Icelandic students to go on climate strike on Friday

Glaciers in Iceland have retreated rapidly for more than two …

Glaciers in Iceland have retreated rapidly for more than two decades and glacier downwasting is one of the most obvious consequences of a warming climate in the country. Rax / Ragnar Axelsson

A strike for climate will take place in Austurvöllur square in the Reykjavik city centre this Friday, February 22nd - and every Friday after that - between 12-13.

The strike is inspired by Greta Thunberg whose school strikes for climate in Sweden have garnered widespread attention. Tens of thousands of youth have followed her example and went to the streets to object to the authorities’ lack of action, in Belgium, Britain, USA, Australia, Germany, Sweden and other countries.

In a press release it states: 

"Latest data from Gallup shows that more Icelanders than ever before are interested in - and are worried about - environmental issues 👉🏻 (http://bit.ly/2IuvEp4), and yet carbon emissions are still increasing. We want to show the authorities that the public is aware of the severity of the situation and we are calling for drastic measures.

The government published an environmental plan for 2030 with the goal of reaching carbon neutrality by 2040. While we support this plan, further action is needed. The current plan is not conducive to reaching the goal of staying below 1,5° C warming. We demand actions that have the capacity to reach that goal.

It is clear that funding for environmental actions needs to increase drastically. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), 2,5% of GDP must be reserved for actions towards keeping the temperature rise within 1.5° C. The Icelandic plan is to spend 0,05% of GDP per year for the next five years. We demand that Iceland rise to the challenge, listen to the scientists, declare an emergency and reserve at least 2,5% of domestic GDP for direct climate actions. The labour market must also take responsibility and therefore a certain change of mindset must take place.

We demand drastic action. Now. For coming generations. For safeguarding our climate."

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