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Icelanders vote with climate change on everyone's mind

  • People line-up to vote at a polling station in Gardabae, Iceland, Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021. Iceland is heading to the polls for general elections on Saturday with nine parties running for seats at the North Atlantic island nation's Parliament, or Althing. Polls suggest Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir's Left Green Party could face a poor outcome, ending the current coalition. (AP Photo/Brynjar Gunnarsson)
    1/16

    Iceland Election

    People line-up to vote at a polling station in Gardabae, Iceland, Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021. Iceland is heading to the polls for general elections on Saturday with nine parties running for seats at the North Atlantic island nation's Parliament, or Althing. Polls suggest Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir's Left Green Party could face a poor outcome, ending the current coalition. (AP Photo/Brynjar Gunnarsson)
    ASSOCIATED PRESS
  • An election poster from the Social Democratic Alliance, saying "green attack" in Reykjavik, Iceland, Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2021. Climate change is top of the agenda when voters in Iceland head to the polls for general elections on Saturday, following an exceptionally warm summer and an election campaign defined by a wide-reaching debate on global warming. (AP Photo/Brynjar Gunnarsson)
    2/16

    Iceland Election

    An election poster from the Social Democratic Alliance, saying "green attack" in Reykjavik, Iceland, Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2021. Climate change is top of the agenda when voters in Iceland head to the polls for general elections on Saturday, following an exceptionally warm summer and an election campaign defined by a wide-reaching debate on global warming. (AP Photo/Brynjar Gunnarsson)
    ASSOCIATED PRESS
  • A man enters the Left Green Party election office in Reykjavik, Iceland, Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2021. Climate change is top of the agenda when voters in Iceland head to the polls for general elections on Saturday, following an exceptionally warm summer and an election campaign defined by a wide-reaching debate on global warming. Polls suggest Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir's Left Green Party could face a poor outcome, ending the current coalition. (AP Photo/Brynjar Gunnarsson)
    3/16

    Iceland Election

    A man enters the Left Green Party election office in Reykjavik, Iceland, Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2021. Climate change is top of the agenda when voters in Iceland head to the polls for general elections on Saturday, following an exceptionally warm summer and an election campaign defined by a wide-reaching debate on global warming. Polls suggest Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir's Left Green Party could face a poor outcome, ending the current coalition. (AP Photo/Brynjar Gunnarsson)
    ASSOCIATED PRESS
  • People vote at a local sports complex in Kopavogur, Iceland, Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021. Icelanders are voting in a general election dominated by climate change, with an unprecedented number of political parties likely to win parliamentary seats. (AP Photo/Arni Torfason)
    4/16

    Iceland Election

    People vote at a local sports complex in Kopavogur, Iceland, Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021. Icelanders are voting in a general election dominated by climate change, with an unprecedented number of political parties likely to win parliamentary seats. (AP Photo/Arni Torfason)
    ASSOCIATED PRESS
  • People vote at a local sports complex in Kopavogur, Iceland, Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021. Icelanders are voting in a general election dominated by climate change, with an unprecedented number of political parties likely to win parliamentary seats. (AP Photo/Arni Torfason)
    5/16

    Iceland Election

    People vote at a local sports complex in Kopavogur, Iceland, Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021. Icelanders are voting in a general election dominated by climate change, with an unprecedented number of political parties likely to win parliamentary seats. (AP Photo/Arni Torfason)
    ASSOCIATED PRESS
  • People vote at a local sports complex in Kopavogur, Iceland, Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021. Icelanders are voting in a general election dominated by climate change, with an unprecedented number of political parties likely to win parliamentary seats. (AP Photo/Arni Torfason)
    6/16

    Iceland Election

    People vote at a local sports complex in Kopavogur, Iceland, Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021. Icelanders are voting in a general election dominated by climate change, with an unprecedented number of political parties likely to win parliamentary seats. (AP Photo/Arni Torfason)
    ASSOCIATED PRESS
  • People vote at a local sports complex in Kopavogur, Iceland, Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021. Icelanders are voting in a general election dominated by climate change, with an unprecedented number of political parties likely to win parliamentary seats. (AP Photo/Arni Torfason)
    7/16

