Details of exactly how this international dimension will work are now being negotiated in parliament. So far, however, the law has not fully addressed the global promise of rich countries to provide $ 100 billion (£ 80 billion) a year in climate finance to poorer countries, Nordbo says. The fair share of this for Denmark would be around DKK 5 billion per year, he adds, about $ 700 million (£ 560 million). “The law says nothing about climate assistance at this level,” he says.
5. green lens
Denmark’s law also has a safeguard to ensure that positive climate efforts by one part of your government are not jeopardized by those of another.
Governments are notoriously bad at “green checking” their decisions. Often some departments support investment in fossil fuels or road construction, while others are driving clean energy and transportation. The UK government, for example, has implemented a climate change law since 2008, but has been criticized for failing to consider the environmental impacts of its spending decisions and for financing fossil fuels abroad.
As climate change progresses on the political agenda, a comprehensive approach is increasingly being prioritized. The New Zealand government, for example, said last year that all of its important decisions will now be made through a climate change lens.
Denmark’s law also aims to ensure that all policies support sustainable green development. It establishes a standing committee on “green transformation” to assess the sustainability of all policies, says Jørgensen. “We see this as a transformation of Danish society that is so great that it is not just my ministry, but all ministries, including the ministry of foreign affairs,” he adds. “They are also responsible for the overall strategy that must be presented each year.”
Denmark is also making efforts to include business and the public in its plans. A 99-person “public climate council” will be invited to discuss possible climate plans. Thirteen “climate associations”, each led by a different sector, were tasked with finding solutions to reduce emissions in their industry. “So actually, [the government] They have tested the private sector, but they also say the private sector really wants to be tested, “says Qvist-Sørensen.
Associations ask each sector how they can contribute, “while reminding them that a Social Democratic government is not afraid to use the tax toolbox,” Magnus Hornø Gottlieb, an adviser to the Danish multinational power company Ørsted, tweeted. Sectors, ranging from agriculture to aviation, recently gave their recommendations to the government. “Some of them are quite interesting, I must say,” says Qvist-Sørensen.
When the laws fall short
Climate laws are becoming an increasingly common tool for countries to tackle climate change. But what if governments fail to create them in the first place? In this case, the courts are proving to be a powerful mechanism to compel governments to take action.
In a particularly notable ruling in 2015, a court in The Hague ordered the Dutch government to reduce its emissions by at least 25% in five years. The case, presented by Urgenda, was based on the government’s legal obligations to exercise the duty to care for Dutch citizens.
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