A Danish Perspective
Nov 06, 2009
4 Comments
Yesterday I attended a talk given by USA Ambassador Friis Petersen of Denmark at UCLA's CIBER (Center for International Business and Research). Ambassador Petersen was in Los Angeles for the day and somehow UCLA was fortunate enough to get a few minutes of his time. With the Copenhagen Conference on Climate Change scheduled for next month, I wanted to hear what Petersen had to say about the Danes' expectations for the conference. It's always interesting to listen to someone from outside of the USA comment on the current political debate occurring in our country. And as a diplomat for 30 years, the Ambassador's career mirrors that of Denmark's move towards a more sustainable energy policy.By the early 1970s, Denmark had a horrible environmental record. Danes believed oil was limitless and would be forever cheap, and approached economic development without any regard for the environment. The Baltic Sea was polluted, Denmark's fresh water supply was threatened, and Danes found themselves amongst the highest per capital polluters in the world.
Then the 1973 oil shocks hit. Petersen recalled how the Danish government moved quickly to move from a carbon-based economy to one based on renewable sources. Danes imposed high carbon taxes on themselves. Imagine trying to do this in the US (especially LA): fees on cars reached 300%, and carbon-based fuels became highly taxed in general. The result? While Peterson acknowledged that Danes have one of the world's highest tax burdens, such policies not only encouraged the development of renewable energy sources, but the Danish government was able to lower other taxes (income, etc.) in order to maintain the welfare and social programs that Danes feel are integral to their society. What Petersen I'm sure knows (but did not mention yesterday) is that in the 1970s, the USA was the leader in wind energy technology: but after the Carter Administration fiasco and collapse of oil prices in the 1980s, the USA practically gave up on wind technology, and the Danes became the leaders. In fact, Denmark has relatively modest wind speeds, but its largest wind energy producer, Vestas, is the global leader in this sector.So fast forward to the Climate Change Conference: Petersen mentioned what Danes hope Copenhagen achieves:
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Ratification by the major developed countries
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Acceptance of carbon reduction goals by developing countries
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Financing of carbon reduction schemes for developing countries by developed countries
Despite the global economic slowdown, Petersen believes we cannot afford to not combat climate change. He showed a chart demonstrating that almost 60% of carbon emissions since 1850 were from the United States and Western Europe, insisting that our expectation that China and India to do more on climate change is a false argument: far less that 10% of total carbon emissions the past 150 years are from those two countries. Plus, Petersen said, the Chinese are well aware of renewable energy's potential and they will become a leader in such technologies.
Petersen practically pleaded for the United States to become more proactive on the renewable energy front. He believes that more competition from American companies would be good for Europeans, and recalled that anytime Americans had to confront a global challenge, we've risen to the occasion. But like many outsiders, he's alarmed at the polarization in American politics. Many American senators you see spouting vitriol on networks like Fox News, he said, are aware of these issues and believe action needs to be taken when he has spoken to them in private. I mentioned to him after the talk that many Europeans cannot get their head wrapped around the fact that we have so many layers of government, so we move slower than smaller European states, and he agreed. What I would add is that there is plenty of potential for money to be made here; and despite our stereotype of Europeans living that socialist, spartan lifestyle--they know how to make money.
Finally, knowing he was speaking to mostly business students, he answered a professor's question of renewable energy when confronted with the traditional economic theory of international trade and comparative advantage. Such theory, Petersen said, falls short in this debate, because no country really has a true advantage in resources like sun or wind. In the end, the political will, society's acceptance, and a sense of urgency can make a difference if we're really going to make that transition to an energy infrastructure based on renewables.
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