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Photo by Andrej Ivanov/REUTERS

Deborah Harford, executive director of the Adaptation to Climate Change Team in the faculty of environment at Simon Fraser University, said the teens organizing climate strikes have shown incredible leadership on the issue. But they are “scared about their future” and she doesn’t expect them to slow down anytime soon, she said.

“This is an ongoing challenge and we’re just going to be working on this for the rest of our lives, so we need to keep the momentum going, and keep it top of mind and visible,” she said.

Harford said Thunberg’s visit to Vancouver strips away some of the perception of the teen as an “untouchable celebrity.” Having her in Vancouver to inspire other teens is exciting for them and makes her climate activism personal, she said.

“I’ve also noticed, with Greta, that when she does show up, she very much gives the leadership of the event to the local leaders but she’s there supporting them,” Harford said. “I think it’s a really great model of leadership that she’s putting forward and probably one that our more prominent leaders could learn from.”

Harford challenged some of Thunberg’s critics who argue that the teen should be visiting the nations that emit the highest volume of carbon dioxide.

Those critics often point to China and India, however, Canada produced 15.2 metric tons per person in 2014, compared to 7.5 tons produced by Chinese and 1.7 tons produced by Indians, according to the World Bank. Americans produced 16.5 tons and Swedes produced 4.5 tons.

“We’re partying on and until those of us who had the party and reaped the benefits can demonstrate that we can actually model lifestyles that are emissions friendly, there just isn’t an incentive for people who are coming out of poverty in the developing world to change,” Harford said.

“I think our job as the highest per capita emitter countries … is to work really hard to find ways to live in a sustainable way, and then help the developing countries to take up those technologies and lifestyle changes, and also help them to improve their quality of life.”