Awards & Honors

The prizes, the titles, and the ones she turned down.

TIME Person of the Year (2019)

Named in December 2019 — at 16, the youngest person ever to receive the title. TIME cited her role in making climate the defining issue of her generation.

Right Livelihood Award (2019)

Awarded in September 2019 “for inspiring and amplifying political demands for urgent climate action.” She donated the prize money to climate causes, per her public statements.

Amnesty International — Ambassador of Conscience (2019)

Awarded jointly to Thunberg and the Fridays for Future movement in June 2019 for human-rights leadership.

Fritt Ord Prize (2019)

The Norwegian freedom-of-expression prize, awarded in 2019 and shared with the Norwegian climate-strike movement.

Golden Camera / Goldene Kamera (2019)

German media award for climate activism, received in Berlin in March 2019 — where she dedicated it to the activists “protecting the forests.”

Human Act Award (2020)

Awarded for climate activism; she donated the prize money to UNICEF’s COVID-19-related work, per her public announcement.

Nobel Peace Prize nominations

Nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2019, 2020, and 2021 by various parliamentarians — nominations are made public by the nominators, not by the Nobel Committee, which does not confirm names.

Species and places named for her

A beetle species (Nelloptodes gretae), a snail, a spider, and a frog species have been named after her by researchers — a common honor for prominent environmental figures.

The one she declined: Nordic Council Environment Prize (2019)

Awarded the Nordic Council Environment Prize in October 2019 — and declined it, saying the climate movement did not need more awards but that politicians should listen to the science. The refusal itself became a widely reported statement.

Source notes

Awards are as announced by the awarding bodies and reported in the press. Nobel nominations are reported only where nominators made them public, per the Nobel Committee’s confidentiality rules.