Today, Denmark ranks amongst the top 15 countries both by GDP per capita and by income equality. Since the 1970s, Copenhagen has overcome multiple financial crises, and is now one of the most attractive and liveable cities in the world, but also one of the most expensive. While it has relatively low socio-economic inequalities, not all citizens have equally benefited from its approaches, including the controversial parallel societies agreement and the development model pioneered by By & Havn (City & Harbour), the publicly owned, for-profit port authority.
Over the past two decades, Copenhagen has positioned itself as a global leader in the transition to greener, healthier cities. It is aiming to become a climate-neutral city by 2035 through a comprehensive climate plan that aims to simultaneously enhance climate resilience and liveability.
Copenhagen has reduced its carbon emissions by 42% since 2005, but remains among the top 400 cities by emissions per capita. Greener buildings are often more expensive and have led to green gentrification, and investigations by the Municipality have uncovered widespread violations of construction workers’ rights. Businesses like Home.Earth and philanthropic associations like RealDania are trying to align social and environmental outcomes through affordable green homes and retrofit-first approaches, and the Municipality is empowering children to drive its biodiversity strategy, but these seeds of a just transition need to spread across the city to ensure the benefits of the climate transition are experienced equitably by all citizens.
For more information, read the Copenhagen City Summary Report
Opportunities for the green transition
Home.Earth is a Danish evergreen real estate company that builds low-carbon homes. Its governance model includes tenants as shareholders, giving them a return on investment that effectively means their rents are approximately 20% below the market rate.
The Human Rights Due Diligence Guide for the Danish Construction Sector, grounded in the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the EU’s Environmental Taxonomy, and Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, helps construction companies uphold human rights in their supply chains, from material extraction through the construction site to the people living in the newly-constructed buildings.
The Municipality partnered with schools to encourage children to express what they would like to see more of with regards to biodiversity, with the ideas compiled in a report titled Children’s and Young People’s Recommendations for The Biodiversity Strategy 2050.
Risks from the green transition
Data from the Danish construction unions indicates that 15-20% of construction assignments contain some abuse of workers’ rights. Breaches are particularly common in construction projects with opaque supply chains and in smaller jobs. With the Danish construction sector’s urgent need to shift focus from large new builds to smaller retrofit jobs, there is a risk that the green transition may therefore exacerbate workers’ rights violations.
Green investments in areas like Vesterbro, Christianshavn and Nørrebro have developed and supported cafes and restaurants, but they have also increased prices (land and cost of living). The result has been limiting access to public spaces, fostering a sense of exclusion, and displacing people who can no longer afford the cost of living in these areas, a process known as green gentrification.
City Future Vision: Copenhagen
Re-balanced, social-value focused, inclusive and affordable
The long-standing gap between city centre and suburbs has been addressed by rebalancing resources and power. Government regulations, such as the national implementation of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) raise social indicators in line with environmental ones. This results in private investment shifting from extractive to redistributive business models. Governments, businesses, and civil society recognise their collective responsibility in providing affordable housing and fostering inclusivity within the city. Joint initiatives optimise space usage, repurpose existing buildings, and promote shared living arrangements to ensure accessibility for all residents, not just a select few.