The secrets of Denmark to be a world leader in the environment, organic food and energy – 03/18/2019

Copenhagen. Correspondent.

This is the first time that the Danish Minister of the Environment and Agriculture, Jakob Ellemann-Jensen, 45, is traveling to Argentina. He arrived in the official delegation with Queen Margaret II of Denmark, with Prince Frederick (heir to the throne), Chancellor Anders Samuelsen and 31 businessmen investing in the country.

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In an interview with Clarin In Copenhagen, before leaving for Buenos Aires, while the hottest day of the winter had been recorded for a long time, the official said that this trip was "a good way to appreciate the values, reinforce the common values ​​that our countries have and to see that two countries on both sides of the world are, in fact, among those who believe in international cooperation. "

Denmark has had a Ministry of the Environment since 1971, when in a large part of the world there was still no real awareness of a problem that is globalizing now and worrying everyone.

Ellemann-Jensen, who manages an annual budget of $ 2,000 million, says that there are some similarities with Argentina despite the differences. "We are a very small country, probably in just three hours, we have a little over five million inhabitants.We are by no means as big as Argentina." However, we have certain characteristics in common, "he said.

The minister added: "In my agenda, of course, it has to do with agriculture and food. We are generally very proud to say that we produce about three times more food than the needs of our population. And yes, I know you produce ten times more. "

Ellemann-Jensen, parliamentarian and several officials of Prime Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, belonging to the Venstre party, warned that "the food industry" was one of the main interests of his leadership.

"I had the privilege of eating Argentine meat from time to time in various specialty restaurants in Copenhagen, we are very happy, so In addition to being farmers, we have other opportunities of the same type, other equal challenges. and I hope this state visit will strengthen the links we share. We also have many cultural ties, "he said.

According to Ellemann-Jensen, "integrating the environment with production in this department has not been easy", even though he feels it necessary to combine them. "In our case, we know that agriculture, production, exercises an impact on the environment. We are trying to take action to limit the pollution of oceans, rivers and streams and others; not just try, we do it, "he says.

Denmark is defined as an agricultural country. Its area is 43,000 km 2 (Argentina has more than 7,200,000 km 2). It has a population of 5.8 million, nearly seven times less than Argentina.

"Most of our lands are covered with fields, and we must be aware of them, our production must be sustainable but we can not compare ourselves to other European countries where land devoted to agriculture is much smaller, "said Ellemann-Jensen.

Energy is another area in which, according to the minister, trade between Denmark and Argentina could be more important. For example, hot water from this European country comes directly from the grid, the gas is not used. It's a windy country where 44.4% of the electricity demand is covered by the wind. And 60% have district heating at home.

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"When we started with wind energy, it was not very efficient, it was mostly for demonstration because it was so expensive to bademble wind turbines and produce wind energy that economic perspective did not make much sense, "recalled the manager. .

"But when you are a small country and you depend a lot on the world around you and your natural resources are limited, it is necessary to find other solutions. Wind energy was one of the solutions for which we started looking very hard. That was 45 years ago, and since then a number of things have happened and we can now produce wind energy in a way that makes sense to both the environment and the environment. economy, "he explains.

Denmark uses wastewater treatment facilities, usually provided by grid electricity providers. Instead of spending energy on wastewater treatment, these suppliers produce energy. Moreover, it is a country where inflation (1.2% per annum), unemployment (4%) and corruption are not a problem.

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In the case of organic food, for which Denmark started working in 1990, Ellemann-Jensen admits that the consumer should be educated. "And I think it took many years to create this awareness because it does not rain in the sky and suddenly, we say to ourselves:" Maybe the organic food is better. "

25% of Danish exports are food products. That's why they focus on sustainability and continue to work to improve quality. This leads him to be a leading country in the world in these areas.

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Minister Ellemann-Jensen will attend Tuesday at 9.30 am at the Kirchner Cultural Center (CCK) at a business conference as part of the Danish Economic Mission chaired by Queen Margaret.

At the meeting, according to the Danish ambbadador to Argentina, Søren Vøhtz, memorandums of understanding will be signed and the leaders of large companies will be exposed.

It will host the Queen, the Crown Prince, Chancellor Samuelsen and his Argentinian finance and production counterparts, Nicolas Dujovne and Dante Sica, respectively.

Translation: Román García Azcárate.