Christian Wenande
February 6th, 2023

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The state could be offering a helping hand to green business soon (photo: Pixabay)

Enhanced competition from China and the US recently has European leaders scrambling to keep its green sector business ahead of the game.

So a new EU Commission proposal aimed at easing legislation pertaining to member state financial support of green business has won Denmark’s favour.

“The world has changed and our rules should be adjusted to suit the new reality that we face,” business minister, Morten Bødskov, told DR Nyheder.

“We want to look at goal-oriented changes of the state support rules in the areas where there are specific needs in regards to developing the green technologies of tomorrow.”

Bødskov mentioned CO2 storage and Power-to-X as budding technologies that could require state finance in the future.

READ ALSO: Denmark inks green growth collaboration with the US

Must match the US
The US recently passed the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) to boost its green transition with a state-sponsored aid package worth hundreds of billions of dollars – funding that can only go to US companies. 

That has prompted numerous European leaders, including French president Emmanuel Macron, to accuse the US of distorting the competition. 

“We are competitive, but if the US can offer tax deductions then we must be able to match that,” EU Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said according to DR.

READ ALSO: Chinese raw materials vital to Denmark’s green transition, but is this another Russian gas dependency situation in the making?

Time is of the essence
Experts contend that the easing of the rules could drastically shorten the process time for permits needed for erecting a wind or solar farm.

Currently, green companies can wait years for the authorities to respond regarding, for instance, a building permit.

“For a long time now we have asked that they look at those rules, because it simply can’t be right that green projects must wait so long for a response to their applications,” Lasse Hamilton Heidemann, a spokesperson from the Danish Chamber of Commerce, told DR.

The EU proposal will be further discussed this week when European leaders meet for a summit in Brussels.