Iceland’s climate challenges could have implications for Kolkata, too, highlighting the importance of collective action globally to combat climate change.
Iceland’s Ambassador to India, Sri Lanka and Nepal, H.E. Benedikt Hoskuldsson, highlighted the direct connection between Iceland’s climate challenges and Kolkata’s future, emphasising the need for global cooperation in addressing climate change.
H.E. Benedikt Hoskuldsson spoke in the presence of Hon’ble Chancellor of Sister Nivedita University, Shri Satyam Roychowdhury, Pro-Chancellor, Prof. (Dr.) Dhrubajyoti Chattopadhyay; and a host of dignitaries.
Speaking before a packed auditorium at Sister Nivedita University, H.E. Hoskuldsson said, “Let me come to climate, the crisis that literally connects us. Iceland is warming at nearly twice the global rate. In 2019, we declared Okjökull, a glacier, officially dead and held a funeral for it. Not a press conference, but a funeral. This was because a glacier that had existed for thousands of years was gone, and we wanted to mark that with the gravity it deserved. Our glaciers define our landscapes, culture, water supply and economy. Losing them is existential, not metaphorically, but literally. Iceland without its glaciers is a different country. The water from Iceland’s melting glaciers contribute to the rise in the water level globally. Kolkata sits on the banks of the Ganges and is one of the most climate-vulnerable urban concentrations on Earth. This is not a distant obstruction connection. Iceland’s climate failure directly raises the water level threatening the city, Iceland’s climate success is therefore in Kolkata’s interest.”
He added, “Let me tell you Iceland does not come with problems to share, but with solutions. Iceland generates 100 per cent of its electricity from geothermal and hydro power. It’s not an electricity story; it’s a deep earth engineering story. India’s North West, particularly the geologically active stones of Ladakh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand and the Himalayan foothills hold significant geothermal potential. Iceland has what it takes to develop these resources.”
Speaking about carbon capture technologies, he said, “We have developed the technology to inject this into basalt rock and mineralise it within two years. We have the capacity to take captured carbon dioxide and combine it with green hydrogen and ammonia and convert it into methanol, a commercially valuable fuel.”
Highlighting the growing relationship between the two nations, H.E. Hoskuldsson said, “India and Iceland are not natural trading partners. But we chose each other deliberately. Over the last 14 years of patience negotiations Iceland and its EFTA partners worked with India to construct a framework of shared economic routes. That kind of deliberate choice made between two sovereign equals is rare.”
Speaking on the occasion, Hon’ble Chancellor of Sister Nivedita University, Shri Satyam Roychowdhury, said, “Iceland is admired across the world for its remarkable leadership in sustainability, renewable energy, environmental stewardship and innovation-led development. The conversations around climate action, environmental sustainability, renewable energy and collaborative innovation are deeply relevant for our students and faculty. We are confident that this exchange will inspire new perspectives and encourage new academic and research partnerships between Iceland and India.”
Pro-Chancellor Prof. (Dr.) Dhrubajyoti Chattopadhyay said that the Oslo Summit and a series of dialogues between India and Iceland have brought the two countries closer on several critical issues related to climate and sustainability. He also noted that the visit was especially significant as the University was celebrating World Environment Day.
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