Australian couple will sail Greta Thunberg from the US to Spain for UN climate meeting 

Australian couple will sail eco warrior Greta Thunberg 6,300km from the US to Spain for a UN climate meeting – so she doesn’t have to take a gas-guzzling plane

  • Australian couple will sail climate activist Greta Thunberg from the US to Spain
  • Swedish campaigner had issued plea for help crossing back over the Atlantic
  • The COP25 conference had been re-located at last minute from Chile to Spain 
  • The Swedish 16-year-old refuses to fly by plane because of the carbon footprint 

An Australian couple will sail teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg almost 3,000km from the US to Spain so she can attend a UN climate meeting. 

The Swedish campaigner, 16, revealed on Wednesday she had received an invite from couple Riley Whitelum and Elayna Carausu to take her to the COP25 conference in Madrid.

The group – who will sail on a 48ft catamaran called La Vagabonde – will leave Hampton, Virginia this week. 

 

Australian couple Riley Whitelum and Elayna Carausu (far left and far right) will sail teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg almost 6,300km from the US to Spain so she can attend a UN climate meeting

The group - who will sail on a 48ft catamaran called La Vagabonde - will leave the state of Virginia on Thursday (pictured L-R Elayna Carausu, Ms Thunberg, Nikki Henderson from England and Riley Whitelum)

The group – who will sail on a 48ft catamaran called La Vagabonde – will leave the state of Virginia on Thursday (pictured L-R Elayna Carausu, Ms Thunberg, Nikki Henderson from England and Riley Whitelum)

Ms Thunberg had issued a plea on social media for help getting back across the Atlantic Ocean after the summit was moved at the last minute from Santiago in Chile to Madrid due to the protests in the South American country.  

‘So happy to say that I’ll hopefully make it to COP25 in Madrid,’ she said in a post on Wednesday.

‘I’ve been offered a ride from Virginia, USA, on the french 48ft sailing catamaran La Vagabonde. 

The Australian couple have spent several years sailing around the world and have recently had a son, Lenny, together (pictured together with their son)

The Australian couple have spent several years sailing around the world and have recently had a son, Lenny, together (pictured together with their son)

Ms Thunberg (pictured aboard La Vagabonde) had issued a plea on social media for help getting back across the Atlantic Ocean after the summit was moved at the last minute from Santiago in Chile

Ms Thunberg (pictured aboard La Vagabonde) had issued a plea on social media for help getting back across the Atlantic Ocean after the summit was moved at the last minute from Santiago in Chile

Ms Thunberg was interviewed aboard La Vagabonde before departing Hampton, Virginia

Ms Thunberg was interviewed aboard La Vagabonde before departing Hampton, Virginia

‘The two Australians Riley Whitelum, Elayna Carausu and Nikki Henderson from England will take me across the Atlantic Ocean.’

Weather dependent, their journey is expected to take about three weeks.

Mr Whitelum said in a statement they had seen ‘the beauty of this planet first hand and think that it is something we should all strive to protect.’

‘It is something I have considered even more since having a child,’ he said.

The Australian couple have spent several years sailing around the world and have recently had a son, Lenny, together.

Ms Thunberg refuses to fly in planes because of the carbon footprint and used a zero-emissions sailboat so she could make it to New York climate summits (pictured addressing the UN General Assembly in New York in September)

Ms Thunberg refuses to fly in planes because of the carbon footprint and used a zero-emissions sailboat so she could make it to New York climate summits (pictured addressing the UN General Assembly in New York in September)

They have a YouTube channel boasting more than 1.1million subscribers called Sailing La Vagabonde, which documents their travels onboard the boat.

‘Through our videos we hope to inspire others to explore alternative options of living and to spread ocean awareness,’ the couple said in their channel description.

Ms Thunberg refuses to fly in planes because of the carbon footprint.

She used a zero-emissions sailboat so she could make it to New York climate summits in September.

How did Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg become the poster girl for the climate change movement?

Greta Thunberg, pictured, is a teenager who began a solo protest outside the Swedish parliament last year which has since spread across the globe. The Fridays For Future events saw young people demand that their government takes action against climate change

Greta Thunberg, pictured, is a teenager who began a solo protest outside the Swedish parliament last year which has since spread across the globe. The Fridays For Future events saw young people demand that their government takes action against climate change

The youth-led climate protests which kicked off across the world were inspired by Greta Thunberg, a Swedish teenager who went on a three-week school strike outside her country’s parliament in summer last year.

Born to a professional opera singer mother, the pigtailed 16-year-old developed her interest in climate change aged nine after watching a film on the effects of plastic.

What began as a lone fight in August last year outside the Swedish parliament spread all over the world and involved more than 100,000 schoolchildren in 112 different countries.

The movement was called Fridays For Future and consisted of students taking every Friday off to demand government action on the climate issue.

Greta has Asperger’s and ADHD but has often spoken on how her conditions have acted as a motivator instead of a source of depression, which she said they once were.

Since her first strike last year at the age of 15, Greta has gone on to talk about the possible solutions to combat climate change at rallies in Stockholm, Helsinki, Brussels and London. Every conference she has attended she has travelled by train, bus or cycled in an effort to keep her carbon footprint low.

Over the last few years she has convinced her family to make drastic changes in order to help save the planet including refusing to fly on planes, growing their own vegetables and not eating meat.

Greta was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize by members of Norway’s Parliament for her work and determination, and she received the freedom of expression, Fritt Ord Prize, in April.

Greta is setting sail on 60ft racing boat Malizia II to get to this year’s UN Climate Action Summit in New York and the COP25 climate change conference in Santiago.

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk