Greta Thunberg's father today revealed he feared depression would kill her before she launched her 'climate crisis' campaign as the teenager blasted Donald Trump and insisted meeting him would be a 'waste of time'.

Svante Thunberg told his 16-year-old daughter it was 'a bad idea' to lead the campaign to halt global warming – but now believes it 'saved her' after she stopped eating and talking for months during a long bout of depression.

Mr Thunberg was interviewed as part of a special edition of the BBC Radio 4 Today programme guest-edited by his daughter Greta. During the rare interview Mr Thunberg said: 'We thought it was a bad idea, just the idea of your own daughter sort of putting herself at the very front line of such a huge question like climate change. You wouldn't want that as a parent'.

He described how the young climate activist 'fell ill' and stopped eating and talking to others, staying at home for a year from the age of 11 when she was first diagnosed with Asperger's.

Her recovery started when he became vegan and her mother, Swedish opera star Malena Ernman, stopped flying, Mr Thunberg said, adding: 'We are not climate activists, we never were. We knew it was the right thing to do - but I didn't do it to save the climate, I did it to save my child'.

Svante Thunberg, father of climate activist Greta Thunberg, pictured together on a zero-carbon yacht in New York in August has given a rare interview about his daughter where he denied being the driving force behind her campaign and said her activism had helped her beat depression

Greta Thunberg glares at Donald Trump at the UN climate summit in August as she said meeting him would be a 'waste of time'

The teenager, who was the catalyst for a series of climate change protests and action this year, guest edited the BBC's Today programme this morning

Describing how ill she was he said: 'She didn't speak to a single person. She could only eat her in her own home'.

David Attenborough praises Greta Thunberg for 'arousing' the world on climate change and says when he spoke out: 'Nobody took a blind bit of notice' David Attenborough spoke to Greta Thunberg for the first time in December for BBC Radio 4's Today programme. With Greta guest editing the show on December 30, she was given the chance to speak to her idol after being inspired to fight climate change through his and other's nature documentaries. Here is a transcript of their conversation, with Sir David speaking from London, Greta from Stockholm and presenter Mishal Husain conducting the interview. Greta: Hi it's very nice to meet you, it's an honour. Sir David: I'm very flattered that you would say that. She [Greta] has achieved things that many of us that have been working on it for 20 years have not achieved. You have aroused the world. Greta: I think everyone is grateful to you. It's very inspiring. Mishal: What made you do this? It was when I was younger, when I was nine or 10. The thing that made me open my eyes was documentaries about the changing climate. So thank you for that. Sir David: I'm very flattered you did, because a lot of people didn't. The trouble is politicians are just concerned about tomorrow and the day after. The motto that the world belongs to young people, that's a very powerful one. You have made it an argument people can't dodge. Greta: That doesn't translate into political actions though. We need to highlight the difference between what the scientists are saying and what the politicians are doing. Sir David: I'm not a scientist. I like making programmes about natural history. That's what I like doing. I'm sure you like sitting down and watching them. I don't want to spend our time marching through the streets. But we have to. People of my generation should be very grateful to you. Greta: When you started making the programmes, were you allowed to talk about environmental stuff – or was it too controversial? Sir David: Twenty years ago it was controversial. No, dash it, 20 years ago it wasn't. We could see the writing very clearly on the wall. I did a programme at Easter Island to celebrate the millennium when I said this is an example of what happens when you ignore what is happening. That was the first time I said, we are going to have to change the political structures, our everyday lives. But nobody took a blind bit of notice. Twenty years on it is desperately urgent. In my country we are going through this political turmoil with Europe. No one is talking about climate change, except for you. Sir David: Every day that we delay things we are missing an opportunity. But at the same time, we are demanding a world movement. That's a first in world history. We can't ask everyone to think the same way. I don't think that will happen in mine or your lifetimes. When governments in Brazil, US, Australia, say things that make it clear they are not going to listen. It's very depressing. It needs a real electric shock. But that's you have done socially. Mishal: Is there a generational divide? Sir David: There's not a generational divide. You can find people of all ages and conditions saying what we're saying. We just need more of them. Greta: Yeah I agree. But we see it in a different way. See it as something that affects their children and grandchildren. It affects all of us at the end of the day. Mishal: Word of caution to Greta? David: I don't think I should advise her. What she has already achieved is astonishing. It's very difficult to know how you can go on saying the same thing. Unless you introduce a new element. The problem is more urgent now. Mishal: Thank you and I hope you meet in person someday. Sir David: So do I – until we do – I do thank you very much. Greta: You too – Happy holidays! Advertisement

But after she started skipping school every Friday to demonstrate outside the Swedish parliament her health improved and Mr Thunberg said: 'During her first sit-in outside the Swedish parliament, she began answering journalists' questions as when they approached her. On the third day, she ate a vegan pad thai dish someone had handed to her.

'I cannot explain what a change that meant to her and to us. And she could do things she could not have done before. I can see Greta is very happy from doing this'.

When asked if he was proud of his daughter's achievements, including being nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, the 50-year-old actor said: 'Not at all. I don't care about pride. She's happy. I'm pleased that we chose to listen to her'.

His 16-year-old daughter has launched an attack on President Trump as she set the agenda for the BBC's flagship news radio show and said: 'He's obviously not listening to scientists and experts. So why would he listen to me?'.

Miss Thunberg's eco-heavy three-hour show featured an interview with Sir David Attenborough, who praised the teenager and said she had 'woken up the world' to climate change and achieved more in a year than he had in decades.

His 16-year-old daughter has launched an attack on President Trump as she guest edited the BBC's flagship news radio show and said: 'He's obviously not listening to scientists and experts. So why would he listen to me?'.

Mr Trump was accused of mocking Miss Thunberg after she was named Time's person of 2019 this month saying she has an 'anger management problem' while Brazil's president Jair Bolsonaro has called her a 'brat'.

When asked about the personal attacks Greta, who who famously gave Trump a furious look at the UN's climate action summit this year, said: 'Those attacks are just funny. They obviously don't mean anything. It does mean they are terrified of young people bringing change. They don't want that. They see us as some kind of threat'.

Miss Thunberg's eco-heavy Today programme featured an interview with Sir David Attenborough, who praised the teenager and said she had 'woken up the world' to climate change and achieved more in a year than he had in decades. He said: 'You have made it an argument people can't dodge. People of my generation should be very grateful to you'.

As Greta edited the BBC's top radio news show, it emerged:

Miss Thunberg says Trump ignores scientists and experts on climate change and is threatened by the movement;

Swedish activist's parents claim they were opposed to her worldwide 'climate strike' campaign but 'ran out of arguments' to stop it;

Greta claims she will go back to a 'normal life' and school and says: 'I don't see myself as a leader. I'm just a small part of a very big movement';

Sir David Attenborough described 'honour' of meeting Greta via Skype and said: 'You have made it an argument people can't dodge. People of my generation should be very grateful to you';

Outgoing BofE Governor Mark Carney says halting investment in fossil fuels is 'not moving fast enough' in Today programme guest edited by Greta;

Mr Thunberg also revealed that in around 2016 Greta was suffering with crippling depression and stopped talking and eating for three months while refusing to go to school.

Mr Thunberg said that he and Greta's mother Malena, an opera singer and former Eurovision contestant, had stopped work during their daughter's depression, calling it the 'ultimate nightmare for a parent'. But he said her climate change battle has 'saved' her, adding Greta finds any personal criticism 'hilarious'.

He said: 'I don't know how she does it but she laughs'.

Describing how he and his wife handled her campaign the Swede said: 'Obviously we thought it was a bad idea, putting herself out there with all the hate on social media.

'We said: 'We would not support it. If you're going to do this you're going to do it by yourself'.

Greta then started a school strike for the climate outside the Swedish parliament in August 2018, which has since spread all over the world to involve more than 100,000 schoolchildren.

She arrived in New York in August after a 15-day, 3,000-mile voyage across the Atlantic to take part in a UN climate summit having sailed from Plymouth. She then set sail in November from the US to a UN climate summit in Madrid, Spain, because she refuses to fly.

Her father has taken part in some of these events but denies he is an environmental activist himself.

He said: 'I have two daughters and to be honest they are all that matters to me. I just want them to be happy'.

He said Greta thought her parents were 'huge hypocrites' because they were active advocates for refugees, noting that his daughter would ask 'Whose human rights are you standing up?' given that they were not taking the climate issue seriously.

Mr Thunberg said his wife stopped flying and had to 'change her whole career'.

He added: 'To be honest, she didn't do it save the climate - she did it to save her child because she saw how much it meant to her, and then, when she did that, she saw how much she grew from that, how much energy she got from it.'

He said he 'became vegan' and Greta 'got more and more energy' from this.

He added: 'You think she's not ordinary now because she's special, and she's very famous, and all these things. But to me she's now an ordinary child - she can do all the things like other people can,' he said.

'She dances around, she laughs a lot, we have a lot of fun - and she's in a very good place.'

With Greta set top turn 17, he added: 'If she needs me there, I'll try to do it. But I think she'll be, more and more, going to do it by herself which is great.'

In a Skype call Sir David Attenborough told Greta: 'You have made it an argument people can't dodge. People of my generation should be very grateful to you'

Greta with her sister Beata, mother Malena, father Svante and their family dog in Stockholm

93-year-old broadcaster and naturalist Sir David Attenborough told Greta in a Skype call for the show she had 'achieved things that many of us who have been working on the issue for 20 years have failed to do', adding she was the 'only reason' climate change was among one of the main issues at this month's general election.

'Meeting Trump would be a waste of time', says Greta, who says she find his personal attacks 'funny' Teenage climate change activist Greta Thunberg said that talking to Donald Trump at a United Nations summit on global warming would have been a waste of time since he would not have paid any attention. A video of the 16-year-old Swedish campaigner giving Trump what media described as a 'death stare' at a U.N. climate summit in New York in September went viral on social media. Trump has questioned climate science and is pulling the United States out of the 2015 Paris Agrement on global warming. Asked what she would have said to the president if they had spoken, Thunberg said: 'Honestly, I don't think I would have said anything because obviously he's not listening to scientists and experts, so why would he listen to me? 'So I probably wouldn't have said anything, I wouldn't have wasted my time,' she said. This month Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro called Thunberg 'a brat'. Trump has said on Twitter she needs to work on her anger management problem. 'Those attacks are just funny because they obviously don't mean anything,' she said. 'I guess of course it means something - they are terrified of young people bringing change which they don't want - but that is just proof that we are actually doing something and that they see us as some kind of threat.' Thunberg came to world attention when she began a grassroots campaign aged 15 by skipping school every Friday to demonstrate outside the Swedish parliament. The protests have inspired millions of young people to take action against climate change. Advertisement

He described the impact she has made as 'astonishing,' adding: 'She has achieved things that many of us who have been working on it for 20-odd years have failed to achieve and that is you have aroused the world.'

The teenager's campaigning message that the world belongs to young people is 'a very powerful one,' according to Sir David, who told the youngster: 'You have made it an argument that people have not been able to dodge.'

He told Greta: 'We don't want to spend our time marching through the streets but we have to. People of my generation should be very grateful to you.'

Greta was nominated for this year's Nobel Peace Prize after spearheading a global movement demanding world leaders take action on climate change.

She is currently on a gap year from her education and heads back to school in August.

She has suffered with depression and feels her activism has been like a medicine.

