Greta Thunberg arrives in New York after sailing across the Atlantic

Meghan and Harry take note! Eco-warrior Greta Thunberg, 16, arrives in NYC after a 15-day sailboat voyage across the Atlantic for a UN climate conference because traveling on a gas-guzzling jet goes against her principles

  • Greta Thunberg, 16, tweeted on Wednesday morning that she had arrived in New York after her two week sailing journey from England
  • She is anchored off Coney Island in Brooklyn waiting to clear immigration
  • Thunberg is expected to dock at Manhattan’s North Cove Marina near the World Trade Center later on Wednesday 
  • The teen, who is attending in a UN climate summit next month, refused to fly to New York to avoid a plane’s gas emissions 
  • She made her journey on a yacht equipped with solar panels and underwater turbines that produce electricity onboard 
  • It sparked some controversy after it emerged that several people would fly into New York to help take the yacht back to Europe 

Teen climate change activist Greta Thunberg has arrived in New York after choosing to sail across the Atlantic for two weeks to avoid using a plane’s gas emissions.

The 16-year-old from Sweden tweeted on Wednesday morning that she was anchored off Coney Island in Brooklyn on her zero-carbon emissions sailing boat while waiting to clear customs and immigration. 

‘Land!! The lights of Long Island and New York City ahead,’ she had earlier tweeted before dawn alongside a dark, blurry photo of lights in the distance. 

Thunberg is expected to dock at Manhattan’s North Cove Marina near the World Trade Center around 2.15 pm. 

Swedish 16-year-old Greta Thunberg arrived in New York on Wednesday after sailing across the Atlantic to highlight climate change

The 16-year-old from Sweden arrived after a two-week journey from England on a zero-emissions sailboat

The 16-year-old from Sweden arrived after a two-week journey from England on a zero-emissions sailboat

Her arrival in New York brings to an end her 14-day journey from England to partake in a United Nations climate summit next month. 

The teenager refused to fly to avoid a plane’s gas emissions.

She made her journey on the Malizia II – a 60-foot yacht equipped with solar panels and underwater turbines that produce electricity onboard.

The Swede has endured cramped and rudimentary conditions onboard, eating freeze-dried food and using a bucket as a toilet. 

The sailing boat was skippered by Pierre Casiraghi, the son of Monaco’s Princess Caroline, and German round-the-world sailor Boris Herrmann. 

Her voyage sparked controversy, however, after it was revealed that that several people would have to fly into New York to help take the yacht back to Europe.

Hermann himself will also return by plane, according to the spokesman.

Team Malizia’s manager insisted however that the young activist’s journey would be climate neutral, as the flights would ‘be offset’.

Thunberg has said that she does not yet know how she will return to Europe.

WHY DOES GRETA THUNBERG REFUSE TO FLY? 

The climate change activist ruled out flying on a plane for her U.S. trip because a plane produces, on average, a little over 53 pounds of carbon dioxide per air mile.

Non-stop flights from London to New York City take between 8 to 10 hours based on the airline for the 3,470 mile journey. 

It equates roughly to about 183,910 pounds of emissions per flight between the two cities.

Thunberg also refuses to travel aboard a cruise ship as they’re notoriously big polluters.

A single large cruise ship can emit over five tons of oxides of nitrogen.

Thunberg opted to take on the Atlantic on the high-tech yacht – Malizia II.

Her journey from the UK to New York took two weeks. The boat was fitted with solar panels and underwater turbines that allowed it to generate zero-carbon electricity on board. 

The teenager attracted international attention last year when she started missing school on Fridays to protest against political inaction on climate change.

It inspired tens of thousands of students in about 100 cities around the world to do the same in what became Fridays For Future events. 

The teenager has since become a figurehead for climate action with her stark warnings of catastrophe if the world does not act now to cut carbon emissions and curb global warming. 

Since her first strike last year, 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 traveled by train, bus or cycled in an effort to keep her carbon footprint low. 

Thunberg was among those to feature on Meghan Markle’s guest-edited Vogue edition last month. 

Meghan and Prince Harry have been criticized of late after it emerged the eco-warriors had taken four private jet trips in just 11 days. 

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex flew from London to Ibiza and back before making a return trip to Nice earlier this month, fueling claims they were contributing to climate change. 

In addition to the United Nations Climate Action Summit in New York, Thunberg intends to join the COP 25 climate change conference in Santiago, Chile, in December.   

The teenager refused to fly to avoid a plane's gas emissions. She made her journey on the Malizia II - a 60-foot yacht equipped with solar panels and underwater turbines that produce electricity onboard

The teenager refused to fly to avoid a plane’s gas emissions. She made her journey on the Malizia II – a 60-foot yacht equipped with solar panels and underwater turbines that produce electricity onboard

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