ECC Copenhagen

On September 28, the Danish European Movement hosted a conference on climate change and energy dependency in the Danish Parliament. Nearly 150 stakeholders and professionals participated in the conference, which was the first of five regional debates initiated by the King Baudouin Foundation as a follow-up to the European Citizens’ Consultations in May 2009. During the consultation process, a majority of European citizens had voted issues related to climate change and renewable energy resources on top of the agenda.

They asked the EU to reduce global warming and phase-out fossil fuels by promoting renewable energy from water, solar, wind, hydrogen, waste and residues from industry. Member States should cooperate and develop energy sources on the basis of both national and regional conditions. This includes de-centralised energy production, energy self-sufficient regions and communities and by using economic instruments and incentives for internationally coordinated research.

These ideas were taken up by Erik Boel, the President of the Danish European Movement, who opened the conference and emphasized the leading role of the EU in regard to climate change. This was followed by a presentation from Stefan Schaefers from the King Baudoin Foundation and Olaf Gerlach Hansen, Senior Advisor at Danish Cultural Institute, of the process, ideas and outcomes of the European Citizens Consultations.

Jean-Arnold Vinois from the DG Energy and Transport of the European Commission introduced the Commission’s two strategies for dealing with climate change: Europe’s First and Second Strategic Energy Review. The first strategy aims at improving energy efficiency by 20% by 2020. The second strategy covers the period from 2020 to 2050 and emphasizes the need for energy solidarity among Member States.

The next speaker. Mr. Bo Lidegaard, Head of the Prime Minister’s Climate Secretariat, shared some inside information about the UN’s current climate agenda. He argued that all the major economies have shown great interest in reducing their CO2 emissions and that they hope for a constructive agreement at the COP15 in Copenhagen in December. The audience was subsequently invited to question, comment and consider what they had just been presented with.

During the first panel debate, four high-ranking Danish businessmen presented their companies’ and organizations’ approaches to climate change. They all acknowledged the recommendations of the Citizens’ Consultations and spoke in favour of improving efforts to tackle climate change. Anders Eldrup, for instance, explained that Dong Energy aims at changing the Danish energy system. In 2030, 85% of Danish energy shall come from renewable energy and only 15% from fossil fuels – this is quite different to today’s situation where these numbers are reversed.

For the second panel debate, three parliamentarians from the European Parliament talked about their European parties’ approaches to the climate issues and they all agreed that the EU is the leading force when it comes to climate initiatives. They all hoped for closer collaboration between the EU and its Member States. They also demanded that more decisions regarding climate change issues would be taken at the EU-level rather than the national level. After the panel debate, the audience had another chance to ask questions and add comments.

As part of the second phase of the European Citizens’ Consultations, a regional debate will be held in Bratislava on the 27th of October with participants from Slovakia, Hungary, Greece, Romania and Bulgaria. Discussions will focus on health care and health promotion.