A green energy plan for Denmark - Job creation as a strategy to implement both economic growth and a CO2 reduction

Several political regulation instruments - such as CO2 taxes - have been su ggested to implement CO2 reduction policies. But normally the cost of imple menting CO2 reduction policies is considered to be a threat to both economi c growth and employment. But to some extent, strategies can be developed wh ich implement CO2 reduction goals by creating jobs and such strategies coul d help economic growth. This note presents the main results from a research project, in the Departm ent of Development and Planning at Aalborg University. More detailed inform ation of the full study is given in (Lund 1996: 2) and (Lund 1997). The res earch project has had the primary purpose of determining the consequences f or employment and the need for foreign exchange in the investments in the d ifferent types of energy plants in Denmark. From this information it has be en possible to develop and calculate the consequences of various energy str ategies, which seek to avoid the conflict between environment, employment a nd economic growth. One example of such a strategy is called the Green Ener gy Plan. The Green Energy Plan, was published by the General Workers' Union and used as an input to the public debate on the future of energy in Denmark in the spring of 1996 (Lund 1996: 2). The official Danish energy plan Energy 21 ( Danish Ministry of Environment and Energy 1996) was adopted soon after the public debate.