Denmark's Responsibility Towards The Environment

Denmark Kingdom of Denmark [Country Profile Page]
Status	Independent State
Social and Moral Index	The Best (#1)
Capital	Copenhagen
Land Area	42 430km21
Location	Europe, Scandinavia
Population	5.8m2
Life Expectancy	81.38yrs (2017)3
GNI	$60 365 (2017)4
ISO3166-1 Codes	DK, DNK, 2085
Internet Domain	.dk6
Currency	Krone (DKK)7
Telephone	+458

Denmark comes 11th-best in the world with regard to its responsibility towards the environment (one of the lowest in Europe). This rank is calculated from 21 data sets. Denmark comes in the best 20 in its environmental performance₉ (one of the best in Europe), its score on the Green Future Index₁₀ and in its sign-up rate to major international accords on protecting the environment. It does better than average in its forested percent change 2000-2020₁₁ and in energy to GDP efficiency₁₂ (one of the best in Europe). Danes are obsessed with careful and accurate recycling, managing an overall 90% recycling rate₁₃. Denmark doesn't do so well in other areas. Denmark does worse than average in terms of reducing annual meat consumption per person₁₄. And finally, it falls into the worst 20 for the rate of rational beliefs on the environment in the population₁₅ (one of the worst in Europe).

A travel blogger who asked a Dane about central heating received an enthusiastic response from her:

“"Danes are well known for their central heating, actually," she tells us. "We have very good doors and windows" - she points to an example of each in case we haven´t quite got it - "for thermal insulation. In England, I think, you have drafts," she sounds disgusted at the very idea. "Danes would not tolerate this." She goes on to explain that an elaborate district heating system uses heat from burning waste, wind power and central solar heating to warm the pine floorboards of almost every house in the area.”

"The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World's Happiest Country"
Helen Russell (2015)₁₆

1. Denmark's Responsibility Towards The Environment
2. Data Sets
   1. Forest Area Change 2000-2020
   2. Environmental Performance
   3. Energy to GDP Efficiency
   4. International Accords on the Environment
   5. Rational Beliefs on the Environment
   6. Meat Consumption
   7. Green Future Index
3. Links

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1. Denmark's Responsibility Towards The Environment

#climate_change #the_environment

Compared to Europe (2025)17
Pos.		Lower is better Avg Rank17
1	Switzerland	45.0
2	Denmark	50.4
3	Liechtenstein	56.8
4	Portugal	58.0
5	Germany	58.2
6	Spain	59.5
7	Austria	59.6
8	Greece	61.4
9	Italy	63.1
10	Ireland	63.1
11	Cyprus	64.8
12	Hungary	65.8
13	Norway	66.9
	Europe Avg	86.45
q=48.

Responsibility Towards The Environment (2025)17
Pos.		Lower is better Avg Rank17
1	Sri Lanka	34.9
2	Uruguay	43.2
3	Switzerland	45.0
	...
8	India	49.5
9	Philippines	49.6
10	Costa Rica	49.7
11	Denmark	50.4
12	Mali	51.0
13	Madagascar	52.4
14	Nigeria	55.8
15	Rwanda	56.4
	World Avg	84.93
q=199.

We have known for a long term that we must protect the environment from habitation destruction, over-exploitation, pollution, and the emissions that cause climate change. In 1998, Greenpeace wrote that "Environment can no longer be meaningfully separated from health, quality of life, democracy, education, economy or trade"₁₈. What countries have been doing the right thing, via legislation and national culture? All countries' current and historical approach towards the environment is gauged via 21 datasets, including multiple decades of data on its forested percent change 2000-2020, its environmental performance, energy to GDP efficiency, its sign-up rate to major international accords on protecting the environment, the rate of rational beliefs on the environment in the population, reducing annual meat consumption per person and its score on the Green Future Index.

The countries that do the best (Sri Lanka, Uruguay and Switzerland) tend to have avoided the excesses of early industrial countries, and have not yet repeated the same mistakes of environmental destruction - at least, not on the same scale. The regions with the best average results per country are Central America, South America and Scandinavia. The worst are Eritrea, The Vatican City and Timor-Leste (E. Timor), and the worst regions Micronesia, Australasia and Melanesia.

For more, see:

• " Countries With the Best Environmental Records" by Vexen Crabtree (2025).