    Iceland Election

    People vote at a local sports complex in Kopavogur, Iceland, Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021. Icelanders are voting in a general election dominated by climate change, with an unprecedented number of political parties likely to win parliamentary seats. (AP Photo/Arni Torfason)
    ASSOCIATED PRESS
  • People arrive at a polling station in Reykjavik, Iceland, Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021. Iceland is heading to the polls for general elections on Saturday with nine parties running for seats at the North Atlantic island nation's Parliament, or Althing. Polls suggest Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir's Left Green Party could face a poor outcome, ending the current coalition. (AP Photo/Brynjar Gunnarsson)
    8/16

    Iceland Election

    People arrive at a polling station in Reykjavik, Iceland, Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021. Iceland is heading to the polls for general elections on Saturday with nine parties running for seats at the North Atlantic island nation's Parliament, or Althing. Polls suggest Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir's Left Green Party could face a poor outcome, ending the current coalition. (AP Photo/Brynjar Gunnarsson)
    ASSOCIATED PRESS
  • A woman reads instructions inside a polling station in Reykjavik, Iceland, Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021. Iceland is heading to the polls for general elections on Saturday with nine parties running for seats at the North Atlantic island nation's Parliament, or Althing. Polls suggest Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir's Left Green Party could face a poor outcome, ending the current coalition. (AP Photo/Brynjar Gunnarsson)
    9/16

    Iceland Election

    A woman reads instructions inside a polling station in Reykjavik, Iceland, Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021. Iceland is heading to the polls for general elections on Saturday with nine parties running for seats at the North Atlantic island nation's Parliament, or Althing. Polls suggest Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir's Left Green Party could face a poor outcome, ending the current coalition. (AP Photo/Brynjar Gunnarsson)
    ASSOCIATED PRESS
  • Iceland's Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir speaks to the media after voting at a polling station in Reykjavik, Iceland, Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021. Icelanders are voting in a general election dominated by climate change, with an unprecedented number of political parties likely to win parliamentary seats. (AP Photo/Arni Torfason)
    10/16

    Iceland Election

    Iceland's Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir speaks to the media after voting at a polling station in Reykjavik, Iceland, Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021. Icelanders are voting in a general election dominated by climate change, with an unprecedented number of political parties likely to win parliamentary seats. (AP Photo/Arni Torfason)
    ASSOCIATED PRESS
  • Iceland's Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir casts her vote at a polling station in Reykjavik, Iceland, Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021. Icelanders are voting in a general election dominated by climate change, with an unprecedented number of political parties likely to win parliamentary seats. (AP Photo/Arni Torfason)
    11/16

    Iceland Election

    Iceland's Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir casts her vote at a polling station in Reykjavik, Iceland, Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021. Icelanders are voting in a general election dominated by climate change, with an unprecedented number of political parties likely to win parliamentary seats. (AP Photo/Arni Torfason)
    ASSOCIATED PRESS
  • Gunnar Smari Egilsson, candidate for the Socialist Party, casts his vote in Reykjavik, Iceland, Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021. Icelanders are voting in a general election dominated by climate change, with an unprecedented number of political parties likely to win parliamentary seats. (AP Photo/Brynjar Gunnarsson)
    12/16

    Iceland Election

    Gunnar Smari Egilsson, candidate for the Socialist Party, casts his vote in Reykjavik, Iceland, Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021. Icelanders are voting in a general election dominated by climate change, with an unprecedented number of political parties likely to win parliamentary seats. (AP Photo/Brynjar Gunnarsson)
    ASSOCIATED PRESS
  • Independent Party candidate Bjarni Benediktsson casts his ballot at a polling station, in Gardabae, Iceland, Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021. Icelanders are voting in a general election dominated by climate change, with an unprecedented number of political parties likely to win parliamentary seats. Polls suggest there won’t be an outright winner on Saturday, triggering complex negotiations to build a coalition government. (AP Photo/Brynjar Gunnarsson)
    13/16

