Svante Thunberg, Greta’s father, was initially not in favour of the idea that his daughter set herself up as a figurehead of climate struggle and is concerned about the many adverse reactions. “But she usually laughs,” he said in a conversation with BBC.

Greta Thunberg was the guest editor in chief of the BBC radio program. Today to choose who was interviewed. To know the motivation behind her choices, presenter Mishal Husain travelled to Stockholm to talk to her.

There she immediately had a conversation with her father Svante, who sailed together with Greta to North America earlier this year where she participated in the UN climate summit.

Father Thunberg does support his daughter in her climate fight, but he was not immediately in favour of her plan to skip school and protest for more climate action every Friday, he said. That changed when he saw Greta bloom.

He said that his sixteen-year-old daughter has become a lot happier since she can use her energy in the climate fight. Father Thunberg explained how Greta struggled with depression for “three to four years” before that. “She stopped talking, and she stopped going to school.” He called it “the biggest nightmare for a parent,” when she also stopped eating.

To help her, the family spent more time together. It is also within the family that the climate issue was discussed. The fact that her parents also changed their lifestyle under the influence of Greta – her mother no longer travels by plane, and her father became a vegan – gave her “energy”, says Svante.

“I knew it was right to do all those things, but I didn’t do it for the climate, but to save my child,” he said. “I have two daughters and to be honest, they are the only thing that matters. I just want them to be happy. “