Dan Jørgensen

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Dan Jørgensen
Minister for Development Cooperation and Global Climate Policy
Assumed office
15 December 2022
Prime MinisterMette Frederiksen
Preceded byFlemming Møller Mortensen (Development Cooperation)
Minister of Climate and Energy and Utilities
In office
27 June 2019 – 15 December 2022
Prime MinisterMette Frederiksen
Preceded byLars Christian Lilleholt (Energy, Utilities and Climate)
Succeeded byLars Aagaard
Minister for Food, Agriculture and Fisheries
In office
12 December 2013 – 28 June 2015
Prime MinisterHelle Thorning-Schmidt
Preceded byKaren Hækkerup
Succeeded byEva Kjer Hansen
Member of the Folketing
Assumed office
18 June 2015
ConstituencyFunen
Member of the European Parliament
for Denmark
In office
20 July 2004 – 12 December 2013
Personal details
Born (1975-06-12) 12 June 1975 (age 48)
Odense, Denmark
Political partySocial Democrats
Other political
affiliations		Progressive Alliance of Socialists and Democrats
EducationUniversity of Aarhus
University of Washington
WebsiteParty website

Dan Jannik Jørgensen (born 12 June 1975) is a Danish politician of the Social Democrats who has been serving as Ministry for Development Cooperation and Global Climate Policy in the government of Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen since 2022.[1]

Jørgensen previously served as Minister of Climate and Energy and Public Utilities (2019–2022)[2] under Frederiksen and as Minister for Food, Agriculture and Fisheries (2013–2015) under Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt. From 2004 to 2013 he was a Member of the European Parliament for the Social Democrats, as a part of the Party of European Socialists.

Early life and education[edit]

Jørgensen grew up in Morud on the Danish island of Funen, attended high school at Nordfyns Gymnasium, and university at the University of Aarhus, from which he holds a master's degree in political science. He also studied political science at the University of Washington.[3][4]

Political career[edit]

Member of the European Parliament, 2004–2013[edit]

Jørgensen became a Member of the European Parliament for Denmark in the 2004 European elections with 10,350 personal votes and re-elected in 2009 with 233,266 personal votes.[5]

In parliament, Jørgensen was the head of the Danish delegation of Social Democrats, the country's largest group at the time. He served as vice-chair of the Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety from 2004, and was a substitute on the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs. In addition to his committee assignments, he was also a member of the parliament's delegation for relations with Iran and a substitute on the delegation for relations with the United States.[6]

Career in Danish politics[edit]

In February 2014, as Minister for Food, Agriculture and Fisheries, Jørgensen signed a regulation which banned ritual slaughter of animals without prior stunning.[7]

In the 2015 Danish general election, Jørgensen became a member of the Folketing.

Minister of Climate and Energy and Public Utilities, 2019–2022[edit]

Jørgensen became Minister of Climate and Energy and Public Utilities in the Mette Frederiksen cabinet, following the June 2019 election.

Jørgensen and his government have made international news with the agreement to reduce Denmark's territorial emissions by 70% in 2030 compared to 1990,[8] the decision to stop oil and gas exploration after 2050[9][10](also driven by the fact that only one company applied for a lease in the latest auction[11]), and the energy islands in the North Sea.[12] Also in 2020, Denmark agreed with Germany on closer cooperation in their offshore wind power development via clusters in the North and Baltic Seas to spur renewable energy and hydrogen production.[13]

However, green NGOs have largely viewed Jørgensen's tenure negatively in 2020.[14][15]

More than a year after having set an ambitious reduction target for the decade, there are in February 2021 no concrete plans for dealing with the remaining two thirds of the needed reductions to achieve the Danish 2030 emission target.[16]

The government has described their climate action strategy as a "hockey stick"-model.[17] This means they plan to await new technologies and falling costs and thus only achieve most reductions at the end of the decade – this strategy has been described by other political parties as a "Bjørn Lomborg" dream.[18]

Despite pleas from the UNFCCC,[19] the International Monetary Fund,[20] the World Bank,[21] the Danish Economic Councils[22] and the Danish Council on Climate Change,[23] Jørgensen has postponed the implementation of a higher carbon pricing mechanism,[24] even though Denmark was a pioneer with its adoption in 1992.[25] The opposition to higher carbon taxes was positively received by associations representing the major emitting sectors such as the Confederation of Danish Industry[26] and Danish Agriculture and Food Council.[27]

