Climate change and energy planning after Brundtland

Danish energy policy changed significantly in the second half of the 1980s, mainly due to two major themes: climatic change and the publication of the Brundtland report demanding sustainable development. In this chapter the two new themes are presented together with their influence on the global agenda, the 1992 Rio Summit in particular, and on Danish energy policy during the 1990s. The Danish energy plan from 1990 was the first plan ever with the aim to reduce CO2 emission out of concern for future generations, and it marked a radical shift in energy policy. After a period of stagnation with a reluctant minister, the new course was later recovered and justified on the basis of egalitarian ideas of equal per capita emission rights – combined with a growing awareness of major export opportunities from the developing Danish renewables industry.