Luke Roberts
October 30th, 2020

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The shift to green heating options will be made easier by the new funds (photo: pxabay.com)

A broad alliance of parties have agreed to the phasing out of current oil and gas boilers in Denmark, along with their replacement by more eco-friendly district heating and heat pump solutions.

The implementation is expected to cost around 2.3 billion kroner.

From black to green
In a press release this morning, the climate minister, Dan Jørgensen, expressed his pleasure over the fact that it will now “be easier and cheaper for Danes to switch from black to green heat”.

He thanked the parties for a constructive and successful negotiation process.

Wider climate ambitions
The change is expected to cut 700,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions by 2030.

It is part of Denmark’s wider climate ambitions, with the government committed to a 70 percent reduction in emissions by 2030.

Glass half full
The average person in Denmark uses 101 litres of water a day. It sounds like a lot, but this figure is half what it was just 20 years ago. DANVA, the water sector’s industry organisation, compiled the report, noting that water companies also used their operations to generate green energy for use in Denmark. The country has one of the world’s lowest rates of water loss within the pipeline too, making for an infrastructure, customer-base, and supply committed to a sustainable future.

Housing market booms amidst pandemic
In August, the Danish housing market continued its positive drive, with house prices 9 percent higher than in the same month last year, according to new figures from Danmarks Statistik. The price rise has surprised a number of experts, with Mikkel Høegh, a housing economist at Jyske Bank, stating that it is probably a result of lower interest rates making it cheaper to borrow and more appealing to invest in bricks and mortar than leave large sums in the bank.

Nature agency calms concerned tree-huggers
This week, a number of concerned citizens have questioned Naturstyrelsen Nordsjælland regarding their decision to chop down a swathe of birch trees in Gribskov. An area of approximately 1.5 hectares was cleared of the self-sown trees as part of a wider look into the future of the area. On their Facebook page they explained that, as a dominant species, birch would soon overrun the area, destroying much of the biodiversity they are looking to protect.

Pension detectives under fire
The minister of trade and industry, Simon Kollerup, today put forward a proposal for new legislation looking to implement greater restrictions and supervision on the use of detectives by pension companies. Detectives are often used by the companies in cases where they suspect customers are exaggerating their illnesses. Previously the industry had operated largely to its own standards, but now the minister is proposing the introduction of fines and penalties for the inappropriate use of detectives in these cases.