EARTH DAY 2021
Watch: Climate activist Greta Thunberg's decision to wag school was a 'strike of genius',

 60 Minutes reporter Sarah Abo says

By Chanel Zagon|4/22/2021

In this new series, the hosts of Australia's longest-running news and current affairs program, 60 Minutes, take us behind the scenes of the guests, stories and interviews that have forever changed them, some decades later.

There are always two sides to every story, including the "extraordinary" reason why a teenage girl in Sweden wagged school every Friday to protest against climate change.

The call to arms by then 16-year-old Greta Thunberg, from Stockholm, sparked a global movement in 2018, triggering mass school strikes to domino around the world - for one simple reason: climate change.

Critics were quick to slam the teenager for ditching school, but ultimately the controversial act of defiance divided the community.

READ MORE: Greta Thunberg accuses world leaders of 'behaving like children'

60 Minutes reporter Sarah Abo with Greta Thunberg. (60 Minutes)

60 Minutes reporter Sarah Abo travelled to Stockholm to hear the reasoning behind Greta's activism in 2019, describing it as a "strike of genius".

"If she did it on a weekend, it would just be like any other protest," Abo said.

"Doing it on a Friday, as a young student, meant that she wasn't at school and she should be at school.

"All these questions were being raised ... you could almost call it a strike of genius.

"Those strikes were a way of gaining that attention."

READ MORE: Greta Thunberg meets with Angela Merkel

Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg arrives for the meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in Berlin. (Getty)

Despite some believing the teen's stance was too extreme, Abo said her strong action stemmed from intense passion and commitment to solving climate change.

"She is a pretty polarising and controversial figure, right - there are people who love her and there are people who think that she is too young to be espousing these kinds of beliefs," she said.

"To actually meet her, and get to know her, and understand where she is coming from was an experience not many people get.

"Hearing her talk about why she does what she does and the passion behind it, was something pretty special.

READ MORE: Greta Thunberg nominated for Nobel Prize

Swedish environmentalist Greta Thunberg arrives for a meeting at the Europa building in Brussels. (AFP via Getty Images)

"Her commitment to calling out global warming, to calling out our leaders for not doing enough, was quite extraordinary and very brave - not many 16-year-olds would do something like this.

"She is a remarkable young girl."

Thunberg could not stand by and do nothing; and desperate times really did call for drastic actions, Abo said.

"It weighed on her so heavily, she felt as a human being on earth she had to do something," she said.

"You can't argue against what she has created and you can't argue against the motivation she has given to so many young people to get out on the streets to act for something they believe in, to try and bring about the change they think they deserve."