Allocation/ pre-financing amount: 201 million euros
Plan length: 342 pages
Submission date: 30 April 2021
Format of the plan
7 main components supporting three main objectives with 33 investments and 6 reforms.
- Strengthening the resilience of the healthcare system
- Green transition of agriculture and environment
- Energy Efficiency, Green Heating, and Carbon Capture and Storage
- Green tax reform
- Sustainable road transport
- Digitalisation
- Investing in Green Research and Development
Summary of the plan
Denmark’s greenhouse gas emission reduction target of 70% in 2030 is one of the most ambitious in the world. This is the key cornerstone of the Danish plan whereas 59% of the plan’s funding will support climate objectives. This is significantly above the EU’s benchmark that at least 37 per cent of the funding should contribute to the green transition. The foundation for the Danish Recovery Plan is to stimulate the economy to support and accelerate investments towards a green transition which is necessary to reach its 2030 reduction target. The transformative effect of Denmark’s plan is the outcome of a balanced mix of reforms and investments which will support Denmark’s targets and objectives. Notably, reforms will facilitate the green shift in the economy, while most investments are geared toward enhancing energy efficiency, reducing CO2 emissions, and facilitating digital transformation. Specifically, Denmark’s Recovery and Resilience Plan consists of 39 measures divided into seven components, which can be linked with three principal objectives: (i) accelerating the green transition, including supporting green tax reform, investments in energy efficiency in buildings, sustainable road transport, a climate action plan for agriculture, and green research and development; (ii) supporting digitalisation, including a new digital strategy, SME digitalisation support and extending rural broadband coverage; and (iii) increasing the resilience of the healthcare system, including digitalisation of healthcare, infrastructure and logistics support for critical medical products, and support for COVID-related research.
Youth Dimension
Denmark’s plan does present reforms and policies targeted to improve the welfare of youth and the next generation. Only the digitalisation element contributes partially to policies that benefit the next generation, as it seeks to advance welfare and equality, growth, and employment. For instance, Denmark’s digital strategy intends to support accessible and interoperable digital public services, supporting digital skills and training. It is simplest to explain this by the fact that Denmark has generally high rankings on indicators assessing the fairness of society and economy, and performs well on Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 1 (no poverty), SDG 5 (gender equality), and SDG 10 (reducing inequalities). Moreover, its results on quality education (SDG4) are also high, as young people in Denmark benefit from a well-performing education system and educational outcomes are generally above the EU average. However, the educational outcomes of pupils with a migrant background remain a challenge. Additionally, the unemployment rate among Danish young adults under 25 increased slightly from 10% in 2019 to 11.2% in November 2021. Consequently, Denmark could consider enacting policies to improve youth employment and quality education, while ensuring that these policies will be both fair and inclusive, to achieve a green and just transition.
