Will Copenhagen still be wonderful in 2015?

Denmark has chosen to place particular emphasis on the environmental aspect, and is so far the only country that has put local Agenda 21 work into law. More than 90% of the country’s municipalities have formulated a strategy for sustainable development at the local level.

Active involvement of citizens is a key feature of Denmark’s approach. Many municipalities have created their own Agenda 21 centre, which citizens are encouraged to contact if they have ideas for local initiatives.

Think globally, act locally
Denmark’s capital city, immortalised in Danny Kaye’s song “Wonderful, wonderful Copenhagen”, has formulated an ambitious Agenda 21 strategy to make the city the world’s eco-metropolis by 2015 – a hub for human, cultural and economic development on a sustainable basis. The strategy focuses on putting global thinking into local action and covers a wide range of initiatives including cleaner air, cleaner water, healthier food, less traffic noise, better use of resources, more green areas and greater biodiversity.

Action across the nation
All over Denmark, other cities are taking similarly bold initiatives. Frederikshavn in northern Jutland aims to be among the first cities in the world convert its energy supply to 100% renewable energy. The vision is that by 2015, the city’s inhabitants will enjoy the fact that they are not contributing to global warming, because electricity, heat and power for transportation will be generated by a range of renewable energy sources. The city currently has four wind turbines supplying electricity, as well as a CHP station which supplies heat and electricity from waste combustion. Planned investments include a solar heating plant, and the conversion of existing heating plants from natural gas to combustion of straw and wood.

CO2 neutral
Sønderborg in southern Jutland has launched Project Zero, a plan to make the region the first CO2-neutral growth area in Europe. In the short term, Project Zero plans to make Sønderborg a showcase city for the UN Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen December 2009. Business development, changing habits, city development and new residential property concepts are some of the elements in a plan to optimise energy consumption and sustainable energy supply in the region.

Plenty of ideas
Many other municipalities and counties are taking initiatives, and the ideas are flowing. Networks are being formed between public authorities, organizations, businesses and citizens’ groups to help ensure that Agenda 21 strategies for sustainable urban development are put into action across the entire map of Denmark.


Related Case: Eco-metropolis of the world
Copenhagen is Europe’s environmental city, taking the lead in a number of areas: it is the city of bicycles; it has shown that it can keep its water and energy consumption constant despite strong economic growth.