The Danish climate minister closing down the oil industry for good

‘This obviously wasn’t an easy decision.’ Denmark’s climate and energy minister, Dan Jørgensen. Denmark’s climate minister is fairly certain that the deal to close down the nation’s oil industry by 2050, announced on Friday morning, marks the biggest moment in his career. “I think this is probably going to be the biggest decision that I’m a part of in my life,” Dan Jørgensen told the Guardian hours after the announcement. “This obviously wasn’t an easy decision. We are the biggest oil producer in the EU. We have, since the 1970s, to a large extent financed our welfare state with oil money. So to say, ‘stop’, and to pay the cost for that, is a big deal for us.” To call it the “biggest decision” is nonetheless significant for the man who for the past year has been the public face of what many argue is the world’s most ambitious climate goal, Denmark’s plan to cut emissions by 70% by 2030. In recent months, Jørgensen and Denmark’s prime minister have come under criticism for over-reliance on technical solutions, such as two “energy islands”, which together will generate 5GW of wind energy, and foot-dragging on issues like green tax reform. Jørgensen […]

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