Britain's Queen Elizabeth arrives at St Mary Magdalene's church for the Royal Family's Christmas Day service on the Sandringham estate in eastern England December 25, 2019. — Reuters pic

LONDON, Dec 26 — Britain's Queen Elizabeth said in her Christmas message yesterday that she was impressed by young people's dynamism towards fighting environmental destruction.

“The challenges many people face today may be different to those once faced by my generation,” said the 93-year-old monarch, who was a teenager during World War Two.

“But I have been struck by how new generations have brought a similar sense of purpose to issues such as protecting our environment and our climate.”

Greta Thunberg, a 16-year-old Swedish activist, has this year inspired millions of young people to demand faster action against global warming.

Thunberg, whose solo protest outside Sweden's parliament swelled into a global movement, was named Time Magazine's Person of the Year for 2019.

The queen's son Prince Charles has for decades been a vocal environmental activist, often drawing ridicule for it from Britain's tabloid newspapers. — Reuters