Denmark is currently the biggest oil producer in the European Union. That’s why it’s a big deal that the Danish government voted last week to bring an immediate end to all new oil and gas exploration in the Danish North Sea. The move is part of a plan to phase out fossil fuel extraction by 2050.
Helene Hagel, the spokesperson for Greenpeace Denmark, described the vote as “a watershed moment” that will allow the country to “assert itself as a green frontrunner and inspire other countries to end our dependence on climate-wrecking fossil fuels”.
With the vote, Denmark became the second European nation to call an end to new oil and gas exploration after France announced it would do so in 2017. That said, Denmark is a far bigger oil producer, which is why their decision is so significant.
“We’re the European Union’s biggest oil producer and this decision will therefore resonate around the world,” said Dan Jørgensen, Denmark’s climate minister. “We are now putting a final end to the fossil era.”
