European Green City Index | Copenhagen_Denmark

Copenhagen places joint first, however, in the

green land use policies sub-category, thanks to
the ongoing redevelopment of brownfield sites
and the widespread availability of green spaces
(almost 80% of the residents in the municipality
of Copenhagen live within 300 metres of a park
or recreational area). Although municipal waste
production is comparatively high, the proportion of this going to landfill is small, at around
2.5%. Some 55% of all waste is recycled (although
the proportion for household waste is lower, at
24%), and much of the remainder is incinerated
in plants connected to the district heating system. The City Council has approved a Waste
Management Plan for 2009-12, aimed at further
reducing the production of waste.
Initiative: The vast majority (80%) of new
developments this decade have been built on
brownfield sites, including redevelopment of

the harbour front. A major greenfield development is underway to the south of the city centre,
where the eco-friendly Copenhagen Towers hotel
and office complex is due to open in late 2009.
In 2006 the municipality set a goal of raising
to 90% the share of residents who live within 15
minutes walk of a park, nature area or harbour
pool. To this end, by 2015 the municipality will
establish 14 new small pocket parks, as well as
planting 3,000 trees to create greener streets.
Air quality: Copenhagen is ranked fifth in the
category for air quality, with a broadly similar
score to several other north European cities.
Copenhagen is located near the coast, with flat
terrain and relatively high average wind speeds.
This should provide the basis for favourable air
quality, but traffic-congested streets, combined
with the style of many older buildings, creates

street canyons in which the dispersion of emissions is restricted. As is the case in many European cities, a large number of streets in Copenhagen do not meet EU air-quality standards for
nitrogen dioxide and larger particulate matter.
The vast majority of air pollutants measured in
Copenhagen come from traffic.
Initiative: Specific actions include new speed
and parking controls, cycle plans, the creation of
an Environmental Zone in the city centre.

Copenhagen_Denmark

Environmental governance: Copenhagen is

ranked joint first in the category for environmental governance. Responsibility for environmental management falls to the citys Technical
and Environmental Administration. Recently,
the municipality has taken steps to ensure integrated environmental management across all its
various departments, appointing environmental
co-ordinators for each administrative unit. The
municipal authority takes a lead in promoting
sustainability, benchmarking the municipalitys
own performance on a range of issues from
energy consumption, water use and waste to
the consumption of organic food in public institutions.
Initiative: The city also plays an important role
in educating the public, such as through its free
Climate Check service (which helps Copenhageners to reduce carbon emissions from their
homes). Its 2015 plan envisages educating a
new generation of environmentally aware citizens through projects in schools and the establishment of new science centre in the city.

Photography: Carsten Andersen for Siemens

Photography: Carsten Andersen for Siemens

European Green City Index | Copenhagen_Denmark

Quantitative Indicators: Copenhagen

Average

Copenhagen

Year

Source

5.21

5.38

2007

City of Copenhagen (CO2 emissions); Danish statistical office (population)

356.12

89.64 1

2007

City of Copenhagen (CO2 emissions); Eurostat (GDP)

CO2 reduction target to 2020 (% pa, from yr in which target set)

14.48

75.00 2

2007

City of Copenhagen

Energy consumption per capita (GJ/inhabitant)

80.87

80.63 3

2007

Copenhagen statistical office (energy); Danish statistical office (population)

Energy consumption per unit GDP (MJ/ GDP)

5.25

1.34

2007

Copenhagen statistical office (energy); Eurostat (GDP)

% of renewable energy consumed by the city (%)

7.30

18.76 4

2007

City of Copenhagen

CO2 emissions per capita (tonnes/inhabitant)

CO2 emissions per unit GDP (g/)

Energy consumption of residential buildings (MJ/m2)

908.88

553.54

2007

Copenhagen statistical office (energy); Urban Audit (floor space)

Share of people walking or cycling to work (%)

20.94

51.00

2007

City of Copenhagen

Share of people taking public transport to work (%)

41.56

17.00

2007

City of Copenhagen

Length of cycle lanes (km/km2)

1.15

3.89

2007

European Green City Award Application

Select city data

Length of public transport network (km/km2)

2.33

2.07

2007

Danish statistical office

Population:

504,000

105.43

147.00

2007

City of Copenhagen

GDP per head, PPP:

43,640

5.00

2007

Water utility company

CO2 emissions per head:

