The World Summit in Johannesburg and Denmark's National Strategy for Sustainable Development

The World Summit in Johannesburg and Denmark's National Strategy for Sustainable Development

Climate change and energy

Climate change is a great environmental challenge, and it requires coordinated international efforts. Unavoidable climate change must take place at a pace that allows ecosystems to adapt and ensures that food production is not threatened. The energy sector has a crucial role in ensuring cost-effective fulfilment of Danish international climate commitments.

The Johannesburg Plan encouraged the countries that had not yet ratified the Kyoto Protocol to do so as soon as possible

In February 2003 the Danish government submitted a draft climate strategy aiming at fulfilling the Danish reduction commitments in the Kyoto Protocol. The Protocol will enter into force when 55 per cent of the 1990 emissions from industrialised countries have been covered. In practice, this requires that Russia ratify the Protocol. Today, the Protocol has been ratified by more than 115 countries.

In accordance with the Kyoto Protocol and the EU Burden Sharing Agreement, Denmark must reduce emissions of greenhouse gases by 21% in 2008-2012 compared to 1990. This ambitious reduction must be achieved cost-effectively. The flexible mechanisms under the Kyoto Protocol, ie. buying the credits from reduction projects abroad and buying quotas, will help Denmark meet its commitments cost-effectively. This reflects the fact that emissions of greenhouse gases are a global problem and the most cost-effective reductions should be ensured globally. The flexible mechanisms will also help development in the developing countries in Central and Eastern Europe by encouraging transfers of knowhow and capital.

The Kyoto Protocol is an important first step towards curbing global climate change. Denmark and the EU are working to promote debate on further global steps, not least those dealing with reductions after 2012. The next Conference of Parties to the Climate Convention will take place in Milan in December 2003.

The Johannesburg Plan focused on renewable energy, energy efficiency, reductions in energy consumption, and new clean energy technologies, including fossil energy technologies

The Danish government has launched a number of new initiatives in the Energy Saving Report 2003. The Government places priority on cost-effective initiatives for renewable energy and energy savings that also contribute to reducing market distortions. The Government places priority on setting the framework conditions for the liberalised energy market so that it takes account of environmental and climate concerns and of long-term security of supply.

The Government places particular priority on international cooperation as a mean to promoting sustainable development in the energy sector. The central element for renewable energy will be implementation and follow-up of the EU Renewable Energy Directive of 2001.

As part of complying with climate commitments under the Kyoto Protocol, EU environment ministers agreed to introduce a common quota system during the Danish Presidency of the EU. Furthermore, in spring 2003, EU finance ministers and ministers for economic affairs agreed to introduce common energy taxes. The Danish government regularly analyses how to ensure constantly good interplay between different economic instruments for the energy/climate area.

In Johannesburg the Danish Presidency of the EU took initiative to gather countries together which wanted to go further with renewable energy than it was possible to agree on in the Johannesburg Plan.With the establishment of the Johannesburg Renewable Energy Coalition, 66 countries declared that they wanted to strengthen cooperation on global and regional proliferation of renewable energy. As part of the follow-up to this initiative, the Danish Minister for the Environment and Minister for Economic and Business Affairs hosted an international conference on renewable energy in Sønderborg in September 2003.Today there are more than 80 members of the Coalition.