Denmark's change-driving narrative: The Green Omstilling

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The Sustainable Hour no. 517?| Transcript | Podcast notes

In its 517th episode, The Sustainable Hour explores the Danish approach to the climate crisis and the importance of collective action and a shared vision.?

Denmark’s commitment to the green transition, or ‘Den Gr?nne Omstilling’, has created a unifying expression that drives change and actively reshapes the Danish society. In Denmark today, the government, the business community, and media are all playing an active role in promoting sustainability and climate action under the banner ‘The Green Omstilling’.?

This episode highlights initiatives in Denmark, such as biodynamic farming, climate-neutral urban communities, banning fossil cars from the CBD of major cities, and even a carbon capture project.?

The key message is that we need to regulate the harmful aspects of capitalism and work together to create a strong community and a sustainable future.

. . .

Our co-host Mik Aidt reflects on the almost four weeks he has been spending in his country of birth, Denmark. He introduces us to three of the people he has been meeting on his journey:

John Shone – an Aussie futurist who had to go to Denmark to realise his dream of establishing a farming co-op.

Tine Lindhardt – project manager for the municipality of Aarhus, explaining how the city’s “Climate-Neutral Urban Community Transition” currently is lined up to hit the zero carbon point at 2030.

Sinnet B?dewadt – a businesswoman who’s worked with IKEA. A decade ago she was helping them give birth to their first sustainability strategies. Today she’s head of Nature Plus and calls herself an ‘Earth’s ally’ and a storyteller.

We also listen to excerpts of a TED-talk by the Swedish climate scientist Johan Rockstr?m, who has been very influencial in the Danish public debate about climate and The Green Transition.

. . .

Having our own Mik on as a guest today was very much a treat. His observations of the general acceptance of the climate crisis in Denmark at the moment compared to the situation here were instructive and shows there’s clearly much work to be done in that space here.

How much easier to both set and achieve emission reduction targets if everyone, from the government down, takes this seriously and accepts responsibility for doing what they can to be part of the solution.

We’ll be returning to interviews Mik set up while he is in Denmark over the next few weeks. These will hopefully shine extra lumens on and give us a model to follow here. We’ll be back with some more solution seekers and climate truthtelling next week. Be honest! Be omstilling-ready!

“The most powerful vision of capitalism was expressed by John F. Kennedy when he said that the tide lifts all boats. However, especially in the United States, indeed in much of the Western world, the truth in recent years has been that the tide has been content to lift the biggest boats. Capitalism has become sick. It’s not due to luck that Denmark is now one of the richest and most equal and most secure societies on earth. It’s only the result of political choices, of a social contract. In Denmark we have tried to extract the best aspects of capitalism’s enterprise and profits while regulating the greediest and most harmful aspects. The gains have been sought to be distributed more fairly and reinvested in a strong community, while the destructive sides have been limited.” ~ Mette Frederiksen, Denmark’s Prime Minister

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