2007

City of Copenhagen

Energy consumption per head:

Percentage of renewable energy
consumed by the city:

Annual water consumption per capita (m3/inhabitant)

5.38 tonnes

Water system leakages (%)

22.63

Dwellings connected to the sewage system (%)

95.02

100.00 5

510.93

477.05 6

2007

City of Copenhagen

Share of waste recycled (%)

17.62

23.61

2007

City of Copenhagen

Average daily nitrogen dioxide emissions (ug/m3)

35.18

19.21

2007

EEA airbase

Average daily ozone emissions (ug/m3)

40.38

54.61

2007

EEA airbase

Total percentage of citizens walking,

cycling or taking public transport to work:

Average daily particulate matter (ug/m3)

34.86

23.40

2005

EEA airbase

Annual water consumption per head:

6.96

3.30

2007

EEA airbase

Share of waste recycled:

Municipal waste per capita (kg/inhabitant)

Average daily SO2 emissions (ug/m3)

1) GDP is from 2006. 2) Rebased. Copenhagen envisions becoming CO2 neutral -- according to the city, this corresponds to an approx. reduction of actuall emissions by 56% to 2025; rest made up from quotas. 3) All energy data in total actual, except transport energy.
City trying to produce an estimate, though advise our estimate is probably correct. 4) Based on estimate provided by the city of Copenhagen for renewable energy in electricity and district heating. 5) Advised by city authorities; no data though. 6) This is only household
waste. Municipal waste is not calculated in Copenhagen. Commercial waste includes also industrial waste, so cannot be simply added.

80.63 gigajoules*
18.76 %
68 %
147 m3
23.61 %

he City of Copenhagen is relatively small by

European standards, being home to just over
half a million people. This is around one-tenth of
Denmarks total population. The local economy is
dominated by the services sector. Copenhagen is
the main business and financial centre of the
country and it is also one of western Europes
leading locations for international company
headquarters and distribution centres. Important sectors include life sciences, shipping,
research and development activities and information technology. Manufacturing firms have
relocated out of Copenhagen in recent decades,
with the result that the sector now accounts for a
relatively small share of total output. This has had
a beneficial impact on the citys environment.
Copenhagen achieves the highest ranking in the
European Green City Index, with a score of 87.31
out of 100. The city performed well in all eight
categories in the index and places joint first in the

sub-category for environmental governance.

Successive governments at both the national and
municipal level have shown strong support for
promoting sustainable development a commitment that dates back to the oil crisis of the
1970s, which spurred the development of the
citys district heating system and a nationwide
drive towards renewable energy generation. The
legacy of these political decisions is relatively low
energy consumption and energy intensity today.
In all index categories, Copenhagen ranks in the
top ten, and the municipal authoritys environmental strategy, as set out in the Metropolitan
Milieu (2007) and the climate change plan
(2009), establishes ambitious targets to improve
the citys performance in the coming years. In
December 2009 the city will host the UN Climate
Change Conference in Copenhagen (COP15),
which aims to provide a successor to the Kyoto
protocol on climate change.

* Estimate

European Green City Index | Copenhagen_Denmark

10
8
Environmental governance

Energy
6
4
2

Air Quality

Buildings

Waste and Land Use

Transport

Water

Copenhagen
Best
Average

Carbon-neutral
neighbourhoods

In partnership with energy companies, architects, construction firms and other interested
parties, the municipality has launched two
flagship urban development projects to create
carbon-neutral neighbourhoods, characterised by low-energy buildings, sustainable
energy networks and environmentally friendly
transport. One such development is in the
Amager Faelled district, south of central
Copenhagen, where it is expected that some
300,000 square metres of residential and
commercial buildings will be built. Before a final development plan for the area is adopted
in 2012, the city authorities will conduct an
analysis of the technologies required to ensure that the districts energy supply, buildings, transport and waste management systems can be operated on a carbon-neutral
basis. Another major new urban development
will take place at Nordhavn, a 200-hectare site
situated at the northernmost part of the citys
docks. It is envisaged that a first phase of development will begin in 2011, with a second
phase scheduled for 2018.
City planners are also examining how to reduce CO2 emissions in existing neighbourhoods under development. One notable example is the district of Valby, around 5 km
from the city centre, which has become the
test-bed for a number of solar cell projects.
A partnership between the private and public
sectors, the Valby project aims to supply 15%
of the districts electricity from solar cells by
2025.

