Denmark cracked ‘secret code’ in water-energy nexus, official claims

By Frédéric Simon | EurActiv.com

31-01-2017

Thanks to determined policies, Denmark has succeeded in breaking the seemingly inextricable linkage between water and energy use. But replicating the Danish model at European level won’t be easy, policymakers warn.

A wastewater treatment plant.

[Shutterstock]

When it comes to environmental performance, Scandinavian countries are usually world leaders. And the so-called water-energy nexus is no exception.

“The Danish story on water is actually a fairy tale,” said Katrine Rafn, director for water resources at the Danish environment ministry. Over the last 30 years, she said Denmark has “succeeded in cracking the code” when it comes to combining economic growth with energy-efficient water management.

“The secret code is a spicy mix of policy development, intelligent regulation and technological innovation” involving cooperation between public authorities, private sector and water utilities, she told policymakers at a EurActiv event last December.

“Dealing with the energy efficiency of water management is about dealing with the entire water cycle,” Rafn explained. “It’s about water consumption, extraction and distribution, it’s about wastewater transport and treatment – it’s about everything.”

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