Denmark supports harsher EU emissions targets
Denmark releases new plans to achieve independence from coal, oil and natural gas, and joins other EU countries that demand harsher emissions targets for Europe.
Denmark has become the latest country to push for more ambitious emissions cuts in Europe. The call coincides with its new policy document ‘Energy Strategy 2050’.
The new plan, announced on February 24, aims to achieve independence from coal, oil and natural gas by 2050 by using increased efficiency and an uptake in renewable energies.
To coincide with the release, Lykke Friis, Denmark’s Minister for Climate and Energy, and Chris Huhne, UK Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, urged European Union (EU) states to support green growth as a means to getting off the “oil hook”.
In a joint statement, they said: “Decarbonising further, faster, can keep Europe ahead in the global low- carbon race, but the UK and Denmark can’t do that alone. That’s why the EU Commission’s forthcoming 2050 roadmap must kick-start the debate in Europe by offering a cost-effective, credible and ambitious pathway that enables member states to take the decisions that will stimulate low-carbon investment and take Europe beyond the cul-de-sac that’s the current 20 per cent cut target.”
The EU is currently committed to reducing emissions by 20 per cent by 2020 compared to 1990 levels, but some states, including the UK, Denmark and Sweden have criticised this target, as being too close to reaching already and not providing enough incentive for further green investments in Europe.
They now want a target of a 30 per cent-cut in emissions by 2020, saying this will help boost the EU’s growth in the global clean technology market.
The statement also said both countries were making radical plans to decarbonise energy supplies and support green innovation, including developments such as the North Sea Offshore Grid, smart grid technology and business-driven offshore wind development.
The Danish move this week coincides with the UN announcement that 2 per cent of every nation’s GDP is needed to drive green investment. Güenther Oettinger, the EU Energy Commissioner, however, opposed the higher targets saying they would push industry away from Europe to Asia.
The UK government believes the higher target represents what the government is already doing and reinforces the need to take such an approach.
Ed Matthew, programme director of Transform UK, an initiative focused on accelerating investment in the low-carbon economy, however, said the UK is still lagging far behind countries such as Germany and South Korea in green investments.
Image: Emilia Garcia | flickr