Greta Thunberg has lead the charge passionate climate change movement which has captured the attention of the entire planet.

Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg has copped significant heat for her climate change activism and now her younger sister is in the firing line.

In an interview with Swedish newspaper Dagens Nyheter, the 16-year-old said it had been an “awful” turn of events involving her “wonderful and strong” 13-year-old sister and best friend, Beata Ernman.

“The one who suffers is my sister,” Greta said.

“She is 13 years old and she has been subjected to systematic bullying, threats and harassment.

“The people who write threats and hate to me do it to the whole family, even to her.

“The difference between me and the people who are left at home is that I am always travelling, inaccessible. People don’t know where I am staying, where I sleep at night, where I am. I have no daily life.

“But for my sister at home, who tries to have a daily life … she is much more reachable.”

Thunberg’s sister has followed in the footsteps of their renowned opera singer mother Malena Ernman, who placed 21st in the 2009 Eurovision Song Contest final held in Moscow, Russia.

Beata Ernman performed her song “Bara Du Vill” which translates to “Just You Will” on Swedish prime-time TV show Bingolotto in June. The program described her as a “giant talent”.

A memoir about the Swedish family before Thunberg gained fame, called Scenes from the Heart, details Thunberg’s Asperger’s syndrome diagnosis and her younger sister’s attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

It will be updated and released later this year in English, according to German broadcaster Deutsche Welle.

Their mother, in the book, concludes that the conditions are “not a handicap” as much as a “superpower”.

The family’s book, Our House is on Fire: Scenes of a Family and a Planet in Crisis, written by Greta Thunberg, Beata Ernman, Malena Ernman and the father, Svante Thunberg, is due to be released in March 2020.

Igår kväll sjöng min dotter Beata, 13 år, live på Bingolotto. Och som hon sjöng!! #HandbokFörSuperhjältar Posted by Malena Ernman on Monday, 10 June 2019

WHO IS BEATA ERNMAN?

The 13-year-old, who prefers to be called “Bea”, has close to 14,000 Instagram followers of her own.

The flexible young teenager has shared photos of herself dancing and singing on stages, including Stockholm theatres Dalhalla and Oscarsteatern, in music studios and at home.

Just this week, Ernman posted about “going through something” she couldn’t talk about right now.

“I wish I could, maybe I can in a few years,” she wrote.

She reminded her followers that the “little things” can matter including unwelcome remarks.

“Everyone is allowed to post whatever they want but please never be ashamed of writing about something personal that might have an impact on someone’s life,” Ernman said.

“Someone can write one nasty comment and think that they’re not gonna read it but most people read all of their comments. And most people get upset.”

She said she had worried about sharing her experience of panic attacks and being seen as “weak” but was later told by her followers that the post had made an impact on their lives.

Ernman also links to her Spotify account where her song, Bara Du Vill, has been streamed more than 150,000 times.

While there is little evidence of her link to Thunberg, she posted a photo outside Swedish parliament when her sister’s public activism began in late August 2018.

It was captioned: “Today I went to school for the climate #climatestrike”.

Greta said bullies who had targeted her sister had been reported to the police.

The teenager acknowledged she was surrounded by supporters and frequently offered assistance, but this was not mirrored in the treatment of her sister who had “no support whatsoever”.

RELATED: ABC panellist’s snide swipe at Greta



WHAT HAS BEEN SAID?

Greta gave a powerful speech at the United Nations Climate Action Summit in New York last month, repeating the phrase “How dare you” in her emotional appeal for action.

She denounced the world leaders for failing to tackle climate change.

“You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words,” Greta said.

In the days following the speech, US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin both weighed in.

Mr Trump shared a video of it on Twitter and appeared to take a swipe at Greta.

“She seems like a very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future. So nice to see!” he wrote.

But the Swedish schoolgirl took it in her stride, changing her Twitter bio soon after to describe herself as: “A very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future”.

She seems like a very happy young girl looking forward to a bright and wonderful future. So nice to see! https://t.co/1tQG6QcVKO — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 24, 2019

Earlier this month, Mr Putin shared his two cents about the teenager and her speech.

He was not at the summit when it was delivered.

Mr Putin said he didn’t share the “general enthusiasm” for the address.

“I’m sure Greta is a kind girl and very sincere,” he said.

“Nobody explained to Greta that the modern world is complicated and complex.”

Greta again changed her Twitter bio, this time to: “A kind but poorly informed teenager”.

She was also called “mentally unstable” and “the international mascot for climate alarmism” by People’s Party of Canada leader Maxime Bernier in September.

RELATED: The PR guru behind the rise of Greta Thunberg

1/8 @GretaThunberg has become the international mascot for climate alarmism.



The goal of the green Left is to radically transform our society through hysterical fear that the end of the world is coming and we have no choice but to give up our freedoms and way of life. — Maxime Bernier (@MaximeBernier) September 2, 2019

WHEN IT ALL BEGAN

Millions of people marched around the word last month, striking from schools and workplaces in favour of stronger action on climate change.

Dagens Nyheter was among one of the first publications to interview Greta after her solo school strike for climate change outside Swedish parliament in August 2018.

In their latest interview, seated in an electric car borrowed from former governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Greta told the newspaper her life had become something she “could only dream of a year or two ago”.

She said she received negative comments to her face during the first few days of her strike in Stockholm but it “never” happened these days.

Greta said people “sit and hide behind a screen or a letter” instead.

“I get nice offers from people who want to help all the time,” she said.

“The best way to help me at the moment is supporting my sister.”



