It’s Wednesday, June 24, and Denmark has passed a landmark plan to slash its emissions.
In the United States, COVID-19 has decimated jobs in the renewable energy industry and put a pin in climate resiliency efforts. Denmark, on the other hand, isn’t letting a pandemic get in the way of its efforts to combat climate change.
Last weekend, Danish lawmakers made a deal to ensure that Denmark will slash its emissions 70 percent from 1990 levels by 2030. The legally binding agreement had broad support across the political spectrum. Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, leader of the Scandinavian country’s Social Democrats, won her bid for prime minister in 2019 in part on the promise that she would make more investments in renewable energy.
As of right now, Denmark is on track to cut emissions 44 percent in the next decade. In order to close the gap between that figure and the 70 percent target, the new climate agreement signed on Sunday will make it easier for consumers to heat their houses with renewables, phase out private oil and gas ovens, and create more electric vehicle charging stations. The country will also invest in carbon capture technology and first-of-their-kind “energy islands” — two massive offshore wind farms. In all, Denmark aims to slash emissions by 3.4 million metric tons.
“This agreement shows the rest of the world that climate action and economic reconstruction go hand in hand,” the ministry of climate, energy, and utilities said in a statement.
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