2. Data Sets

2.1. Forest Area Change 2000-2020

#biodiversity #deforestation #environmentalism #forests #over-exploitation #the_environment

Averages by decade for Denmark (for the ranks, lower is better):

Forest Area Change 2000-2020	2000s  Average	2010s  Average
Denmark:	2.6%	7.2%
World Rank:	51st	⇡  16th
World Avg:	0.6%	-0.7%

2.2. Environmental Performance

#climate_change #energy #sustainability #the_environment

Environmental Performance Higher is better9
Pos.		20189
1	Switzerland	87.4
2	France	84.0
3	Denmark	81.6
4	Malta	80.9
5	Sweden	80.5
6	UK	79.9
7	Luxembourg	79.1
8	Austria	79.0
9	Ireland	78.8
10	Finland	78.6
11	Iceland	78.6
12	Spain	78.4
	Europe Avg	69.6
	World Avg	56.4
q=180.

When it comes to its environmental performance, Denmark comes 3rd-best in the world.

The Environmental Performance Index 2018 data includes 24 indicators including air pollution, water and sanitation, biodiversity, ecosystems and environmental health, combined into a single score by country, by the Yale University Center for Environmental Law & Policy.

2.3. Energy to GDP Efficiency

#energy #sustainability #the_environment

Energy to GDP Efficiency Lower is better12
Pos.		2022 Avg12
1	Rwanda	0.25
2	Chad	0.26
3	Tanzania	0.31
	...
30	Ireland	0.62
31	Dominican Rep.	0.63
32	Haiti	0.63
33	Denmark	0.65
34	Botswana	0.67
35	Hong Kong	0.67
36	Puerto Rico	0.68
37	Angola	0.70
	Europe Avg	1.25
	World Avg	1.23
q=165.

Regarding energy to GDP efficiency, Denmark comes 33rd in the world (one of the lowest in Europe).

GDP per unit of energy consumption is often called 'Energy Intensity'. It's how efficient countries are at producing GDP in terms of primary energy use. It represents primary energy consumption using the substitution method, per unit of gross domestic product (GDP). A lower value means that less energy was used to maintain the country's GDP.

Averages by decade for Denmark (for the ranks, lower is better):

Energy to GDP Efficiency	1960s  Average	1970s  Average	1980s  Average	1990s  Average	2000s  Average	2010s  Average
Denmark:	2.17	2.07	1.53	1.41	1.06	0.81
World Rank:	41st	⇡  37th	⇣  80th	80th	⇡  61st	⇡  45th
World Avg:	2.05	2.13	2.10	2.15	1.60	1.30

2.4. International Accords on the Environment

#environmentalism #internationalism

International Accords on the Environment Higher is better
Pos.		Total Avg Rate
1	Sweden	83%
2	Canada	82%
3	Norway	81%
	...
15	Uruguay	74%
16	Macedonia	74%
17	Panama	74%
18	Denmark	73%
19	Ecuador	72%
20	Armenia	72%
21	Montenegro	72%
22	Peru	72%
	Europe Avg	62.7%
	World Avg	57.5%
q=197.

In terms of its sign-up rate to major international accords on protecting the environment, Denmark is positioned 18th-best in the world.

Each country is scored using a formula that takes the date each country took up major international environmental agreements, as a ratio of maximum possible days. The agreements covered are: (1) the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal, (2) the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for certain hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides, (3) the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, (4) the Waigani Convention (for those countries that are eligible), (5) the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), (6) the Kyoto Protocol and (7) its successor, the Paris Agreement, (8) the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), (9) the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer and finally, (10) the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer.

For more, see:

• " Countries With the Best Environmental Records" by Vexen Crabtree (2025).

Denmark was amongst the first batch of countries who signed the Montreal Protocol on protecting the Ozone layer in 1988 whilst most others delayed until subsequent years.

“Denmark is legally bound to reach climate neutrality by 2050 (see trajectory in Figure 1) and deliver a 70% greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction by 2030 compared with 1990. Denmark accounts for 1.4% of the EU's net GHG emissions, and achieved a net emissions reduction of 44.7% from 2005 to 2023, greater than the 30.5% EU average reduction over the same period. Emissions from sectors under the EU emissions trading system (ETS) were more than halved (-66%). Denmark's land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF) sector has historically been an emissions source, but in 2022 and 2023 it delivered a small sink function. For the effort-sharing sectors, Denmark over-achieved on its targets for 2020, but will need additional measures to reach the updated 2030 obligations.”

