Thousands of young people, including Thunberg, will converge on Milan this week, with some 400 from about 190 countries set to meet policymakers, either remotely or in person, to hammer out proposals to tackle global warming.

Their proposals will be vetted by climate and energy ministers who are gathering at the same venue in Italy's financial centre for their pre-COP26 meeting later in the week, and the best will be sent on for consideration at the summit in Glasgow, Scotland. When asked whether she expected much from the talks, Thunberg said: "To be honest, not a lot ... we are expecting it to be just like any other meeting, with lots of talking," she told journalists.

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