Greta Thunberg sails to New York and tells Donald Trump: 'listen to science'

Swedish climate activist crossed the Atlantic before UN Climate Summit

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, 16, speaks after a 15-day journey crossing the Atlantic on August 28, 2019 in New York. AFP / Kena Betancur

Swedish 16-year-old activist Greta Thunberg called on US President Donald Trump to listen to science. "My message for him is listen to the science and he obviously doesn't do that," the 16-year-old told reporters after stepping on to dry land in Manhattan. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

Swedish 16-year-old activist Greta Thunberg sails past the Statue of Liberty on the Malizia II racing yacht in New York Harbor as she nears the completion of her trans-Atlantic crossing in order to attend a United Nations summit on climate change in New York, US, August, 28, 2019. REUTERS/Mike Segar TPX

Children and adults wait for the arrival of teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg into New York City after crossing the Atlantic in a sailboat on on August 28, 2019 Spencer Platt/Getty Images/AFP

Swedish 16-year-old activist Greta Thunberg sails on the Malizia II racing yacht in New York Harbor as she nears the completion of her trans-Atlantic crossing in order to attend a United Nations summit on climate change in New York, US, August 28, 2019. REUTERS/Mike Segar

Boris Herrmann, left, the captain of the zero-emissions yacht, the Malizia II, presents Greta Thunberg, a 16-year-old Swedish climate activist, with a flag with an image of the earth after they arrived in New York, Wednesday, August 28, 2019, in New York. AP Photo/Mary Altaffer

People welcome climate activist Greta Thunberg to New York as she arrives in the US after a 15-day journey crossing the Atlantic in the Malizia II, a zero-carbon yacht, on August 28, 2019. AFP / Kena Betancur

"Land!! The lights of Long Island and New York City ahead," Greta Thunberg tweeted early Wednesday. AFP / Kena Betancur

Greta Thunberg is scheduled to address the United Nations Climate Action Summit on September 23. AP Photo/Mary Altaffer

Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg is looking awareness to climate change issues in New York, US. REUTERS/ Andrew Kelly

At first, she began protesting outside  the Swedish Parliament, inspiring a movement called Fridays for Future, which thousands of children have joined to demand action on climate change.

That was a year ago. On Wednesday, Greta Thunberg completed an ocean odyssey by arriving in New York, where she will take up an invitation to speak at the UN.

Soon after  Greta, 16, shakily disembarked and stepped dockside in Manhattan, she remarked how she is always asked about US President Donald Trump and what she would like to tell him.

"My message for him is listen to the science and he obviously doesn't do that," she said, soon after a cheering crowd had chanted her name under overcast skies in the final moments of a 5556-kilometre trip.

"It's insane that a 16-year-old has to cross the Atlantic Ocean to make a stand. This, of course, is not something that I want everyone to do."

She had passed the Statue of Liberty and headed up the Hudson River before docking at North Cove Marina, not far from Wall Street, shortly after 4pm.

The UN sent a flotilla of 17 sailboats, one for each of its sustainable development goals for 2030, to welcome her.

The young activist made land after a 15-day journey on Malizia 11, a racing yacht equipped with solar panels and underwater turbines that do not produce carbon. Its black sails carry the message: Unite Behind the Science.

She also made time for a few jokes at the US president's expense, remarking that she was “pretty sure” that wind turbines do not cause cancer, debunking a claim that climate change sceptic Mr Trump made at a Republican rally in April.

Greta, who had Asperger's syndrome diagnosed at the age of 12, began sitting outside the Swedish Parliament in August 2018, asking representatives to act on climate change.

She will take part in a UN summit on zero emissions on September 23, but refused to fly to New York because of the carbon footprint left by planes.

Instead, she was offered a ride on the Malizia II, skippered by Pierre Casiraghi, the son of Princess Caroline of Monaco, and German round-the-world sailor Boris Herrmann.

"Land. The lights of Long Island and New York City ahead," Greta tweeted early on Wednesday alongside a dark, blurry photo of lights in the distance.

She later  tweeted that her yacht had anchored off Coney Island in Brooklyn to clear Customs and immigration.

The teenage activist arrived about 2.45pm local time after the voyage.

She is due to travel to Chile for another UN climate summit later this year, but Greta's team are wondering how easy it will be to make the journey there and back to Sweden on zero carbon emissions.

Greta's uncompromising attitude has won her friends and foes alike. Critics took aim at her when single-use plastic bottles were seen on the yacht.

Others said that encouraging children to skip school and take part in co-ordinated protests was not an appropriate way to make a stand.

But that is what is scheduled to happen on Friday outside UN headquarters in Manhattan. After a day's rest on Thursday, Greta said she would be there.