Denmark and California Strengthen the Cooperation on the Green Transition

Today, the Danish Energy Agency and the California Energy Commission signed a new agreement providing the framework for a continued bilateral cooperation within the green agenda. The agreement was signed by the Director General of the Danish Energy Agency (DEA), Kristoffer Böttzauw and the Chair of the California Energy Commission, David Hochschild. The new agreement builds on the cooperation the two agencies established in 2018.

During the past four years, the cooperation had focused on exchanging best practices in policy and programs to increase energy efficiency in industry and buildings, and accelerate the development and integration of offshore wind power. Both California and Denmark have made major strides on these agendas. In California, lawmakers have passed ground-breaking regulation toward entirely eliminating fossil fuels from its buildings, while the state saw a successful auction for the first floating offshore wind farm in the US. In Denmark, the government introduced its Green Tax Reform to provide much stronger incentives for industrial decarbonisation. Furthermore, the country managed to increase its wind energy production significantly to fulfil more than half of the Denmark’s electricity demand.

However, the IPCC Climate Change 2022 report signals that much stronger climate action is required within the current decade to avert uncontrollable global warming. Therefore, Denmark and California have both sharpened their commitments to reach carbon neutrality already by 2045.

“Working together with California is an honor for Denmark – but it is also needed. California is a frontrunner in digital technologies, while Denmark has been working with energy efficiency for decades, and we as a small country together with one of the biggest economies in the world, can make a good impact on the green transition together. Therefore, I am happy that we are now extending our Energy cooperation between Denmark and California,” Kristoffer Böttzauw, Director General of the Danish Energy Agency (DEA) explains.

In pursuit of the shared climate goals, the energy partnership between Denmark and California will continue to build on its existing strengths, while also addressing new challenges and opportunities.

“As one of the largest economies in the world, California is committed to a 100 percent clean energy future for all. We are proud to continue to amplify our efforts on a global scale through this renewed agreement with our Danish partners and I look forward to collaborating on critical issues like offshore wind and energy efficiency,” David Hochschild, Chair of California Energy Commission says.

In addition to offshore wind energy and energy efficiency, the Danish Energy Agency and California Energy Commission are expanding their cooperation to promote the integration of new Power-to-X solutions, including green hydrogen, and a range of novel technologies and applications to decarbonize energy- and emissions-intensive processes.

This creates great potential for more Danish-Californian collaboration on emission reductions between governmental institutions and other leaders in the green transition.