Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg to sail on zero-carbon boat from Plymouth to New York

13th August 2019

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg, 16, will sail from Plymouth tomorrow as she heads to New York for the forthcoming UN Climate Action Summit on board zero-carbon sailboat, Malizia II.

Plymouth has been chosen as the departure point for the historic sailing voyage to America this week. Mayflower Marina is host to Greta Thunberg and sailing Team Malizia ahead of the climate activist’s tour through the Americas over the next few months.  The racing boat will leave Plymouth on Wednesday 14 August and arrive in New York City approximately two weeks later, making no stops on the way.

Team Malizia, skippered by Pierre Casiraghi and Boris Herrmann, will sail Greta and her father Svante Thunberg in the foiling boat, which is outfitted with solar panels and underwater turbines to allow for a zero-carbon, trans-Atlantic voyage. Upon arrival in North America, Greta will join large-scale climate demonstrations on September 20 and 27 and speak at the United Nations Climate Action Summit, hosted by Secretary General António Guterres in New York City on September 23.

Council leader Tudor Evans OBE said: “What an absolute honour to host Greta’s departure from Plymouth – Britain’s Ocean City.

“This is a city with a history of voyages that have changed the world and this is a city that is working hard to help change the world around it. We wholeheartedly support Greta’s magnificent efforts to highlight climate change and have declared a climate emergency.

"We’re putting the environment at the forefront of everything we do – creating bee corridors along our roads, wildlflower meadows in our parks, solar power in our schools and buildings, championing the UK’s first marine park.  Even tonight’s (Wednesday) British Firework Championships will no longer have single use plastic components in fireworks.

"It’s not rocket science – we all need to change.”

Greta is taking a sabbatical year from school, and aims to attend a number of events during her time in North America, meeting with people most impacted by the climate and ecological emergency, climate activists, and decision-makers. She also plans to visit Canada and Mexico. Greta will then travel to the annual UN climate conference (COP25) in Santiago, Chile between 2-13 December, with plans to visit other sites in South America that are important in tackling the climate crisis.

Greta doesn’t fly because of the tremendous amount of emissions caused by air travel – emissions that are strongly amplified due to the fact that they are released high-up in the atmosphere. She will therefore choose the least carbon-intensive modes of transportation throughout her travels across the Americas.

The Malizia team also developed the Malizia Ocean Challenge, a project to support ocean climate education and the monitoring of ocean CO2. This project is affiliated with the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, a charitable organisation that supports work on environmental and climate change issues.

Greta Thunberg said: “The science is clear. We must start bending the emissions curve steeply downwards no later than 2020, if we still are to have a chance of staying below a 1, 5 degrees of global temperature rise. We still have a window of time when things are in our own hands. But that window is closing fast. That is why I have decided to make this trip now. During the past year, millions of young people have raised their voice to make world leaders wake up to the climate and ecological emergency. Over the next months, the events in New York and Santiago de Chile will show if they have listened. Together with many other young people across the Americas and the world, I will be there, even if the journey will be long and challenging. We will make our voices heard. It is our future on the line, and we must at least have a say in it. The science is clear and all we children are doing is communicating and acting on that united science. And our demand is for the world to unite behind the science.”

Boris Herrmann said: “Greta is amazingly courageous to be standing up against ignorance and injustice regarding the climate crisis. I am not surprised that she considers this trip as something perfectly achievable for her – taking into account her courage in speaking up in a loud and clear way even in front of the most powerful people. I am conscious about Pierre‘s and my responsibility. We will make sure she will reach New York in the safest way possible. I am thrilled that our sport ambition and sailing project can play a small but hopefully important role in increasing awareness for the most important challenge humanity faces today. I feel humbled that Greta accepted our offer as the lowest-carbon option to cross the Atlantic – despite the lack of comfort for her.”

Nick Buckland OBE, Chair of Plymouth Waterfront Partnership said ‘We’re delighted that Mayflower Marina has been chosen to host this ground breaking sailing. With such a long history as the embarkation point for many pioneering voyages, including those of Cook, Darwin, Drake and the Mayflower Pilgrims, Plymouth is uniquely positioned; there is no better place in the UK from which to launch this new history-making voyage. We wish them safe passage and a very successful trip.”