Sander: Massive Public Commitment to Green Research

– Denmark is to be an international centre for green research and innovation. Both the public and private sectors should therefore prioritise the green aspects of research and innovation, says Science Minister Helge Sander.

Today, on Friday 16 October, Helge Sander is publishing the report "Green Research – Status and Perspectives", which identifies a number of key green research areas and makes suggestions for future research and innovation efforts.

The Government's prioritisation of green research and innovation is reflected in the Government's proposal for negotiations on globalisation funds, announcing new grants for more than DKK 700 million over the next three years for green strategic research.

– To this should be added the green effort already launched for 2010 with more than DKK 1 billion for energy technology, together with the Government's recently announced business climate strategy for about DKK 0.5 billion.

The Government's proposal to spend more than DKK 700 million extra over three years for green strategic research from the globalisation pool includes about DKK 200 million for Green Lab, which is a test centre for climate technologies.

– The Government proposes a massive public commitment, and I anticipate that this may be matched by a similar prioritisation among private enterprises and foundations. Fortunately, there seems to be agreement about the Government's policy to make Denmark a green growth nation, says Helge Sander.

– Our starting point is a solid one. We have clear green core strengths both within research and innovation, and in terms of low energy consumption Denmark ranks as number two in Europe relative to our gross domestic product.

– So it is a realistic goal to strengthen Denmark as an international centre for green research and innovation, says Helge Sander.

The business sector to join in

The Science Ministry's proposal is focusing on five areas. Besides new investments in green research and innovation, it is intended to strengthen cohesion and coordination in the effort and to ensure international commitment. At the same time, public-private interaction should be intensified through more green consortia, consisting of companies, universities, technological service institutes and networks.

– We need to strengthen public-private collaboration, also in the green sector. I have therefore taken the initiative for a dialogue, initially with the Danish Council for Strategic Research and the Danish Council for Technology and Innovation, to ensure better coordination between green research and innovation.

– There is a strongly increasing demand for green products, technologies and services. This will enable Denmark to promote growth and welfare while at the same time protecting our nature and environment, says Helge Sander.

For further comments by Science Minister Helge Sander, please contact the Ministry's press officer, Charlotte Holst, tel.: +45 22 11 02 00, chhh@vtu.dk.

For further information about the report, please contact Anders Hoff, Head of Section, Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation, tel.: +45 33 95 52 52, anho@fi.dk.

The report "Green Research– Status and Perspectives" (in Danish – "Grøn forskning – Status og perspektiver") can be downloaded from www.fivu.dk