Greta Thunberg reaches New York after two-week Atlantic yacht crossing

Greta Thunberg reached dry land on August 28 after a 14-day crossing of the Atlantic
AP

Teenage climate activist Greta Thunberg has finally reached New York after two weeks at sea aboard a sailing yacht.

The 16-year-old campaigner sailed from England across the Atlantic in the high-tech vessel to avoid the high carbon emissions from flying.

She is due to attend the United Nations climate summit and meet UN Secretary-General António Guterres during a youth summit in the city next month.

The Swedish teen wrote on Wednesday: "Land!! The lights of Long Island and New York City ahead."

Five hours later she took to Twitter again, confirming: “We have anchored off Coney Island - clearing customs and immigration. We will come ashore at North Cove Marina earliest 14:45 tide allowing.”

Greta has become an international icon, regularly meeting world leaders to discuss the global climate emergency.

Since starting her "school strikes" in August 2018, she spoke at last year's UN climate conference in Poland and harangued business and political leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

She also met Pope Francis, who praised Greta's efforts and encouraged her to continue campaigning.

For this year’s climate summit, she opted to make her trans-Atlantic journey carbon emission-free by sailing on the Malizia II: a 60-foot yacht equipped with solar panels and underwater turbines that produce electricity onboard.

The boat has no showers or toilets, and she and her fellow passengers planned to eat freeze-dried food throughout the trip.

"It's not very luxurious, it's not very fancy, but I don't need that," she told reporters before setting sail from Plymouth on August 14.

In addition to the UN Climate Action Summit in New York, Greta intends to join the Climate Change Conference (COP 25) in Santiago, Chile, in December.

Greta Thunberg journeys across the Atlantic to New York

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