Thunberg: ‘My message to the Americans is the same as to everyone – to unite behind the science and to act on the science’

As Greta Thunberg departs the US to sail across the Atlantic for the second time in a few months, she is leaving behind a simple message for those who care about the climate crisis: you must vote.

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The 16-year-old Swedish climate activist who ignited a youth movement with her Friday school strikes has traveled across America since arriving via racing yacht in late August. She will now brave the bitter cold to get back to Madrid, after a change in venue for international climate negotiations. Her plan had been to make her way to Chile, where the talks were meant to be held before the country descended into civil unrest.

“My message to the Americans is the same as to everyone – that is to unite behind the science and to act on the science,” Thunberg told the Guardian on Tuesday.

“We must realize this is a crisis, and we must do what we can now to spread awareness about this and to put pressure on the people in power. And especially, the US has an election coming up soon, and it’s very important that for everyone who can vote, vote.”

Thunberg is heading back to Europe on a catamaran with Riley Whitelum and Elayna Carausu, a YouTube celebrity couple known as Sailing La Vagabonde who live on the boat with their baby. They have heating, solar panels and a water turbine. The journey from Hampton, Virginia, could take around three weeks, depending on weather. Thunberg asked for help getting to Spain on social media, and said she got only a few responses because of the time of year.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Greta Thunberg posing on La Vagabonde. Photograph: @GRETATHUNBERG/Reuters

In a statement, Whitelum said he and Carausu “have seen the beauty of this planet first hand and think that it is something we should all strive to protect. It is something I have considered even more since having a child.”

The same release said six people would be aboard the boat, including Thunberg’s father, Svante Thunberg, and Nikki Henderson, a British professional sailor.

As she reflected on her visit to the US, Thunberg urged people to spread awareness of the climate crisis.

“Even if the politics needed doesn’t exist today, we still need to use our voices to make sure that the people in power are focused on the right things. Because this is a democracy, and in a democracy, people are the ones who run the country. I know it doesn’t seem that way, but if enough people were to decide they have had enough, then that could change everything. So don’t underestimate that power.”

Thunberg routinely issues stern warnings to international leaders and has become a target for criticism by opponents of climate action. Critics alternately dismiss her because she is young or ignore that she is a teenager.

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Preparing for her journey, she said she was homesick and tired of traveling. She said she misses her family, her school and her dogs, Moses and Roxy, a golden retriever and a black labrador.

“I really miss having a routine because now I’ve been on the road constantly for several months,” Thunberg said. “I like routines, so it would be nice to get those routines back.”

While in the US, Thunberg has met fellow protesters, people who have lost their homes to wildfires and advocates for native Americans. She has learned a lot, she said, but the “basic problem is the same everywhere”.

“Nothing is being done to stop the climate and ecological emergency from happening and to secure the future wellbeing for future generations,” she said.

The US is officially withdrawing from the Paris agreement, the international deal to curb emissions of heat-trapping gases which raise temperatures and exacerbate dangerous extreme weather and are projected to intensify poverty worldwide. Donald Trump has rejected climate science, backing the expansion of the fossil fuel industry in the US and abroad.

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In September, Thunberg’s reaction to seeing Trump at a United Nations meeting in New York went viral.

She said her expression then “probably speaks for itself”, but added that it was a “very, very strange experience” because she wasn’t expecting to see the president, who declined to attend climate meetings.

Thunberg often deflects attention from herself and toward the climate crisis. She said in many places, people focus on her as an individual instead of focusing on her cause. But, she said, she would still encourage others who are able to leave school or their jobs to start raising awareness, because the strategy has been effective.

Asked about a mural being painted of her in San Francisco, she said the artists were talented and she was honored and amazed.

“But as I’ve said,” she added, “we should be focusing on the climate and ecological emergency.”