Former Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson says teen climate activist Greta Thunberg is a "spoilt brat" whose "meltdown" at the UN made him sick.

In his latest Sun newspaper column, the motoring journalist and broadcaster also suggests that when "a teenage girl has an angry tearful strop, most parents send them to their rooms".

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But instead, he writes, when the 16-year-old Swedish campaigner "had a full-on adolescent meltdown" while addressing the United Nations on September 23, "she was deafened by the applause".

"(But) I was in the bog being sick," he added.

Clarkson then unleashes on Thunberg for accusing world's adults of having "stolen" her dreams and childhood, listing items such as mobile phones, laptops the internet and clean water that have come to her generation courtesy of grownups.

"How dare you stand there and lecture us, you spoilt brat," he finished.

But Clarkson's 25-year-old daughter Em Clarkson responded to her dad's column with a tweet praising a middle-aged British comedian John Bishop for calling Thunberg "inspirational".

"Wouldn’t it be nice if all middle-aged blokes could talk to and about Greta ... like this," she tweeted.

Em Clarkson's father quickly retorted with his own question.

"Wouldn't it be nice if she learned some manners," the older Clarkson tweeted.

Critics' corner

The 59-year-old is the latest public figure to take aim at Thunberg following the global media attention the activist adolescent received during and after her journey to the UN to deliver her speech.

Greta Thunberg delivers a speech to the UN climate conference. Credit: Jason DeCrow / AP

Earlier this month, Thunberg travelled on a zero-carbon racing yacht to New York for the UN climate summit last week, where she accused world leaders of "betrayal" for a lack of urgent action on climate change.

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Soon after the speech, US President Donald Trump pointedly ignored Thunberg while walking past her and sarcastically tweeted: "She seems like a very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future. So nice to see!"

And billionaire French luxury brand boss Bernard Arnault - whose company LVMH owns labels such Givenchy and Christian Dior - said she was "demoralising" young people by embracing "catastrophism".

Meanwhile in Australia, Prime Minister Scott Morrison did not criticise Thunberg personally but said he did not want the climate debate to produce "needless anxiety" in children.

AFL broadcaster Sam Newman tweeted that she was "an annoying little brat", and conservative politicians such as One Nation's Pauline Hanson and Queensland LNP MP George Christensen have also been highly critical.