Iceland review - 2019, Qupperneq 10

8
Iceland Review
With Iceland’s plentiful and free renewable energy, does
the Icelandic government promote electric vehicles?
The Icelandic government has put for-
ward a plan to replace fossil fuels with
electricity in the next decades. Among
the government’s goals is a total ban on
new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030.
The government aims to have 30,000
electric cars in Iceland by 2026. To make
this transition go smoothly, charging
ports have been put up all along the
ring road, Iceland’s main highway. It’s
therefore already possible to travel all
around the country by electric car. The
government also aims to make electrical
charging for ships and vessels available
at the ports of Faxaflóahafnir, encom-
passing harbours in the capital area and
West Iceland.
The City of Reykjavík has drawn up
climate goals as well, including complete
carbon neutrality by 2040. Among the
goals are a 50% reduction of fossilized
fuel pumps by 2025, and to eradicate
them entirely by 2030. To actively pro-
mote the use of electric cars, the city is
planning to increase the availability of
charging stations at people’s homes, in
parking garages, and several locations
in the city in the coming years. However,
in order to reach carbon neutrality, the
focus does not lie on the promotion of
electric vehicles alone, as the city also
plans to increase the percentage of peo-
ple commuting by bicycle or on foot and
the use of public transport by installing
a bus rapid transit system.
ASK ICELAND REVIEW Words by
Mariska Moerland
Photography by
Golli & Peter Sörå
What is the history of boxing in Iceland?
Boxing has been practiced in Iceland
since 1916 when Danish boxing coach
Wilhelm Jackobson introduced the
sport to the country. The first official
boxing tournament was organised on
April 22, 1928 in Gamla Bíó in downtown
Reykjavík. The first championship was
held June 1936 at Melavöllur stadium.
Even though the sport had quickly
proven popular, it has been controver-
sial from the start. Scandals and health
risks divided the nation on the true
value of the sport. In 1956, all profes-
sional boxing competitions, boxing
shows, and boxing trainings were there-
fore banned in Iceland. Despite this ban
on boxing, the sport was still practiced
by many boxing enthusiasts. One of
these was musician Bubbi Morthens,
who was also a popular boxing commen-
tator at the time.
The ban is still in effect up to this
day. In 2002, however, a new law was
passed allowing a variety of the sport
known as Olympic boxing. Olympic
boxing has more safety precautions
and rules in place than professional
boxing. In Iceland, competitors have to
be older than 15, use the appropriate
protective gear, and practice at an ÍSÍ-
recognised boxing club for six months
before competing in a match for the first
time, among other rules. Competitions
of Olympic boxing are generally shorter
and are not based on winning by hurting
the opponent, but rather on winning
points based on technique, in which
defence is as important as offense. Still,
there are heated debates about the
sport. Followers argue Olympic boxing
is not any more dangerous than other
sports, while adversaries keep pointing
to the health risks connected to the
sport. Discussions aside, about 700 peo-
ple practice Olympic boxing in Iceland
nowadays.
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Iceland’s preferred combat
sport has always been glíma,
the local form of wrestling.