Wants More Radical Measures to Combat Climate Change

Translation: Högna Sól Þorkelsdóttir

Photo: Helga Lind Mar

Guðrún Fríða Wium is a 23-year-old political science major and a member of the Student Council’s Transportation and Environmental Affairs (TEA) Committee. The TEA Committee is one of nine committees within the Student Council and handles the school’s environmental issues, including its sustainability policy, planning and transportation issues on campus, and recycling. Additionally, the committee handles the Eco-Schools project, an international environmental education project, side by side with an employee from UI’s Sustainability and Environmental Committee. The committee is made up of two representatives each from Röskva and Vaka, plus one independent representative who is brought in during the fall semester.

Guðrún became interested in environmental issues when she started at Hamrahlíð College and became much more aware of the effects of global warming when she met many vegetarians and vegans at the school. This led her to watch documentaries and read about the effect she was having by consuming animal products.

Car-free Day

From February 15-19, the TEA Committee hosted Transportation Week. In so doing, the committee sought to educate students about how much transportation impacts our individual carbon footprints. The committee also held a Car-free Day to encourage UI students to make use of more environmentally conscious modes of transportation, such as walking, cycling, roller skating, using an electric scooter, or taking the bus. Those who participated in Car-free Day could post pictures of themselves using any of these modes of transportation in their Instagram stories and be entered into a drawing for prizes.

All of the committee’s events have been held online this school year due to the coronavirus pandemic, but Guðrún says that with the recent changes to restrictions, she hopes it will be possible to hold in-person events, for example on campus. 

A plan that reflects the seriousness of the situation

The Student Paper asked Guðrún what she thinks the University of Iceland is doing well with regards to environmental issues. She says it’s good to see that one of the university’s goals, as identified in the school’s strategic plan for 2016-2021, is to encourage sustainability within the university community. To reach that goal, the school founded the Sustainability and Environmental Committee, which has been working on implementing an environmental management system called ISO 14001 as well as the Green Steps Program (Græn Skref). The president of the Student Council’s TEA Committee, currently Urður Einarsdóttir, has a seat on the Sustainability and Environmental Committee. Guðrún was also asked whether she believes the university can do anything better when it comes to environmental issues. She thinks the university needs to take more radical measures that reflect the seriousness of climate change. “The school should be a leader when it comes to environmental issues and should therefore declare a climate emergency. That would need to be followed by a plan of action that reflects the seriousness of the situation,” she says, adding that the university should advocate for improved public transportation on campus.

Time is running out

Guðrún says students can do various things to reduce their carbon footprints and names a few easy ways. “I know it’s always the same list, but reducing unnecessary consumption, especially of things packed in plastic, becoming vegan or reducing your consumption of animal products, and choosing more environmentally conscious modes of transportation are all great ways to reduce your carbon footprint. We all need to take action and change our behavior because, as we know, time is running out.”

The TEA Committee has an Instagram account that Guðrún encourages everyone to follow. She promises there are all sorts of fun games and great prizes coming up soon. Additionally, she wants to reiterate that it’s important to change our behavior and that we can start today. “A year from now, you could be thinking ‘Wow, it’s been a year since I was convinced to go vegan after reading an interview with Guðrún Fríða in the Student Paper!’ Food for thought,” says Guðrún.