Instagram | @gretathunberg

Greta Thunberg Arrives In Lisbon Ahead Amid Rescheduled Climate Summit

Updated August 31, 2021

Although most of us can likely name at least one relative who froths with rage whenever Greta Thunberg's name is mentioned, her seemingly tireless activism has turned her into an inspiring figure that even more people are happy to rally around.

And for those people, her recent voyage across the Atlantic Ocean that not even she expected to make has been the subject of interest with a little concern mixed in. After all, rough weather means a lot more at sea than it does on land and there are always some challenges when such voyages are undertaken.

But those who may have worried about Thunberg can rest easy as she seems to have reached an important leg on her journey to the COP25 summit.

Thunberg had traveled to United States with the expectation of making her way down to Santiago, Chile for the COP25 climate summit.

Instagram | @gretathunberg

As Global News reported, however, political strife throughout Chile necessitated a change of venue in November and the event was rescheduled in Madrid, Spain.

This left Thunberg stranded on the wrong side of the Atlantic and facing a tight deadline as the summit would run from December 2 to December 13 as originally planned.

Fortunately, Thunberg and her father Svante were able to secure transport a little over a week later.

Instagram | @gretathunberg

As she wrote on Instagram, Riley Whitelum and Elayna Carausu of Australia and Nikki Henderson of England were willing to bring her aboard their 48-foot catamaran, La Vagabonde, and bring her to Lisbon, Portugal.

As a rule, Thunberg refuses to travel by plane for these events due to the carbon footprint of air travel.

Fortunately, the journey went well enough that Thunberg and company landed in Lisbon on December 3, 2019.

Instagram | @gretathunberg

As Reuters reported, some heavy winds along the way delayed her journey enough that she missed Lisbon's Climate Strike last Friday.

It also meant that the COP25 has already started by the time of her arrival, but she should be able to make it to Madrid before it's over.

As Greta arrived, over 150 supporters gathered to greet her.

Reddit | killerasp

As Reuters reported, she expects to spend the day meeting with local climate activists before resting up for her trip to Madrid tomorrow.

Before long, she'll likely reach her destination and finally be able to participate in COP25.

Reddit | nokia621

In particular, she is expected to join the scores of activists who plan to march through the city on Friday afternoon.

And based on what's already been discussed at COP25, it seems she'll have a lot to march about.

On the same day as her arrival, the World Meteorological Organization in Geneva, Switzerland released a report suggesting that this decade was the hottest in recorded history.

Reddit | Almighty_Egg

This grim tone was present from the conference's very beginning, as U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres' opening address warned that the planet is reaching a "point of no return."

So far, delegates are focused on establishing a timetable for national climate commitment plans and tackling the issue of international carbon trading systems that stalled talks at COP24 last year.

h/t: Reuters

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