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Ministry of the Environment,
Hans Christian Schmidt |
| Courtesy Ministry of Foreign
Affairs |
If the world is inundated in a sea of melting icebergs
and plastic goop, it won’t be Denmark’s
fault.
Since the energy crisis of 1973, there have been
national regulations to limit the consumption of
energy and raw materials. Buildings are insulated
more efficiently and a heating inspection report
is usually required when houses are sold. New products
are analyzed, in a phrase one hears often here,
"from cradle to grave," to control their
environmental effects. Even though the country's
GDP has doubled, its energy level has remained steady.
Denmark has come to realize that environmental consciousness
need not conflict with profit.
In 1971, Denmark became the world’s first
nation to create a cabinet-level environmental ministry,
the current minister, is quick to point out that
the environment requires a consensus-based solution
from everybody.
"We have a really good cooperation with Danish
companies," says Hans Christian Schmidt, minister
of the environment. I just visited some, they told
me they make their production now in a sustainable
way, because they want to, and because they benefit
financially. We have made a new green account."
Asked to give examples of Danish companies that
have profited from greening, Schmidt mentioned Danfoss,
in Nordborg, and Tivoli Gardens. "Tivoli just
got the environmental certification prize. They
use hard work instead of chemicals for cleaning.
"In the new budget, we have put something
aside for education. It is important that we use
all our efforts to bring the young people and children
into this.” (The city of Copenhagen sponsors
an 'environmental kindergarten'). “So we do
it all the time. We are always going to some meeting
where we discuss this, over and over again."
It’s not a question of outreach and alerting
people, he says. "Danish people are very, very
interested in the environment. You just have to
fulfill it, fill out the gaps in their desires.
We [politicians] all want to have things they way
we want them. But if you want people to get engaged
you have to admit that they will sometimes take
other decisions than you do, and you have to respect
that.
"We would like to make more progress in renewable
energy. We have to change the patterns of consumption
and production. So we have to realize that we can
make production without impact on the environment,
more than we know today. All of the EU countries
want to do something, but it’s easier for some
than others. We must realize that in the developing
countries, they have several issues they have to
deal with, such as eradicating poverty. It’s
a big problem. They use a lot of time searching
for water, fuel."
Asked what he considered to be the biggest global
environmental challenge, the minister listed access
to drinking water, sanitation, and energy. "If
you don’t have access to energy you have big
problems in fighting diseases -- if you can’t
keep medicines cool."
Windmills
The world’s largest wind farm is located on
the shallow area of Middelgrunden near Copenhagen.
Some industrialists, including those in the business,
say that they may never become profitable. Schmidt
is not sure about that.
"It’s hard to analyze. It depends on
the time. I remember the first windmills, and how
much energy they produced, compared to what they
do today. But could you have found out to build
them the way you do today without having this development?
I don’t think so. Now we are actually discussing
putting them on the seas and saying, 'There, that’s
profitable. Today we export 95 percent of them.
They go to Spain, Australia, the United States,
Japan and Germany. We are proud of them."
His greatest environmental fear is "if we
decided that it was only one thing. You can’t
split it. We need to find a way to cooperate. We
are the rich world, we have a responsibility. I
always say, don’t tell someone to be more responsible
than yourself. What is really important is that
you have to get ownership. Whenever people get ownership
they will act in another way. Then you have responsibility."
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