    Iceland Election

    Independent Party candidate Bjarni Benediktsson casts his ballot at a polling station, in Gardabae, Iceland, Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021. Icelanders are voting in a general election dominated by climate change, with an unprecedented number of political parties likely to win parliamentary seats. Polls suggest there won’t be an outright winner on Saturday, triggering complex negotiations to build a coalition government. (AP Photo/Brynjar Gunnarsson)
    ASSOCIATED PRESS
  • Gunnar Smari Egilsson, candidate for the Socialist Party, casts his vote in Reykjavik, Iceland, Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021. Icelanders are voting in a general election dominated by climate change, with an unprecedented number of political parties likely to win parliamentary seats. (AP Photo/Brynjar Gunnarsson)
    14/16

    Iceland Election

    Gunnar Smari Egilsson, candidate for the Socialist Party, casts his vote in Reykjavik, Iceland, Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021. Icelanders are voting in a general election dominated by climate change, with an unprecedented number of political parties likely to win parliamentary seats. (AP Photo/Brynjar Gunnarsson)
    ASSOCIATED PRESS
  • A vies of a Ballot box in a polling station in Gardabae, Iceland, Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021. Icelanders are voting in a general election dominated by climate change, with an unprecedented number of political parties likely to win parliamentary seats. Polls suggest there won’t be an outright winner on Saturday, triggering complex negotiations to build a coalition government. (AP Photo/Brynjar Gunnarsson)
    15/16

    Iceland Election

    A vies of a Ballot box in a polling station in Gardabae, Iceland, Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021. Icelanders are voting in a general election dominated by climate change, with an unprecedented number of political parties likely to win parliamentary seats. Polls suggest there won’t be an outright winner on Saturday, triggering complex negotiations to build a coalition government. (AP Photo/Brynjar Gunnarsson)
    ASSOCIATED PRESS
  • Farmer Hermann Gunnarsson and Ingibjorg Leifsdottir stand in their field as they gather their largest harvest of barley in thirty years in Eyja Fjord, northern Iceland Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021. (AP Photo/Egill Bjarnason)
    16/16