CO2 emissions: Copenhagen ranks in fourth

place, thanks to good scores in the CO2 intensity
and CO2 reduction strategy sub-categories. However, the city is ranked 18th in terms of its actual
carbon emissions, reflecting the fact that the
citys primary fuel sources are coal, oil and natural gas. A drive to improve energy efficiency has
contributed to a significant fall in emissions over
the past decade or so: total CO2 emissions have
fallen by about 20% from 1990 to 2005, despite
an increase in population of 7%. The fall in emissions in recent decades is in part due to the
expansion of district heating, as well as the use
of cleaner fuels in combined heat and power (CHP)
stations. On a per head basis, the city now produces some 5.4 tonnes of CO2 emissions, above
the index average of approximately 5.2 tonnes.
Initiative: The 2009 climate change plan includes a target to reduce CO2 emissions by a further 20% by 2015 (from 2005 levels), with 50
specific initiatives for energy production, transport, buildings and consumption. The plan also
sets an ambitious long-term goal for the city to
become carbon neutral by 2025.
Energy: Copenhagen is ranked in second place
in the category for energy. Denmarks energy
policy has sought to reduce the countrys dependence on coal and oil, in favour of natural gas
and renewable energy sources. Coal, for example, accounted for 20% of Denmarks total fuel
consumption in 2008, down from around 40%
in 1990. Renewable energy sources also play an
increasingly important role, accounting for 17%
of total energy consumption in 2008 and 27% of
electricity consumption. In per head terms, Denmark is the worlds largest producer of wind
electricity, with a large share of this produced
off-shore. Two-thirds of heat is sourced from
four large CHP power plants, which are linked
with four waste incinerators (supplying a further
30% of heat).
Initiative: The national governments climate
change strategy aims to raise the share of
renewable energy sources to 30% of total consumption by 2025. The 209 mw Horns Rev 2
wind farm came on stream in 2009, and meets
the electricity needs of around 200,000 Danish
households. Rodsand 2, a 207 mw wind farm, is
expected to come on stream in 2010, with other
wind farms currently at the planning stage.
The municipalitys climate change strategy
foresees a shift in fuel used by the citys Amager
power station, reducing use of coal in favour of
biofuels. Unit 1 of the plant is currently being
renovated and converted to biomass-firing, following the conversion of Unit 2. Biomass consumption by the Amager plant is expected to rise
from 70,000 tonnes per year to 150,000 tonnes
from 2009.

A demonstration geothermal facility came

into operation in 2005 and supplies 1% of the
Copenhagen area with district heating.
Buildings: Copenhagen is ranked fourth in the
buildings category. Danish buildings are among
the most energy-efficient in the world, despite
the ageing housing stock (two-thirds of houses
were built before the second world war and only
7% were built in the last 20 years). Energy consumption in residential buildings, at 554 megajoules per square metre, was the lowest of the
30 cities in the survey. The fact that almost all
buildings in the Danish capital are connected to
the district heating system helps to keep overall
energy consumption low. Buildings are subject
to strict insulation standards, which has spurred
the development of an innovative building materials industry. Regulations require the construction of new buildings and renovation of
existing buildings to meet energy conservation
criteria. Energy labelling is mandatory throughout Denmark when selling and letting all buildings. There are rules to ensure that both existing
and new boilers and heating installations are as
energy efficient as possible.
Initiative: The Copenhagen municipality aims
to achieve 10% of its total CO2 reduction
through construction and renovation projects.
Government subsidies for green renovations are
available on a national level. Copenhagen municipality offers extensive support in terms of
analysing potential to reduce energy consumption and offering information and advice on the
execution and financing of renovations. The
municipality intends to upgrade all municipal
buildings to ensure compliance at the highest
energy standards.
The University of Copenhagen is collaborating with several other partners to build a climate-friendly building of the future, the socalled Green Lighthouse. Architecturally
designed to minimise heat loss and energy use,
the building is expected to consume only 22
kwh per square metre per year by 2020, well
below the standard set by Danish building regulations for a maximum of 30.7 kwh. The building
will be included as an exemplary project for
COP15.
Transport: Copenhagen is ranked third in the
category for transport. Car ownership in Denmark is much lower than in many other European countries, a result of high car taxes that
make the country the most expensive place in
Europe to buy a new car. The city performs well
in terms of the size of the non-car network and
green transport promotion. However, it performs slightly less well on the level of usage of
the non-car transport network. Although the

