Looking at these figures, it appears that climate marches are less unifying than before in Belgium. In December 2018, around 65,000 people gathered in the capital to demand that politicians and decision-makers take action to counter climate change. In December 2022, there were 25,000 demonstrators, according to police figures, and 30,000 according to the organizers. A year later, the figure had risen to 20,000. In June 2024, only around 500 people marched in the streets of Brussels.
Greta Thunberg presents in Brussels on Saturday during a demonstration for the climate
Greta Thunberg’s popularity seems to align with this decline in mobilization for the environmental cause. In March 2020, when the icon of the climate fight hit the streets of Brussels, it was necessary to mobilize around ten police officers as well as a squad of activists armed with a rope to protect her from the crowd. Today, the activist no longer unleashes passions as much. You have to go to the social networks of the NGO Stop Fossil Subsidies to learn that the pioneer of school strikes for the climate is coming to the town of Manneken-pis.
A few years ago, Greta Thunberg was still presented as the emblematic figure of activism having sacrificed her education to raise awareness of the climate crisis. His commitment has inspired thousands of young people. But with popularity came criticism. Her reproaches addressed to the “old world” have caused her to be ridiculed by her detractors, and sometimes to be demonized. After making a historic mark with her speech at the UN, after being the youngest person designated “person of the year” by TIME, after being nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, the muse lost its superb. Today, the “Greta Thunberg” effect has run out of steam.
Greta Thunberg arrested in Denmark during pro-Palestinian action
Since October 2023 and Israel’s response to Hamas attacks, Greta Thunberg has redirected her energy towards the Palestinian cause. She swapped her Scandinavian braid for the keffiyeh. Which exposes him to an even greater front of criticism than before. From a 16-year-old teenager whose fight was observed with a mixture of tenderness and admiration, she went from being an adult who was taken away by the police. In an era where those who throw soup at works of art are called criminals, the figure of Greta Thunberg is falling out of favor.
Its fall accompanies the disinterest that sticks to the environmentalist fight. Part of the electoral defeat of Ecolo and Groen on June 9 can be found in this area.
