AARHUS: The visions have been too vague and the concrete actions too few since Aarhus Municipality decided in 2008 that the municipality should be climate neutral by 2030. A climate agreement that has now been adopted is to remedy this.
On Monday evening, a majority of the city council in Aarhus Municipality agreed on a climate agreement for 2025-2030, which will ensure that Aarhus becomes climate neutral in just six years.
This is what Aarhus Municipality writes in a press release.
With the agreement, the politicians have agreed on a total financial framework of DKK 300 million. The money will, among other things, go to removing 405,000 tons of CO2 by producing more green energy and by capturing CO2 from chimneys at, for example, district heating plants and storing it in the ground. Central to the agreement is a new CO2 capture plant at the Lisbjerg power plant.
- Aarhusians will see more renewable energy such as solar cells on the roofs and more wind turbines, more natural and production forests, fewer CO2-burdening low-lying soils and more recycling. Other initiatives will be more technical and less visible, for example the establishment of a biogenic energy park that produces energy from biological material, fewer emissions and stricter climate requirements for renovations and new construction, says Mayor Jacob Bundsgaard (S).
Mobility plan on the way
The consequences of the climate agreement for drivers in Aarhus have not yet been clarified. The city council is to agree on a mobility plan later this spring.
Regarding the significance of the climate agreement for road users, Aarhus Municipality writes that "according to the parties to the agreement, it is necessary to switch from fossil fuels to greener transport in the form of electric cars, public transport, bicycles and walking."
Despite the fact that the mobility agreement has not yet been debated and adopted by the city council, the parties to the agreement have agreed that 319,000 tons of CO2 must be reduced from the transport sector, which covers cars, trucks, buses and air traffic.
It is a happy mayor who left the city council chamber on Monday evening:
- I am satisfied with the climate agreement, which brings Aarhus one step further towards a sustainable future. We are all feeling the global climate crisis with severe weather, floods and droughts. It calls for action. With the agreement, a majority in the city council takes responsibility for creating a successful green transition in Aarhus, where we reduce the climate footprint to zero and at the same time invest in climate-friendly actions, says the mayor.
Left the negotiations
The agreement was concluded by the Social Democrats, the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats, the Social Liberals, the Social Democratic Party, the Green Party, the Red Left, the Unity Party and Thure Hastrup (independent).
The Denmark Democrats' city council member Jacob Søgaard Clausen left the negotiations because "it is unrealistic and ends up being unnecessary and really expensive for the people of Aarhus", he believes.
Jacob Søgaard Clausen believes in particular that the agreement lacks citizen involvement:
- Citizen involvement is a city in Russia. The people of Aarhus will only be involved after the city council has made the fundamental decisions. Strike first and ask questions later is the approach, he says.
Read more about the climate agreement here.
Reductions distributed by area
The climate agreement sets specific targets for CO2 reduction in each of the focus areas, which according to Aarhus Municipality "show the way to climate neutrality". With a total financial framework of 300 million kroner, this many tons of CO2 must be reduced in each area:
- Energy, incl. CO2 capture: 405,000 tons
- Transport: 319,000 tons
- Forestry, agriculture and land use: 79,000 tons
- Landfill and wastewater: 46,000 tons
- Construction, energy, circular resources and partnerships: 40,000 tons
- Food: 24,000 tons
- Climate Group: 138,000 tons
Source: Aarhus Municipality
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