Danish envoy outlines Green innovation development

Danish Ambassador to Thailand, Myanmar and Cambodia, Mikael Hemniti Winther, attended the Thailand Business Council for Sustainable Development Gala on May 19 as keynote speaker and honorary Guest.hemniti

In his speech, Ambassador Winther touched upon the Green innovation Movement in Denmark, where recognition of climate change, political commitment, intelligent legislation and innovation have created a green change in Denmark.

The ambassador listed the clear green commitment and strategy from the Danish Parliament as a key factor for the successful implementation of intelligent systems for taxation and regulation, subsidies and legislation with environmental standards. This commitment has been carried on through various governments.

Such political interventions are certainly not always popular and in Thailand and Asia it is often not preferred to legislate and create harsher environmental standards and to impose taxes on emissions and power usage. That was certainly also the case in Denmark to begin with. However, now many of the Danish corporations are benefiting from the legislations.

Ambassador Winther explained that the environmental tax collected is being allocated back into the corporations in the form of subsidies or deductions for environmental-friendly and energy saving improvements of the production facilities: “In this way, the companies paid themselves for their improvements – however, they ended up being more efficient, having lower energy costs and being able to compete in an international market with increasing focus on the environmental issues.”

The ambassador emphasized that the “Danish example” is not only about taxation and regulation, but also on the integration of all parts of the energy system in an overall approach across the economic sectors. For example, Denmark has decades of experience with building sustainable and reliable energy systems, whilst the green transition encourages technological innovation and strengthens the industrial competitiveness on the international market.

The ambassador expressed his delight to see that Thailand also have committed to an ambitious energy plan, and he concluded his speech by saying that “The Danish Embassy would be delighted to work closely with Thai companies and the Thai government in order to drive a green innovation movement in Thailand”.

Source: Embassy of Denmark in Thailand

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