Photography: left: Siemens/ Medvind, right: Carsten Andersen

for Siemens

CO2

city authorities have adopted a number of measures to reduce car use, traffic congestion
remains a problem in the city, especially during
peak hours. Copenhagen has an extensive public transport system including a Metro, a suburban rail and bus networks with the result
that virtually all residents live within 350 metres
of public transport services. There are around
388 km of cycle routes, the vast majority of
which are physically separated from the road.
Initiative: Measures include improving conditions for cyclists (such as a Green Wave traffic
light system that means that cyclists should
never encounter a red light); the construction of
a new metro service between 2002 and 2007;
new parking controls (with higher prices aimed
at deterring commuter traffic and free parking
for car sharers); and the creation in September
2008 of an Environmental Zone that excludes
heavy vehicles without particle filters from central Copenhagen.
Copenhagen has set itself the objective of
becoming the Worlds Best Cycle City and aims
to raise the share of the capitals inhabitants
who regularly use a bicycle to go to their place of
work or education from the current 36% to 50%
by 2015. The City Council will continue to
reduce road capacity by only allowing pedestrians, cyclists and buses to use shopping streets
and some main arteries into the city.
The citys Metro system will undergo a major
expansion with the construction of the City
Ring, a circle line with 16 new stations.
Copenhagen aims to introduce a system of
congestion charging. The city has also installed
1,500 solar-powered pay-and-display parking
ticket machines, as part of a wider plan aimed at
reducing car traffic and inner-city congestion.

score is dragged down by high levels of water

consumption which, at 147 cubic metres per
inhabitant per year, was almost three times
higher than the category leaders. However,
Copenhagen claimed the top slot for water system leakages, wastewater treatment and water
efficiency. All drinking water is produced entirely from ground water, collected mainly in areas
outside the municipality. Water metering has
been mandatory since 1999 for all properties
connected to the general water supply (although only one meter is necessary in residences with multiple apartments). Water consumption has fallen considerably in recent
decades, thanks to greater use of water-saving
equipment, campaigns to deter excessive consumption, efforts to increase the use of reclaimed water and higher water prices. Water
losses as a result of leakages from Copenhagens
mains network, at around 5%, are far below the
30-city average of 23%.
Initiative: The municipality has a target to
reduce household consumption from 114 litres
per person per day in 2007 to 100 litres per person in 2012. The City Council spends around
Dkr2 million (about 269,000) each year on
water-saving initiatives, including subsidies for
the installation of water metres in individual flats
in apartment blocks and water-saving toilets.
In 2001 it was decided that the entire mains
network would need to be replaced over the current century, implying renovation of 1% (or 9
km) of the network each year.
The municipality aims to increase the use of
reclaimed water to 2% of total consumption by
2011 and to 4% by 2017, with financing available to support the construction of reclaimed
water plants.

Water: Ranked in joint fifth place in the category for water along with Zurich, Copenhagens

Waste and land use: Copenhagen ranks seventh in the category for waste and land use.

Copenhagen
a Better Place to live

In May 2009 the City of Copenhagen signed

an agreement with a US-based firm, Better
Place, jointly to develop a plan to accelerate
the roll-out of electric vehicles (EV), including
the necessary charging infrastructure. Initially the partnership will focus on ensuring an
EV pilot project is ready for demonstration at
the COP15 conference in Copenhagen in December 2009. The city authorities therefore
agreed to speed up the permit process so
that private operators can install a large number of charging points throughout the city.
The agreement also promises to develop a
model for the future deployment of infrastructure across the municipality, including
mapping the network of charging points and
battery switch stations and new rapid approvals procedures. In partnership with
DONG Energy, the Danish state-owned energy company, Better Place aims to roll out a
network of 20,000 charging stations for electric cars by 2011. The stations, which will be
built in car parks and outside houses, will be
powered by DONGs wind turbine network.
This will provide a new means of storing renewable electricity it is assumed that
most owners of electric-powered cars would
recharge their vehicles during night-time
hours, when demand for electricity is low.
Also involved in the project is Renault-Nissan
(France/Japan), which will supply the vehicles
and the lithium-ion batteries necessary to
power them.