Green requirements for fuels help Denmark reach climate targets

In the future, more cars and trucks must be filled with green fuels. Therefore, the Danish government will increase the national CO2-displacement requirements for road transport fuels in order to reach Denmark's climate targets for 2025.

By State of Green | [email protected]

20 April 2023

With climate change posing an ever-growing threat to societies worldwide, energy policy has become a security policy. That’s why, the Danish government has presented a number of green initiatives in order to reach the country’s ambitious climate targets.

To achieve its 2025 climate target, the government plans to increase the use of green fuels in cars and trucks. This will be done by raising the CO2-displacement requirement and setting a consumption ceiling for first-generation biofuels. The government will also encourage the use of heavier and longer trucks to improve the efficiency and environmental friendliness of freight transport.

“The government is determined to meet the climate targets, and we will take the necessary decisions to reduce emissions. We will increase the requirements that the fuels we fill in the tanks must be greener, thus reaching the climate targets for 2025,” Lars Aagaard, Minister for Climate, Energy and Utilities.

The green powerhouse of Europe

The government also presents plans to double offshore wind area and significantly increase capacity, potentially leading to a more than fivefold increase in Danish offshore wind and providing green electricity equivalent to over 10 million homes.

“We are facing a green spring and want to take some steps towards a greener and safer Denmark. We aim to achieve our goals and strengthen Denmark’s position as a green powerhouse in Europe,” Lars Aagaard, Minister for Climate, Energy and Utilities.

The government also plans to prepare tenders for Energiø Bornholm, making it possible to supply electricity to the Baltic Sea region, as well as promoting Danish Power-to-X production and kick-start green hydrogen production. As part of the latter, Denmark and Germany signed an agreement on a land-based hydrogen pipeline earlier this year.

In addition, the first CO2 is stored in the North Sea, and Denmark is now one of the first countries in the EU to actively store CO2 underground.

The Danish CO2-displacement requirement

In Denmark, the CO2 displacement requirement is 3,4% in 2022. This will increase to 5,2% in 2023, 6% in 2028, and 7% in 2030.
Denmark implemented a CO2 displacement requirement in road transport in 2022 to incentivize fuel suppliers to use green fuels in a technology-neutral way.
The displacement requirement incentivizes green fuels with a high cradle-to-grave reduction effect, which includes emissions from raw material cultivation to combustion, processing, distribution, and incineration