STRIKE IN FRONT OF THE ROMAN COLOSSEUM – MELTING ICE SCULPTURES AS A WARNING

ROME, JULY 15 /SRNA/ - Climate activists and the CGIL trade union organized a strike in front of the Roman Colosseum and placed three melting ice sculptures to highlight the risks that rising temperatures pose to outdoor workers.

They set up sculptures symbolizing a farmer, a cyclist, and a construction worker, Euronews reported.

Members of the "Greenpeace Italy" group and trade union representatives melted the ice statues, highlighting the impact of heatwaves on outdoor workers and calling for a gradual phase-out of fossil fuels.

The signs at the rally read: "Fossil fuel corporations are getting rich, while we are melting."

Activist Simona Abate called for a gradual phase-out of fossil fuels and higher taxes on oil and gas companies to finance adaptation to climate change, and Natale Di Cola from the trade union said that heatwaves are destroying jobs and the planet.

The protest was organized as a heatwave continues to affect Europe, prompting Rome authorities to deploy water cannons and misting stations at the Colosseum in June, when temperatures exceeded 40 degrees Celsius.

According to data from the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service, Europe is warming at about twice the rate of the global average.