Representatives from over the world recently gathered at Rio+20 Earth Summit, the UN Conference on Sustainable Development, to define a global plan of action that would take humanity toward a cleaner, greener future. Denmark’s capital, Copenhagen, aims to be the world’s leader in the green transition, where it has set the ambitious objective of becoming the world’s first CO2 neutral capital by 2025. The country is also working to help other countries such as Indonesia go green through its Danida, the Danish Development Assistance.
Even though the results of the conference did not meet most people’s expectations, there is hope. Municipalities and corporations are in the process of taking a leading position and perhaps becoming the leaders in the green transition.
Denmark’s capital, Copenhagen, is leading the way. Copenhagen has now set the ambitious objective of becoming the world’s first CO2 neutral capital by 2025.
The good news is that the investments will bring returns. Not just in terms of a better climate, environment and improvement in the health of Copenhagen’s citizens, but also in terms of hard cash. It is forecast that more than a half of the investments put into improving the energy efficiency of schools, cultural centers, residential homes and offices will be repaid through operational savings by 2025.
Rather than simply investing in technology, Copenhagen’s focus has been on the combination of political vision, technology, organization and knowledge.
The country is also working to help other places go green through Danida, the Danish Development Assistance. In Jakarta, the capital of Indonesia, one example of these activities is the green building initiatives.
This is part of the Danish Environmental Support Program for Indonesia. Through programs like this, Indonesia can look to develop its green economy.
The Danish government, in cooperation with the governments of Mexico and the Republic of Korea, has also launched a major international initiative called Global Green Growth Forum (3GF), aiming to facilitate and accelerate the global transition to a green economy.
