Ladies and gentlemen,

It’s a great pleasure for me to open today’s conference on the Countdown to 2030.

Just a year ago, there was one major issue that kept government and business leaders alike up at night. That was the global pandemic.

What an unprecedented global coordination it was – and still is – to combat the pandemic! We joined forces, vaccines were developed and in partnerships the crisis has become manageable in large parts of the world.

What did it take? Resolute response:

Mobilizing knowledge, business, finance, political will, and collective responsibility, on a global scale.

One thing that both the COVID crisis and the climate change crisis have in common is that we must tackle them through international cooperation.

There are also a few differences.

The pandemic hit us as a sudden storm, and its emergency was evident to all from the outset.

Many countries in the world managed to put their economic and social activity on hold, even though this came at a cost.

On the other hand, the consequences of climate change will only be evident, when our climate has undergone irreversible changes.

Once we reach the tipping point, there is no going back. And no possibility to put things on hold.

As illustrated in the sarcastic movie “Don’t look Up”, where the fact that a meteorite on course to destroy the world is ignored.

We don’t want to reach that point.

To mitigate the consequences of climate change, partnerships across the private and public sector are essential. In Denmark, cooperation between the Government, businesses and civil society has been a key ingredient.

When the Danish Government launched 13 climate partnerships, it was together with the private sector.

Each partnership gathered companies from specific sectors. Each partnership presented a roadmap on how to achieve the Danish 2030 goal of a 70% reduction in greenhouse gases.

We have come a long way and we know that the key ingredient in reaching our targets is cooperation. All parts of society and the economy must be fully committed to finding common solutions.

New York is very much the American state of green. New York has developed innovative technologies and ambitious clean-tech infrastructure projects. And has visionary plans for the green transition.

Combined with the federal climate ambitions from the White House, this bodes well for a greener future. The group of Danish companies and stakeholders joining here today are ready to contribute, and support New York’s green ambitions. 

I hope you will feel inspired by the talks today, and I wish for all of us a prosperous sustainable future.

Thank you.

 

(Det talte ord gælder)