Denmark maybe not so ‘green’ after all

Researchers say some climate change markers are actually pretty low

Denmark is far from the top of the class when it comes to combating climate change – at least according to a report released by a group of 301 Danish researchers over the weekend.

In reality, Danes are among the worst offenders. High levels of  importing and using foreign products and CO2 emissions – leading causes of climate change –send Denmark to the back of the class.

The researchers told Politiken that Danish CO2 emissions are far greater than the official UN reports show.

Sketchy books
They attributed the discrepancy to misleading accounting methods. For example, goods that Denmark imports from China show up on the Chinese side of the ledger, even though it is Danes who are buying and using them.

READ MORE: Denmark takes big tumble on climate change index

The researchers concluded their gloomy report by saying the planet is close to “a last call” when it comes to combating climate change, questioning why the transport minister, Ole Birk Olesen, is calling for even more major roads to be constructed throughout the country.

When reminded that complaints about traffic noise have risen dramatically in five years, Olesen told Jyllands-Posten that “road noise is a major societal problem that unfortunately affects many people along the roads”.





  • How internationals can benefit from joining trade unions

    How internationals can benefit from joining trade unions

    Being part of a trade union is a long-established norm for Danes. But many internationals do not join unions – instead enduring workers’ rights violations. Find out how joining a union could benefit you, and how to go about it.

  • Internationals in Denmark rarely join a trade union

    Internationals in Denmark rarely join a trade union

    Internationals are overrepresented in the lowest-paid fields of agriculture, transport, cleaning, hotels and restaurants, and construction – industries that classically lack collective agreements. A new analysis from the Workers’ Union’s Business Council suggests that internationals rarely join trade unions – but if they did, it would generate better industry standards.

  • Novo Nordisk overtakes LEGO as the most desirable future workplace amongst university students

    Novo Nordisk overtakes LEGO as the most desirable future workplace amongst university students

    The numbers are especially striking amongst the 3,477 business and economics students polled, of whom 31 percent elected Novo Nordisk as their favorite, compared with 20 percent last year.