{"id":195761,"date":"2025-11-23T09:34:18","date_gmt":"2025-11-23T09:34:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/195761\/"},"modified":"2025-11-23T09:34:18","modified_gmt":"2025-11-23T09:34:18","slug":"denmark-tops-ranking-of-most-ambitious-countries-on-climate-with-85-emission-reduction-target","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/195761\/","title":{"rendered":"Denmark tops ranking of most ambitious countries on climate with 85% emission reduction target"},"content":{"rendered":"

An ambitious target<\/strong><\/p>\n

On Monday at COP30<\/strong><\/a>, the Danish Minister of Climate, Energy and Utilities, Lars Aagaard, announced the country\u2019s new emissions reduction target<\/strong><\/a> for 2035. Denmark<\/strong><\/a>aims to cut greenhouse gas emissions by 82 to 85 per cent by 2035 compared with 1990 levels. <\/p>\n

\u201cDenmark must consistently remain among the most ambitious countries, and a new target for 2035 ensures that we remain right at the top internationally, he said. \u201cWe must once again show the rest of the world that it is possible to balance ambitious climate goals with a competitive business sector and social cohesion.\u201d <\/p>\n

To support this target, the government will allocate 4 billion Danish kroner (around \u20ac535 million).<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to prioritise climate action even in a time marked by war and conflict,\u201d said Aagaard. \u201cTargets, financing, and the measures needed to secure the additional reductions must go hand in hand.\u201d<\/p>\n

What sets Denmark apart?<\/strong><\/p>\n

According to the Climate Change Performance Index<\/strong><\/a> (CCPI), which was published today, Denmark ranked 4th in terms of its climate performance. The annual report evaluates how well countries are implementing policies that will help achieve the goals laid out in the Paris Agreement.<\/strong> <\/a><\/p>\n

Denmark is the highest-ranked of all countries surveyed, with the top three spots remaining unfilled as none are fully aligned with the targets set forth in the Paris Agreement. <\/p>\n

The measure, which assesses 63 countries and the European Union, takes into account greenhouse gas emissions, renewable energy progress, energy use, and climate policy. Denmark earned a \u201cvery high\u201d rating in Renewable Energy, \u201chigh\u201d in GHG Emissions and Climate Policy, and \u201cmedium\u201d in Energy Use. The index notes that Denmark has been a leader in offshore wind<\/strong><\/a>and electric vehicle uptake. <\/p>\n

The country<\/strong><\/a> had previously set ambitious emissions targets. In 2020, the parliament passed Denmark\u2019s first ever climate act, with a binding target to reduce emissions by 70 per cent by 2030 compared to 1990 levels. The country was on track to meet its goal. <\/p>\n

Denmark is also aiming for climate neutrality by 2045. <\/p>\n

How does the rest of Europe stack up?<\/strong><\/p>\n

The European Union is one of the world\u2019s six largest greenhouse gas emitters<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong> The bloc finalised its climate target at the last minute before the UN climate conference in Belem. <\/p>\n

Member States have agreed to reduce net emissions by 66.25\u201372.5 per cent by 2035 from 1990 levels. The EU\u2019s goal for climate neutrality by 2050 is also after Denmark\u2019s. <\/p>\n

The United Kingdom was previously the world\u2019s most ambitious nation for cutting emissions. Last year, at COP29, Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced a target of an 81 per cent reduction in emissions by 2035 compared with the 1950 level. The UK was the first G7 country to phase out coal<\/strong><\/a>,<\/strong> and it ranks 5th on this year\u2019s CCPI. However, the country still lags behind in renewable energy expansion. <\/p>\n

Individual European countries have also made strides in their climate commitments. Luxembourg, Lithuania, and the Netherlands made the top ten in the CCPI ranking. Norway and Sweden are also leaders in renewable energy expansion. Norway<\/strong><\/a> has also set an ambitious emissions reduction target of 70-75 per cent below 1990 levels by 2035. <\/p>\n

\u201cWhile we cannot yet attest to any country having very good climate mitigation performance overall, there are pioneers in some categories who are demonstrating ambitious performance,\u201d said Niklas H\u00f6hne, one of the CCPI authors. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"An ambitious target On Monday at COP30, the Danish Minister of Climate, Energy and Utilities, Lars Aagaard, announced…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":195762,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[269],"tags":[3898,47570,382,18,440,12215,19,17,961,133,11843],"class_list":{"0":"post-195761","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-environment","8":"tag-climate","9":"tag-cop30","10":"tag-denmark","11":"tag-eire","12":"tag-environment","13":"tag-greenhouse-gas-emissions","14":"tag-ie","15":"tag-ireland","16":"tag-renewable-energy","17":"tag-science","18":"tag-wind-energy"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115598332046157117","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/195761","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=195761"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/195761\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/195762"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=195761"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=195761"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=195761"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}