Greta Thunberg crosses the Atlantic on a ship that …

Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old Swede who made visible the fight against global warming
, took a seat on a racing yacht that does not emit harmful gases to face US President Donald Trump, the world leader less engaged in climate change. Thunberg embarked on a two-week outreach trip between the port of Plymouth (south of England) and the United States, in the most difficult challenge since the start of his activism.

"In the United States, many people do not understand and do not accept science. I will do what I've always done: ignore them and say only what science says, anticipated the activist, who will attend the United Nations World Environment Summit scheduled for September in New York. Thunberg's goal will be to "create an international opinion and movement so that people will unite and put pressure on the powerful". It will not be easy task, given that Trump, who dropped the climate deal in Paris soon after its entry into force, should attend.

The 16-year-old girl, who gave life to an unprecedented mobilization of the universal youth of more than 1.4 million participants in 2083 cities, refused to travel by plane due to the CO2 emissions generated by this means of transport. The 18-meter boat on which you sail is equipped with solar panels and underwater turbines allowing you to use electricity on board without emitting carbon dioxide.

The trip is a demonstration of their declared values, which revolve around reducing emissions. A flight to New York would have been much faster, but about 1,000 kg of carbon dioxide would be released into the atmosphere. Clbadic cruises sometimes come even further.

After crossing the United States, Thunberg plans to spend at least another three months in the water to travel to Canada, Mexico and Chile, where he plans to attend another conference in December. About the meteorological emergency. She travels accompanied by her father Svante and the youngest son of Carolina of Monaco, Pierre Casiraghi.

"I am one of the few people in the world to be able to do that, so I took this opportunity," he told the press shortly before setting sail, wearing the black suit of the ship's crew. This trip represents a major challenge for the young Swede, diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, who has repeatedly suffered from depression, anxiety and selective mutism.

Among the lack of facilities to reduce the energy used by the ship, there are no toilets or showers on boardonly blue plastic buckets. To sleep, there are four bunk beds, for Greta, his father and a filmmaker who makes a documentary about his fight. German navigator Boris Herrmann and Casiraghi will use the fourth lap.

The "Malizia II", the 18-meter yacht

The ship on which he travels, directed by Pierre Casiraghi and the German Boris Herrmann, andIt is equipped with solar panels and underwater turbines which allow the production of electricity supplying navigation instruments, autopilot, water desalination plants and a laboratory to measure the CO2 level of water.

The only fossil fuel consumer on board the boat is a gas stove to heat the water and thus rehydrate the freeze-dried vegan food packaging with which they will feed.

The yacht, designed for the competition, can reach a speed of 70 km / h, but the captain plans to sail more slowly. "The goal is to arrive in New York safe and sound"Hermann said while finalizing the preparations for the trip to Plymouth, where on Wednesday the "Malizia II" released links.

According to Hermann, the 3500 nautical mile trip would show that one can travel long distances without fossil fuels and get closer to nature. "I want to show that it can be positive and exciting. And this solidarity with Greta is not limited to environmental activists, "he said.

The meetings that await him

Thunberg denied his interest in holding a meeting with President Trump because he considered that "It would be a waste of time". "The president has not been convinced by the experts with whom he has already spoken. I am not so special. I can not convince everyone, "replied the activist at a potential meeting.

With whom yes He plans to meet the UN Secretary General, António Guterres, as well as some US politicians engaged in climate change. Parliamentarian Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has promised her a warm welcome, with whom she has already discussed strategies to increase climate ambitions and mobilize activists.

Last month, the president of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) described the campaign of Greta and his supporters as "a great threat to the oil sector", a phrase claimed by the Swedes: "They see us like that because we are making a big impact, "he said.