EU 2023 Climate Action Strategy₃₇

Averages by decade for Denmark (for the ranks, lower is better):

International Accords on the Environment	1970s  Average	1980s  Average	1990s  Average	2000s  Average	2010s  Average
Denmark:	22%	65%	67%	88%	98%
World Rank:	34th	⇡  15th	⇣  27th	⇣  31st	⇣  48th
World Avg:	8.5%	23.3%	45.0%	74.4%	90.7%

2.5. Rational Beliefs on the Environment

Rational Beliefs on the Environment Higher is better15
Pos.		2011 %15
1	Argentina	78.3%
2	Greece	77.6%
3	Brazil	77.1%
	...
135	Czechia	16.0%
136	Estonia	15.9%
137	China	15.1%
138	Denmark	14.9%
139	Libya	14.6%
140	Iceland	13.1%
141	Uzbekistan	11.3%
142	Tajikistan	11.1%
	Europe Avg	33.6%
	World Avg	39.9%
q=145.

One of the lowest in Europe Denmark comes 8th-worst in the world regarding the rate of rational beliefs on the environment in the population. In a 2023 survey, 74% of Danes identified climate change as one of the four most serious problems facing the world₃₇. "Most expect national government (77%) and/or the EU (75%) to tackle climate change, while 54% find it to be a personal responsibility"₃₇.

2.6. Meat Consumption

#animal_rights #animal_welfare #diet #food #health #meat #veganism #vegetarianism

Meat Consumption Lower is better14
Pos.		2021 kg14
1	Congo, DR	03.0
2	Burundi	03.5
3	Bangladesh	04.3
	...
122	Malta	67.8
123	Switzerland	68.0
124	Micronesia	70.4
125	Denmark	70.5
126	Seychelles	70.6
127	S. Africa	71.6
128	Kazakhstan	71.8
129	Estonia	72.1
	Europe Avg	71.1
	World Avg	52.5
q=185.

With respect to reducing annual meat consumption per person, Denmark is positioned 125th in the world.

There are five key arguments in favour of vegetarianism which accrue even from partial adoption: (1) Vegetarian diets have notable health advantages over carnivorous diets, especially for heart and cardiovascular issues_29,30,31. (2) It is morally better to avoid killing or harming animals. (3) Plant-based diets use much less water than carnivorous ones, to the extent that agricultural and water management scientists urge governments to encourage people to switch₃₂. (4) Vegetarian food production uses substantially less land_29,33,34. And, (5) vegetarianism is better for the environment than meat-production for emissions, sewerage, pollution and chemicals usage._29,33. A plant-based diet causes 75% less greenhouse gas emissions than a typical carnivorous diet₃₄. The global food industry causes about 1/3 of all planet-heating emissions, and so "to slow the worst climate effects, the United Nations has called for a drastic reduction in meat consumption"₃₄. Despite this, "reducing appetites for carbon-intensive meat and dairy is incredibly hard"₃₅ and as countries get richer, they tend to eat more meat.

In the 2010s, meat consumption per person in Denmark was well above the global average (of 49kgs per year), putting unnecessary strain on water supplies and the environment.₁₄

On average throughout the 2010s, Denmark's rate was 75.1.

2.7. Green Future Index

#climate_change #energy #sustainability #the_environment

Green Future Index Higher is better10
Pos.		2023 Score10
1	Iceland	6.7
2	Finland	6.7
3	Norway	6.4
4=	Sweden	6.3
4=	Denmark	6.3
6	Netherlands	6.2
7	UK	6.1
8	S. Korea	6.0
9	France	6.0
10=	Spain	5.9
10=	Germany	5.9
12	Belgium	5.8
	Europe Avg	5.6
	World Avg	4.8
q=76.

Denmark is 4th-best in the world in terms of its score on the Green Future Index.

The Green Futures Index (GFI) has been running since 2021, and looks at 23 data sets for over 70 countries, with a focus on effectiveness, policy and planning 'for a low carbon future. It is complementary to existing goals and frameworks for sustainable development'. Datasets include qualitative appraisals and quantitative measurements on carbon emissions across multiple sectors, renewable and nuclear energy, recycling capabilities, green technologies used in building and construction, transport, scientific and industrial green innovations and patent quantities, climate action and climate policies. Each country is then ranked by their final score.₃₆.

Denmark has "one of the most aggressive decarbonization policy positions in the world"₃₆. Its key advantage was that it started early: in 1998, Greenpeace - one of the most critical commentators - commended Denmark for its wind energy, "an industrial success story... Denmark is already a world leader, exporting wind power to some 50 countries"₃₈. They predicted Denmark would be producing 50% of its electricity via wind energy by 2030 - as of 2025, it has had several windy months where output was over 100%.