Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg has been announced as TIME’s Person Of The Year by editor-in-chief Edward Felsenthal, who told TODAY: “She became the biggest voice on the biggest issue facing the planet this year, coming from essentially nowhere to lead a worldwide movement.”
“She is an ordinary teenage girl who, in summoning the courage to speak truth to power, became the icon of a generation,” he added.
The teen is now one of the leading forces behind the climate movement, which gained momentum this year as people all over the world protested, striked, and campaigned for change.
Thunberg is currently at the COP25 UN climate conference in Madrid while on a school sabbatical. Since first striking from school for the climate in August 2018, the teen has been meeting with a range of climate activists, lawmakers, as well as giving notable talks across the world.
In August, she sailed for two weeks with her father on a zero-emission boat, powered by solar panels and underwater turbines, to attend the UN Climate Action Summit in New York.
This isn’t Thunberg’s first time being featured in TIME – the teen previously graced the cover in May 2019 when she was named a “next generation leader” by the magazine.
Earlier in the year, Greta Thunberg starred in a Dazed documentary, which explores the global revolution of climate change activists, you can watch it here.