    Iceland Election

    Farmer Hermann Gunnarsson and Ingibjorg Leifsdottir stand in their field as they gather their largest harvest of barley in thirty years in Eyja Fjord, northern Iceland Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021. (AP Photo/Egill Bjarnason)
    ASSOCIATED PRESS
People line-up to vote at a polling station in Gardabae, Iceland, Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021. Iceland is heading to the polls for general elections on Saturday with nine parties running for seats at the North Atlantic island nation's Parliament, or Althing. Polls suggest Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir's Left Green Party could face a poor outcome, ending the current coalition. (AP Photo/Brynjar Gunnarsson)
An election poster from the Social Democratic Alliance, saying "green attack" in Reykjavik, Iceland, Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2021. Climate change is top of the agenda when voters in Iceland head to the polls for general elections on Saturday, following an exceptionally warm summer and an election campaign defined by a wide-reaching debate on global warming. (AP Photo/Brynjar Gunnarsson)
A man enters the Left Green Party election office in Reykjavik, Iceland, Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2021. Climate change is top of the agenda when voters in Iceland head to the polls for general elections on Saturday, following an exceptionally warm summer and an election campaign defined by a wide-reaching debate on global warming. Polls suggest Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir's Left Green Party could face a poor outcome, ending the current coalition. (AP Photo/Brynjar Gunnarsson)
People vote at a local sports complex in Kopavogur, Iceland, Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021. Icelanders are voting in a general election dominated by climate change, with an unprecedented number of political parties likely to win parliamentary seats. (AP Photo/Arni Torfason)
People vote at a local sports complex in Kopavogur, Iceland, Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021. Icelanders are voting in a general election dominated by climate change, with an unprecedented number of political parties likely to win parliamentary seats. (AP Photo/Arni Torfason)
People vote at a local sports complex in Kopavogur, Iceland, Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021. Icelanders are voting in a general election dominated by climate change, with an unprecedented number of political parties likely to win parliamentary seats. (AP Photo/Arni Torfason)
People vote at a local sports complex in Kopavogur, Iceland, Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021. Icelanders are voting in a general election dominated by climate change, with an unprecedented number of political parties likely to win parliamentary seats. (AP Photo/Arni Torfason)
People arrive at a polling station in Reykjavik, Iceland, Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021. Iceland is heading to the polls for general elections on Saturday with nine parties running for seats at the North Atlantic island nation's Parliament, or Althing. Polls suggest Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir's Left Green Party could face a poor outcome, ending the current coalition. (AP Photo/Brynjar Gunnarsson)
A woman reads instructions inside a polling station in Reykjavik, Iceland, Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021. Iceland is heading to the polls for general elections on Saturday with nine parties running for seats at the North Atlantic island nation's Parliament, or Althing. Polls suggest Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir's Left Green Party could face a poor outcome, ending the current coalition. (AP Photo/Brynjar Gunnarsson)
Iceland's Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir speaks to the media after voting at a polling station in Reykjavik, Iceland, Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021. Icelanders are voting in a general election dominated by climate change, with an unprecedented number of political parties likely to win parliamentary seats. (AP Photo/Arni Torfason)
Iceland's Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir casts her vote at a polling station in Reykjavik, Iceland, Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021. Icelanders are voting in a general election dominated by climate change, with an unprecedented number of political parties likely to win parliamentary seats. (AP Photo/Arni Torfason)
Gunnar Smari Egilsson, candidate for the Socialist Party, casts his vote in Reykjavik, Iceland, Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021. Icelanders are voting in a general election dominated by climate change, with an unprecedented number of political parties likely to win parliamentary seats. (AP Photo/Brynjar Gunnarsson)
Independent Party candidate Bjarni Benediktsson casts his ballot at a polling station, in Gardabae, Iceland, Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021. Icelanders are voting in a general election dominated by climate change, with an unprecedented number of political parties likely to win parliamentary seats. Polls suggest there won’t be an outright winner on Saturday, triggering complex negotiations to build a coalition government. (AP Photo/Brynjar Gunnarsson)
Gunnar Smari Egilsson, candidate for the Socialist Party, casts his vote in Reykjavik, Iceland, Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021. Icelanders are voting in a general election dominated by climate change, with an unprecedented number of political parties likely to win parliamentary seats. (AP Photo/Brynjar Gunnarsson)
A vies of a Ballot box in a polling station in Gardabae, Iceland, Saturday, Sept. 25, 2021. Icelanders are voting in a general election dominated by climate change, with an unprecedented number of political parties likely to win parliamentary seats. Polls suggest there won’t be an outright winner on Saturday, triggering complex negotiations to build a coalition government. (AP Photo/Brynjar Gunnarsson)
Farmer Hermann Gunnarsson and Ingibjorg Leifsdottir stand in their field as they gather their largest harvest of barley in thirty years in Eyja Fjord, northern Iceland Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021. (AP Photo/Egill Bjarnason)
EGILL BJARNASON
Updated ·2 min read

REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AP) — Icelanders were voting Saturday in a general election dominated by climate change, with an unprecedented number of political parties likely to win parliamentary seats.

Polls suggest there won’t be an outright winner, triggering complex negotiations to build a coalition government.

A record nine parties could cross the 5% threshold needed to qualify for seats in Iceland's parliament, the Althing. Upstart parties include the Socialist Party, which is promising to shorten the work week and nationalize Iceland's fishing industry.

High turnout is expected, as one-fifth of eligible voters have already cast absentee ballots.

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Climate change is high among voters' concerns in Iceland, a glacier-studded volcanic island nation of about 350,000 people in the North Atlantic.

An exceptionally warm summer by Icelandic standards — 59 days of temperatures above 20 degrees Celsius (68 F) — and shrinking glaciers have helped drive global warming up the political agenda.

Polls show strong support for left-leaning parties promising to cut carbon emissions by more than Iceland is already committed to under the Paris climate agreement. The country has pledged to become carbon neutral by 2040, a decade ahead of most other European nations.

The current government is a coalition of three parties spanning the political spectrum from left to center-right and led by Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir of the Left Green Party. It was formed in 2017 after years of political instability.

Jakobsdottir remains a popular prime minister, but polls suggest her party could fare poorly, ending the ongoing coalition.

“The country is facing big decisions as we turn from the pandemic,” Jakobsdottir said during a televised debate on Friday night in which party leaders vowed to end Iceland’s reliance on oil and many wanted to raise taxes on the rich.

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Follow all AP stories on climate change issues at https://apnews.com/hub/climate-change.