediate climate action. By now, millions of students in more than 150 countries worldwide have joined this Friday’s protest series for climate change.

Now Greta is 20 years old and continuing her work as a climate activist. Greta was even nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. She has made interesting speeches at important world events, including the 2018 United Nations Climate Action Summit, the 2019 World Economic Forum, and the 2019 Normandy’s Freedom Prize Effort. Here is  for Greta Thunberg’s full speech to world leaders at UN Climate Action Summit. Here for more facts about Greta Thunberg. The climate activist.

Why did Greta do to be at Risk of Arresting by Swedish Police?

Greta Thunberg and other climate activists with the protesting team ‘Reclaim the Future’ together protested against fossil fuel in Malmӧ, Sweden, last month (June 2023). They were detained after they stopped traffic in the port’s oil terminal of the port in Malmӧ on 19^th June for six days. The Sweden police said they had ordered them to leave the scene, but Greta and other activists did not obey their order. And finally, Swedish police came and took Greta away from the scene.

Greta and three other protestors must appear in court on 24^th July charged with “disobeying the police during the protest”. Anyway, the court has the authority to order her a six-month sentence. Or she may end up with a fine. But the prosecutor mentioned that typically they are punishable by a fine. That will be precisely decided after the 24th of July. Here for the news article.

Is Fossil Fuel a Real Threat to the World?

Greta Thunberg and the other protestors were continuously saying that they were there to fight against the use of fossil fuel, which plays a significant role in global warming and climate change. They say that fossil fuel kills innocent humans and harms the environment.

Greenhouse gases continue the process of the greenhouse effect.

The greenhouse effect is an essential natural process in the atmosphere by trapping heat energy, stabilising the climate and temperature in the world and protecting our planet and animals. Greenhouse gases are the main reason for maintaining the global temperature by trapping heat and not letting the temperature drop to unhealthy levels for the earth and its organisms. 

But when the artificial greenhouse effect started increasing after greenhouse gas emissions began to climb up, the greenhouse effect showed its negative side. The global temperature increased along with 

the climbing of greenhouse gasses (mainly carbon dioxide). Since the industrial revolution, the temperature has risen by an average of 0.08°C per decade.

Before the industrial revolution, carbon dioxide concentration in the earth was 280 ppm. But by now, it had increased to 424ppm global average of 424ppm of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. It is 50% accretion compared to the 1800s. Within these years, with a 50% increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, global temperature increased parallelly from more than 1°C. And it is predicted that if the carbon dioxide release happens in the same pattern in 2027, the global temperature will increase between 1.1°C and 1.8°C.

So, according to them, it is clear that fossil fuel plays a huge role in climate change. So, minimising them is essential to control global warming and climate change. The best way to do it is to prevent fossil fuel burning worldwide. We must find alternative energy sources instead of fossil fuels. Not only that, reducing the use of fossil fuels stops emitting different toxins, which are also hazardous to human health.

So, as Greta Thunberg and the other climate activists said, it is possible to control climate change, save people and the environment from diseases, and make them healthy by stopping fossil fuels. We can make a sustainable future from it as well. Hear more about why we need to stop using fossil fuels.

But fossil fuel is a good energy source with many positive characteristics while being used as an energy source. Apart from the harm it harms the climate and environment, the efficiency and effectiveness of fossil fuels are higher. So, people must adapt and be forced to use more eco-friendly, alternative energy sources.

Anyway, the government should pay more attention to forcing people to alternative energy sources and minimising the use of fossil fuels. So, Greta and many other environmental activists are trying to make authorised people more aware of that. The sound of people is essential.

Greta Thunberg is dragging the public and authorised people’s attention on these matters and making them more talked about. It is what they are doing through their protests. They are trying to make an environmental evolution by reflecting the actual damage to the climate.

But now she has to go to court for not obeying the police during a protest.

During these incidents, the hottest day on the planet was recorded this week. On Tuesday (4th July) average global temperature was 17.18°C, the highest average global temperature. The previous record was in August 2016, which was recorded as 16.92°C.

Conclusion

Greta Thunberg’s oil protest last June took the attention of the media and social media. She wanted to control fossil fuel usage, and against fossil fuel usage, she participated in this protest with other climate activists. She got the order to come to court on 24^th July 2023, and the punishment will be decided. She is at risk of having six months in jail. But the prosecutor said that a fine would typically punish them. So, Greta and others will probably not be in prison for six months. Fossil fuel consumption should be controlled and is essential for managing climate change.

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– With inputs from Mihiri Saparamadhu–