As of January 2021, Denmark stands to have a much lower price on carbon than its neighbours in 2030, with consequences such as trucks from Germany waiting to refuel until they are in Denmark to benefit from the low diesel prices in Denmark.[28] Denmark is also one of the four EU countries without carbon taxes on passenger flights.[29] In fact, Jørgensen's government had plans to guarantee domestic flights during the COVID-19 crisis by subsidising domestic flights, a decision decried by green NGOs and the supporting parties Red-Green Alliance and the Socialist People's Party.[30] The decision was not implemented as the European Commission would not approve it due to regulations on state aid.[31]

Dan Jørgensen and the Danish government's initial proposal for a law on electric vehicles would add 500.000 electric vehicles (incl. plugin-hybrid vehicles) by 2030.[32] Had the proposal been agreed upon, it would have meant more cars with only internal combustion engines than in 2020 in Denmark. Because of pressure from other political parties, it was agreed that there would be 775.000 electric vehicles by 2030.[33]

During his tenure, Jørgensen entered a formal agreement with the cement manufacturer Aalborg Portland (Denmark's largest carbon emitter standing for 4% of the national emissions) concluding that they did not have to reduce their annual emissions below their 1990 level of 1.54 million CO2 tons.[34]

Similarly, Jørgensen has been criticised[35] for allowing state-owned companies to continue the build-out of fossil fuel infrastructure like a natural gas pipeline of 115 km, with an associated socio-economic cost of $113 million for Denmark.[36] In a formal answer to the Parliament, Dan Jørgensen confirmed that the gas pipeline would not reduce the carbon emissions in the short term nor add any jobs in Denmark.[37]

Dan Jørgensen received a "nose" in June 2020, a formal criticism by a majority in the Parliament for delaying negotiations with other political parties on biofuels.[38]

As stipulated in the Climate Act, the Danish Council on Climate Change has to make annual recommendations for and provide a status update on the Danish government's climate efforts. In February 2021, the Danish Council on Climate Council does not find it likely that Dan Jørgensen's government will achieve the target of a 70% reduction of greenhouse gases by 2030.[39]

Following the release of the 6th IPCC report, Dan Jørgensen said that alarm bells should ring for anyone having influence on climate politics in Denmark or abroad. While Denmark is one of the countries with the largest carbon footprint per capita,[40] Dan Jørgensen added that Denmark should not increase their ambitions, but help other countries copy Denmark's efforts.[41] He also commented that large emitters should not be treated equally: large companies growing their production should not be compared to the ones not transforming their production, disregarding the fact that what matters with regards to global warming is the total amount of carbon emissions, not the intensity of the production.[42]

Despite these controversies, Jørgensen is a strong climate change communicator. Some examples include a podcast in English called Planet A[43] and a campaign with videos on Facebook advising Danes to put more vegetables in their meatballs.[44][non-primary source needed] The campaign with Mogens Jensen cost Danish taxpayers 1.2 million kroner.[45]

Jørgensen, along with Barbara Creecy, led the working group at the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference that facilitated consultations on mitigation.[46]

Other activities[edit]

Bibliography[edit]

  • Staunings arv – vejen til et lykkeligt Danmark (2018, People's Press)
  • Beyond deniers and believers – towards a map of the politics of climate change (2015, Global Environmental Change, co-author)
  • Grønt håb – Klimapolitik 2.0 (2010, Forlaget Sohn)
  • Mellem Mars og Venus – EU's rolle i fremtidens verdensorden (2009, Forlaget Sohn)
  • Politikere med begge ben på jorden hænger ikke på træerne (2009, Informations Forlag)
  • Grøn Globalisering – miljøpolitik i forandring (2007, Hovedland)
  • Eurovisioner – Essays om fremtidens Europa (2006, Informations Forlag)

References[edit]

