The other day, a number of media outlets chose to summarize the financial law agreement's contribution to the green transition in four points, which in total amount to DKK 430 million. DKK next year. But it is actually just a drop in the ocean of what will be given to the green transition in Denmark next year. Because did you know that more than 7 times as much is given to biogas? And 1 1/2 times as much is given in support to cogeneration plants that burn solid wood biomass.

If you zoom right in on the financial law agreement concluded between the Government, the Socialist People's Party and the Radical Left, you can find four results that have been highlighted as green. But how green are they? 400 million DKK the tradesman deduction for energy renovations, climate protection and service deductions. There are also three circular initiatives with DKK 15 million. DKK for deductions for repairs of white goods, DKK 10 million. DKK to develop a textile action plan and 5 million DKK to a partnership for takeaway packaging.

However, the way in which the tradesman's deduction is screwed up is quite problematic. Why should government funds be used for a service deduction of DKK 17.500? per person, which can also be used in relation to cleaning, window cleaning, childcare and garden help - also for well-to-do families who should be able to afford it themselves? And seen through green glasses, it would have been much better to spend all 400 million. DKK for energy renovations and climate protection.

The three new efforts in the circular area are so small that their green effects are relatively uncertain. Denmark needs a new resource strategy that effectively reduces our excessively high resource consumption – 25,9 tonnes per year. inhabitant per year, but then it will take a few years and a bit of hands to develop a textile business plan. It is fine to make partnerships for take away and promote a little more repairs of white goods, but who believes that 10-15 million DKK per year will move quite a lot? Instead, the climate and resource footprint of public procurement for DKK 448 billion could be much more effectively reduced. DKK per year, and it would be badly needed, because CO2e emissions from public procurement appear to be increasing, not decreasing, towards 2030.

In that light, the four "green" measures mentioned above are drops in the ocean. More symbolic politics than significant green measures.

The big winners

So let's instead go in search of the big green money in the Finance Act. That is, those that really express a prioritization. First, mention should be made of the implementation of the green tripartite agreement for agriculture, which, in addition to the parties behind the Finance Act, was also concluded with the Conservative People's Party and the Liberal Alliance. In 2025, DKK 4,6 billion will be realized here. DKK, where almost half goes to removing carbon-rich low-lying soils. This is really positive, because there has long been a rush to extract the low-lying soils, which release a lot of CO2 into the atmosphere.

DKK 782 million will also be given. DKK for increased afforestation, and DKK 1,2 billion DKK for a number of nitrogen-reducing measures, and our much-needed water environment really needs that. These are efforts that can contribute to promoting the green transition.

In the Green Transition Denmark, we still recommend that you go much further in terms of making a structural change in agriculture, away from intensive animal production and towards more plant-based production. There we must state that the implementation agreement for the green tripartite does not do away with intensive agricultural production, which in recent decades has had a very high price for nature and the environment. On the positive side, however, it should be mentioned that next year there will be 50 million to the plant fund and for the promotion of plant-based foods, and this amount will be increased in 2026 to DKK 80 million. DKK per year. Organic agriculture also receives a small helping hand of DKK 10 million. DKK These are not major transformative measures, but they are the beginning of a long journey.
Agriculture is still the big winner when the Finance Act's many billions are distributed. Together with the EU's support schemes, agriculture will receive over DKK 15 billion next year. DKK in state aid.

Biogas and heating with wood biomass will receive billions of dollars in support

If you go deeper into the Finance Act's many grants, however, there are also large amounts of support for parts of the energy sector. And no. It is not for sun, wind and heat pumps. Next year, DKK 3 billion will be given. DKK in subsidies for biogas. It is actually more than twice as much as the Ministry of the Environment gets to protect the environment and nature!

In 2025, 682,5 million has also been set aside. in direct support to cogeneration plants that burn biomass to transform it into electricity. This happens even though Denmark's heating with wood biomass has an immediate discharge of over 15 million tonnes of CO2, and the time-weighted emission after twenty years is at least 4 million ton per year. Over a twenty-year period, the large-scale Danish heating with wood biomass emits a whopping 114 million tonnes of CO2, but if the climate crisis is taken seriously, this practice should be phased out as soon as possible. However, that doesn't happen.

So it's a long nose for those who think that the state is really betting hard on wind and solar energy. In terms of support and deductions, this is not the case at all. Fortunately, there is already a good alternative to burning wood biomass. Because it is possible to electrify Denmark's entire heat supply. As gas and biomass heating is phased out, we can provide households with a cheaper heating solution with industrial heat pumps and electric boilers powered by green electricity from solar and wind energy. This is shown by the Green Transition Denmark climate and energy plan, which can ensure a fossil-free Denmark in 2040. A renewable energy system can deliver safe and stable energy to the Danes if you also invest in energy storage in dam heat storage and batteries. But neither solar and wind energy, heat pumps nor battery storage are prioritized in the Finance Act.

Landvind has an outlook of DKK 216,9 million. DKK in support, and the solar cells receive DKK 98 million. DKK Today, solar and wind are the absolute cheapest sources of energy on lifetime costs, and we need much more to free ourselves from fossil energy. Havvind receives DKK 238,8 million. DKK for screening/preliminary investigation plus DKK 254,4 million. DKK to offshore wind next year, but if you zoom out for the entire period 2022-2028, the government expects to earn over DKK XNUMX billion. DKK on sea breeze. So the needy wind industry has no prospect of getting a helping hand from the public.

More than half of Denmark's gross energy consumption is still fossil fuels, so we need much more solar and wind energy, but a lot of the tax dollars are being wasted on providing massive state support for biogas and biomass burning, where we could get much more in terms of energy economics and climate the money elsewhere.

We can get more bang for our buck

If the state wants a quick and large climate effect, priority should be given to solar, wind, energy efficiency improvements, heat pumps and electrification first. But unfortunately that doesn't happen. Even the subsidy for energy savings of 546,1 million DKK next year is far behind biogas and biomass. Perhaps the time has soon come to revisit the green transition and take a critical look at whether we could get much more bang for the buck by investing differently. Several of the existing support schemes and tax exemptions provide large direct and indirect state support to selected industries and energy sources at the expense of others. Under this, the direct and indirect state support for fossil energy, which amounts to up to DKK 3,6 billion, could be appropriately phased out. DKK per year. It is harmful in relation to achieving the climate act's goals, but in the finance act there will still be a good opportunity for energy-intensive companies and agriculture to continue to receive a full deduction for their payment of fossil taxes when they use oil, gas and coke.

And then we probably also need a critical discussion of whether it is okay for the Danish state to sell CO2 quotas for DKK 1871,2 million. DKK in 2025, which enables others abroad to emit extra greenhouse gases. In the period 2024-28, the government expects to earn a total of DKK 7,47 billion. on the sale of CO2 quotas. In RGO, we believe that these quotas should be cancelled, so that you do not actively promote climate leakage with the help of the state. The latest green agricultural agreement must also be partly financed in this way.

It is not because the Danish state lacks money for a green transition. But the main problem is that we still get far too little climate and environmental effect for the money.