Greta Thunberg tells Newsround viewers to 'take action for the climate'

Greta Thunberg has told Newsround viewers that you should "talk to your parents and talk to the adults around you" to help save the environment.

The Swedish teenager became a household name in 2018 after she skipped school and inspired an international movement to fight climate change.

Speaking ahead of a new documentary series about her, Greta said: "To all the kids who are watching Newsround and want to get involved and take action for the climate and for the environment, I will say that there are countless things that you can do.

"One thing you can do, which is very important, is to talk to your parents and talk to the adults around you and try to influence them. That's how I got started, at least.

"And then there are always things you can do in your everyday life. You can start to pick up litter outside, you can start to attend marches, get organised and meet up with friends who think the same way.

"But my number one advice would be to read about [climate change] and to try to understand the problem and to share that information with the adults around you," she added.

Greta on... her new BBC documentary series

Environmental activist Greta Thunberg on board the solar-powered yacht Malizia II as she crossed the Atlantic Ocean in 2019

'Greta Thunberg: A Year To Change The World' is a three-part series that begins on Monday 12 April on BBC One.

It follows the climate activist as she travels to places across the globe where the impact of climate change is being sped up, including Europe's coal mines and the frontline of Canada's oil industry.

"This was a huge opportunity for me to actually get to learn, and to visit these places that you only dream of visiting and to talk to people you only dream of talking to," said Greta.

"To actually to get to learn things like seeing first-hand the effects of the climate crisis, but also to explore the possible solutions to it, and talk to people who are very much on the front line and have been leading this fight for so long."

Greta on... becoming an adult

Greta in 2018 on her 'Skolstrejk for Klimatet' - Swedish for 'School Strike for Climate'

Greta shot to fame as a school child but she has recently celebrated a big birthday.

She turned 18 years old in January 2021 and is now officially an adult.

However, she believes getting older has not changed that much about her: "I'm allowed to vote now."

"But when it comes to campaigning, it's still the same thing. It's still the same message - act on and listen to the science. Treat the crisis like a crisis. And that doesn't change no matter how old I am."

Greta on... what to do if you're worried about climate change

Greta says big governments and businesses around the world are not moving quickly enough to cut carbon emissions and has attacked world leaders for failing young people.

At last year's World Economic Forum in Davos, she called for banks, firms and governments to stop investing in fossil fuels - such as oil, coal and gas - and use their money to help "existing sustainable technologies, research and in restoring nature" instead.

When asked to give advice to children worried about the future, Greta told the BBC: "We see that the older generations aren't taking responsibility and they're not acting for our sake, so of course that's natural [to feel worried]."

"But my advice for people who feel that way would be to take action because I felt worried before too. When I started to become a climate activist, all that disappeared because I felt like I was doing something."

Greta-supporting students take part in the global climate strike in Turin in September 2019

Millions of students around the world have been inspired by her strikes, and Greta has received support from climate activists, scientists, world leaders, including former US President Barack Obama and the Pope, who told her to "continue" her work.

But critics of Greta's activism say that she just keeps repeating the same messages.

"Yes [that's fair]. But that's also a critique against them, because that means that they're not getting it," she said.

"Sorry. But that really shows the failure of older generations, people in power, and us in general, that we have to repeat the same message, because it's clearly not getting through, unfortunately."

Greta on... life after campaigning

Greta's activism has seen her make headlines across the world but can she ever imagine life not being a climate campaigner?

"Well, that's the hope, isn't it? That there won't be a need for activists," she told the BBC.

"That's definitely what I hope. But to be realistic, that will unfortunately not happen anytime soon."

Now with the arrival of her new documentary series, she said: "I'm actually surprised that people have been listening [to me] for so long."

"I expected people to get tired like after a few months but they keep on listening. And I don't know why that is.

"But I guess if people are listening then I'm going to use that opportunity to communicate the message as much as I can."

Greta Thunberg: A Year to Change the World will be available to watch on BBC One and BBC iPlayer from Monday 12 April