Ice statues melted outside Rome's Colosseum in protest against heatwave conditions
Greenpeace Italy and CGIL melted ice statues near the Colosseum in Rome to protest heatwaves and demand a fossil fuel phase-out.
On 15 July 2026, activists staged a striking protest outside the Colosseum in Rome. Greenpeace Italy, together with the CGIL trade union, placed three melting ice sculptures representing a farmer, a cyclist and a construction worker. The demonstration aimed to highlight the dangers that rising temperatures pose to outdoor laborers. Signs carried the message: 'Fossil fuel corporations get rich, we melt.'
Campaigner Simona Abbate urged for a phase-out of fossil fuels and higher taxes on oil and gas companies to fund climate adaptation. CGIL's Natale Di Cola stated that heatwaves are destroying jobs as well as the planet. The protest comes amidst a summer of severe heatwaves across Europe since late May. In June, Rome deployed water cannons and misting stations at the Colosseum as temperatures approached 40°C. According to the EU's Copernicus Climate Change Service, Europe is warming roughly twice as fast as the global average.