  1. ^ Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen and Nikolaj Skydsgaard (15 December 2022), Danish PM picks right-leaning rivals as key ministers in new government Reuters.
  2. ^ Deleuran Müller, Thea (27 June 2019). "Danmarks nye regering er nu på plads: Se hele Mette Frederiksens ministerhold her". dr.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 25 March 2020.
  3. ^ "Socialdemokratiet".
  4. ^ "Your MEPs :Directory :Dan JØRGENSEN". Archived from the original on 20 October 2006.
  5. ^ "Danske Medlemmer Af Europa-Parlamentet" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 March 2012. Retrieved 5 September 2011.
  6. ^ "Your MEPs :Directory :Dan JØRGENSEN". Archived from the original on 20 October 2006.
  7. ^ "Welfare at slaughter". Danish Veterinary and Food Administration. 19 February 2014. Archived from the original on 26 February 2014. Retrieved 22 February 2014.
  8. ^ "Denmark: We can slash CO2 by 70% in a decade and still have welfare". Reuters.
  9. ^ Jacob Gronholt-Pedersen (4 December 2020), Danish phase out of North Sea oil, gas to cut output by up to 15% -minister Reuters.
  10. ^ Anjli Raval (4 December 2020), Denmark to end all new North Sea oil and gas exploration Financial Times.
  11. ^ "Totals exit kan blive enden på oliejagt i Nordsøen". Politiken.
  12. ^ "Denmark to build 'first energy island' in North Sea". BBC.
  13. ^ Nora Buli (14 December 2020), Germany, Denmark agree closer offshore wind cooperation Reuters.
  14. ^ "Dan, du er dumpet: Grønne grupper er dybt skuffede over regeringens vilde klimaår". Politiken.
  15. ^ "14 ngo'er få dage før Klimarådets dom: Regeringen lever ikke op til klimaloven". Information.
  16. ^ "Klimahandlingsplan 2020" (PDF). Ministry of Climate, Energy and Utilities.
  17. ^ "Wammens "hockeystav" er et fikst sprogbillede. Men det er en dårlig klimaløsning". Information.
  18. ^ "Støttepartier: Vi kan ikke vente på teknologien i klimakampen". EnergiWatch.
  19. ^ "Calls Increase to Use Carbon Pricing as an Effective Climate Action Tool". Archived from the original on 28 September 2020.
  20. ^ "A carbon tax is 'single most powerful' way to combat climate change, IMF says". CNBC.
  21. ^ "The World Bank: Pricing Carbon". Archived from the original on 2 June 2014.
  22. ^ "Ensartet afgift på tværs af brancher er den billigste klimaløsning". Archived from the original on 8 March 2021. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  23. ^ "Klimarådet: Ny rapport om vejen til 70-procentsmålet i 2030". Archived from the original on 1 April 2020.
  24. ^ "Regeringen fremlægger grøn skattereform uden CO2-afgift". FødevareWatch.
  25. ^ "OECD Economics Department Working Papers". oecd-ilibrary.org. 2021. doi:10.1787/18151973. Retrieved 18 February 2021.
  26. ^ "DI: Politikerne har lagt grunden til en god grøn skattereform – men vi er ikke i mål".
  27. ^ "Ensartet CO2-afgift skudt til hjørne".
  28. ^ "Dieselparadiset Danmark: Tyske Michael sparer 750.000 om året på at tanke i Padborg". DR.
  29. ^ "Danmark er ét af kun fire EU-lande med nul flyafgifter". ING.
  30. ^ ""Det er helt grotesk": Ny hjælpepakke betaler for at sende halvtomme fly i luften". Politiken.
  31. ^ "EUU Alm.del, spørgsmål 287". Archived from the original on 8 March 2021.
  32. ^ "Regeringen klar med udspil til transportaftale: Målet er 500.000 elbiler i 2030". DR.
  33. ^ "Aftale mellem regeringen, Radikale Venstre, Socialistisk Folkeparti og Enhedslisten om: Grøn omstilling af vejtransporten" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 4 December 2020.
  34. ^ "KEF Alm. Del. Sp 515". Archived from the original on 8 March 2021.
  35. ^ "Naturgasløsning til sukkerfabrikker møder kritik: – Er naturgas pludselig blevet grøn energi?". TV2Øst.
  36. ^ "Minister korrekser Energinet: CO2-reduktioner ved en gasledning må ikke medregnes". ING.
  37. ^ "KEF Alm.del Sp 18".
  38. ^ "Dan Jørgensen får næse for klima-nøl: 'Ministeren har ikke taget Folketinget seriøst'". DR.
  39. ^ "New report assesses the Government's climate effort and provides recommendations on how to meet the 70 percent target in 2030". Klimaraadet / Danish Council on Climate Change. Archived from the original on 26 February 2021. Retrieved 27 February 2021.
  40. ^ "Global Afrapportering 2021 – Nøgletal" (PDF). Klima-, Energi- og Forsyningsministeriet. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 August 2021.
  41. ^ "Dan Jørgensen: Klimarapporten indeholder en stor og alvorlig nyhed". Altinget. Archived from the original on 9 August 2021.
  42. ^ "Klimaminister: Hockeystaven er både knækket og smidt på bålet". Dagbladet Information. Archived from the original on 11 August 2021.
  43. ^ "Planet A – Talks on climate change". Archived from the original on 18 November 2020.
  44. ^ "Ministre leger klima-kokke". Archived from the original on 8 March 2021 – via Facebook.
  45. ^ "Ministres køkken-fifs koster million". Ekstra Bladet.
  46. ^ Letter to Parties and Observers, 16 November 2022 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
  47. ^ Members European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR).

External links[edit]

Political offices
Preceded by Minister for Food, Agriculture and Fisheries
2013–2015 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Minister for Climate, Energy and Utilities
2019–present 		Incumbent
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Dan_Jørgensen&oldid=1208960756"