She told Radio 4: 'It really helps in getting out of that depression because it gives a feeling you are having an impact.'

Greta added: 'Just being part of a movement that has so much impact on the world is an amazing feeling. I wish that more people could feel like that.'

Brazil's president Jair Bolsonaro has called her a 'brat' after she condemned violence against indigenous people who were killed in the Amazon, while US President Donald Trump has suggested she has anger management issues.

She said she thought those attacks were 'just funny', and were probably because she was part of a big movement they probably see as 'a threat'.

Greta, who was seen glaring from a distance at Mr Trump in the lobby at the United Nations in New York earlier this year, said that talking to him would have been a waste of time.

She said: 'He is obviously not listening to scientists and experts. Why would he listen to me?

'So I probably wouldn't have said anything. I wouldn't have wasted my time.'

Greta said she feels climate activists are being listened to, although the science is being ignored by people in politics, finance and the media.

She said she is going into the new year feeling 'realistic', adding: 'It is not like it is going to change overnight.'

Putting a presenter on a flight to Sweden to meet climate activist Greta Thunberg 'felt awkward', the editor of BBC Radio 4's Today programme has admitted.

Greta Thunberg hints she will soon go back to school and declares: 'I want to be just like a normal teenager' Greta Thunberg (right in Turin this month) said today that she hoped to go back to having a normal life, soon. She came to world attention when she began a grassroots campaign aged 15 by skipping school every Friday to demonstrate outside the Swedish parliament. The protests have inspired millions of young people to take action against climate change. The teenager rejoined activists outside the Swedish parliament this month after four months of overseas trips to attend climate conferences in New York and Madrid. 'I hope I won't have to sit outside the Swedish parliament for long. I hope I don't have to be a climate activist any more,' she said on Monday, adding she was looking forward to returning to school in August. 'I just want to be just as everyone else. I want to educate myself and be just like a normal teenager'. Advertisement

The 16-year-old campaigner, who was a guest editor on a special edition of the show, avoids air travel because of its environmental impact.

The BBC sent presenter Mishal Husain on a return flight to Stockholm to interview her.

Programme editor Sarah Sands told the Sunday Times: 'We did discuss that among ourselves. It felt awkward but we did not have the time for trains or boats.'

The paper said the trip to Stockholm is estimated to have amounted to almost half a ton of carbon dioxide emissions per person.

Pensions funds and other businesses risk seeing their assets become worthless unless they wake up to the climate crisis, Bank of England governor Mark Carney warned today.

Mark Carney, who will step down in March, said efforts to halt investment in fossil fuels were 'not moving fast enough'.

He said climate change was a 'tragedy on the horizon' for the planet but would also have enormous costs for businesses who failed to adapt.

There is 'no way' all the resources held in reserve by polluting companies can be used if climate change targets were to be met, Mr Carney claimed.

As a result, he said those who did not change with the times would become 'stranded' with assets they could no longer use.

Greta Thunberg interviews Sir David Attenborough at part of her Radio 4 Today Programme takeover and the 93-year-old said she has has more impact on climate change than he has

Her climate and environmental concerns were put at the heart of Thunberg's BBC show

His comments came during an interview with BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

Bank of England governor Mark Carney has warned businesses risk seeing their assets become worthless unless they wake up to the climate crisis

A growing number of investment funds have supported so-called 'divestment' in recent years, which commits them to pull money out of companies associated with fossil fuels.

Activist group 350.org estimates that more than 1,100 funds, managing assets worth £8.4trillion, have so far pledged to do this.

However, pension funds that manage the nest eggs of tens of millions of Britons in many cases still have money invested in companies that campaigners say contribute to or benefit from the use of fossil fuels.

For example, FTSE 100 firms such as BP, Royal Dutch Shell, BHP Billiton, Anglo American, Rio Tinto and Centrica are all singled out as being 'overvalued' and 'risky long-term investments' because of their reliance on fossil fuels.