Denmark part of historical DKK 200 billion investment in sustainable energy

Date: 08/06/2016

MISSION INNOVATION: Together with 19 other nations, Denmark strengthens the research and development of sustainable energy technologies. The goal is to make it more attractive to invest in sustainable energy and increase the pace of the global green transition.

In these days, 20 nations meet in President Obama’s “Mission Innovation” for the first time since the climate summit COP21 in Paris, where each country committed to doubling their costs to research in sustainable energy towards 2020. Until 2021 the countries together should have increased their research budget to around DKK 200 billion a year.

This means, that the countries from today and until 2021 together will use app. DKK 700 billion on research and development of sustainable energy, if the research budgets are increased steadily the next 5 years. Combined with private funds from investors like Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg and Richard Branson, the global green transition will take an important step forward.

“With our participation in Mission Innovation, the government has gotten Denmark into the Champions League for development of sustainable energy technologies. The global green growth is totally dependent that we through research and development will make sustainable energy technologies cheaper and more competitive compared to energy from coal, oil, and gas, so that sustainable energy and energy efficiency will be the obvious choice, especially economically, when the world’s countries need to make the green transition.”, says Minister for Energy, Utility and Climate Lars Chr. Lilleholt.

The countries behind Mission Innovation are meeting these days in San Francisco. At the meeting the framework and principles will be set for the ambitious innovation collaboration. The Danish participation in Mission Innovation will help secure a continued Danish lead position in the fields of development and export of energy technologies.

“Denmark is in the global top 10 on patents for energy technology like wind, biofuel, and fuel cells. We can therefore utilize our membership of Mission Innovation, which can the be the key for success as a leading cleantech nation”, says Lars Chr. Lilleholt.

Facts about Mission Innovation

  • Mission Innovation was launched on the first day of the climate summit COP21 in Paris, December, with participation from heads of states and governments, including Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen.
  • The group includes the world’s most populated countries (China, India, USA, Indonesia and Brasil), Denmark, Australia, Canada, Chile, United Arab Emirates, France, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Norway, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, South Korea, Germany and the UK. In addition, the EU Commission also participates.
  • The 20 countries together are responsible for 75% of the world’s CO2-emmisions from electricity production, and 80% of investments in research and development of sustainable energy.
  • A number of private investors have created the initiative Breaktrough Energy Coalition, which will work closely with Mission Innovation. Among the investors are:

Bill Gates, Co-chair, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (USA)
Mark Zuckerberg, Chairman and CEO, Facebook (USA)
George Soros, Chairman, Soros Fund Management LLC (USA)

Source: Ministry for Energy, Utilities & Climate