A Green Energy Plan for Denmark

Several political regulation instruments -- such as CO2 taxes -- have been suggested to implement CO2 reduction policies. But normally the cost of implementing CO2 reduction policies is considered to be a threat to both economic growth and employment. But to some extent, strategies can be developed which implement CO2 reduction goals by creating jobs and such strategies could help economic growth.

This note presents the main results from a research project, in the Department of Development and Planning at Aalborg University. More detailed information of the full study is given in (Lund 1996: 2) and (Lund 1997). The research project has had the primary purpose of determining the consequences for employment and the need for foreign exchange in the investments in the different types of energy plants in Denmark. From this information it has been possible to develop and calculate the consequences of various energy strategies, which seek to avoid the conflict between environment, employment and economic growth. One example of such a strategy is called the Green Energy Plan.

The Green Energy Plan, was published by the General Workers' Union and used as an input to the public debate on the future of energy in Denmark in the spring of 1996 (Lund 1996: 2). The official Danish energy plan Energy 21 (Danish Ministry of Environment and Energy 1996) was adopted soon after the public debate.