Oh. My. Greatness.

The Nobel Peace Prize. The day before hundreds of thousands of schoolchildren that she has mobilised since first starting her protest alone in front of the Swedish parliament just last August go on strike worldwide to protest lack of government (and adult) action on climate change.

This is the most amazing news - when I saw it start coming through my feeds this afternoon I first checked to see whether The Onion had lost their north on what constitutes satire (meaning I thought someone was having me on because they know I deeply admire her), but no, it was Time Magazine, Reuters, The Guardian, CNN and other respectable newsfeeds and agencies reporting the same thing - arguably the world's most effective climate activist (see the list of articles I've written about her at the end of this post on why I believe that) is now in line for the Nobel Peace Prize - at the age of 16.

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Does that make her potentially the youngest Nobel laureate?

Well, yes, possibly, since the Nobel ceremony is usually held in December, and Greta was born January 3, 2003, which would mean that if she won, she would win it at the age of 16. Another of my young heroines, Malala Yousafzai is currently the youngest laureate:

On 10 October 2014, Yousafzai was announced as the co-recipient of the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize for her struggle against the suppression of children and young people and for the right of all children to education. Having received the prize at the age of 17, Yousafzai is the youngest Nobel laureate. Yousafzai shared the prize with Kailash Satyarthi, a children's rights activist from India.

Malala's birthday is in July, for what that's worth.

Who nominated her?

The Nobel committee notes on its website that usually the names of nominators and nominees are not normally made public until 50 years have elapsed. However, in this case, one of the nominators has gone public. A member of the Norwegian parliament, Freddy André Øvstegård, and two of his colleagues in the Socialist Left Party, nominated her. Mr Øvstegård has confirmed that he had not spoken with Greta Thunberg herself and surmised she would be surprised by the nomination.

Why?

As the parliamentarian says:

“Climate change is maybe the most important driver for war, conflict and refugees already, and especially into the future.”
“When Greta sat down in front of the Swedish parliament and started a mass movement all around the globe for climate action, she made a contribution to peace too.”

Who can nominate someone for the Nobel Peace Prize?

According to the BBC:

National politicians, international officials, academics and previous winners are among those who can nominate potential recipients.

Nominations closed in February. The award decision will be taken in October and the prize will be awarded in December.

What are her chances of winning?

There are 301 candidates for the 2019 prize: 223 individuals and 78 organisations. That's stiff competition.

But there's precedent for awarding the prize to someone so young, and these are uncharted waters we're entering. The impact this extraordinary activist is having could well have a significant influence on our future chances for peace, if her actions and the actions of those she inspires lead the world to a different climate path than the one we're on. This will help us to avoid the kind of catastrophic outcomes that climate experts and scientists from many different disciplines have now extensively modelled - see the latter half of this post to get references to the most recent studies and reports issued by the American government and international experts.

Kumi Naidoo, head of Amnesty International, had this to say about her nomination:

“Children are often told they are ‘tomorrow’s leaders’. But if they wait until ‘tomorrow’ there may not be a future in which to lead.”
“Young people are putting their leaders to shame with the passion and determination they are showing to fight this crucial battle now."