COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT The EU Environmental Implementation Review Country Report - DENMARK Accompanying the document Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions The EU Environmental Implementation Review: Common Challenges and how to combine efforts to deliver better results
Date: 2017-02-03
Institutions: Directorate-General for Environment, European Commission
Subjects: Denmark, EU environmental policy, EU initiative, application of EU law, environmental law, environmental protection, pollution control measures

EN 

   EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 3.2.2017  SWD(2017) 39 final   COMMISSION STAFF WORKING DOCUMENT The EU Environmental Implementation Review Country Report - DENMARK   Accompanying the document Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions The EU Environmental Implementation Review: Common Challenges and how to combine efforts to deliver better results   {COM(2017) 63 final} {SWD(2017) 33 - 38 final} {SWD(2017) 40 - 60 final}  
 
 
Denmark  2 

This  report  has  been  written  by  the  staff  of  the  Directorate-General  for  Environment,  European 
Commission. Any comments are welcome to the following e-mail address: ENV-EIR@ec.europa.eu  

More information on the European Union is available on the internet (http://europa.eu). 

Photographs: p.11 – ©DonKurto/iStock, p.18 – ©LIFE11 ENV/DK/000889/Thomas Arnbo/Sjællandske 
Medier, p.19 – ©Mie Ahmt/iStock, p.23 – ©Casper Wilkens/iStock 

For reproduction or use of these photos, permission must be sought directly from the copyright holder. 

©European Union, 2017 

Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged. 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Denmark  3 

Table of Content 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .................................................................................................................................... 4 

PART I: THEMATIC AREAS ............................................................................................................................... 5 

1. 

TURNING  THE  EU  INTO  A  CIRCULAR,  RESOURCE-EFFICIENT,  GREEN  AND  COMPETITIVE  LOW-
CARBON ECONOMY ............................................................................................................................... 5 

Developing a circular economy and improving resource efficiency ..................................................... 5 
Waste management .............................................................................................................................. 7 

2. 

PROTECTING, CONSERVING AND ENHANCING NATURAL CAPITAL ....................................................... 9 

Nature and Biodiversity ......................................................................................................................... 9 
Estimating Natural Capital................................................................................................................... 11 
Green Infrastructure ........................................................................................................................... 11 
Soil protection ..................................................................................................................................... 12 
Marine protection ............................................................................................................................... 12 

3. 

ENSURING CITIZENS' HEALTH AND QUALITY OF LIFE .......................................................................... 15 

Air quality ............................................................................................................................................ 15 
 ................................................................................................................................................. 16 
Noise 
Water quality and management ......................................................................................................... 16 
Enhancing the sustainability of cities .................................................................................................. 18 
International agreements ................................................................................................................... 19 

PART II: ENABLING FRAMEWORK: IMPLEMENTATION TOOLS ..................................................................... 20 

4.  MARKET BASED INSTRUMENTS AND INVESTMENT ............................................................................ 20 

Green taxation and environmentally harmful subsidies ..................................................................... 20 
Green Public Procurement .................................................................................................................. 21 
Investments: the contribution of EU funds ......................................................................................... 21 

5. 

EFFECTIVE GOVERNANCE AND KNOWLEDGE ...................................................................................... 23 

Effective governance within central, regional and local government ................................................. 23 
Compliance assurance ......................................................................................................................... 24 
Public participation and access to justice ........................................................................................... 26 
Access to information, knowledge and evidence ................................................................................ 26 

Environmental Implementation Report – Denmark 

 
 
 
 
Executive summary 

Denmark  4 

About the Environmental Implementation Review 

launched 

reports  describing 

the 
the  Commission 
In  May  2016, 
Environmental  Implementation  Review  (EIR),  a  two-year 
cycle  of  analysis,  dialogue  and  collaboration  to  improve 
the  implementation  of  existing  EU  environmental  policy 
and  legislation1.  As  a  first  step,  the  Commission  drafted 
28 
the  main  challenges  and 
opportunities on environmental implementation for each 
Member  State.  These  reports  are  meant  to  stimulate  a 
positive debate both on shared environmental challenges 
for  the  EU,  as  well  as  on  the  most  effective  ways  to 
address the key implementation gaps. The reports rely on 
the detailed sectoral implementation reports collected or 
issued  by  the  Commission  under  specific  environmental 
legislation  as  well  as  the  2015  State  of  the  Environment 
Report  and  other  reports  by  the  European  Environment 
Agency.  These  reports  will  not  replace  the  specific 
instruments  to  ensure  compliance  with  the  EU  legal 
obligations.  

agricultural farmland, 16% is forest or heath, 7% is lakes, 
rivers  and  wetland  areas,  and  11%  is  covered  by  roads 
and built-up areas.  

Over  the  recent  years  environmental  status  in  some 
areas  has  improved.  However,  these  improvements  are 
not  sufficient  to  meet  the  objectives  for  water  bodies, 
biodiversity  is  under  pressure,  a  great  part  of  Danish 
nature is still in an unfavourable condition, and resource 
consumption is among the highest in the world5. 

Main Challenges 

The two main challenges with regard to implementation 
of EU environmental policy and law in Denmark are: 

  Reduce  pressures  on  nature 

intensive 
including  the  use  of  pesticides  and 

agriculture, 
nutrients. 
Improve air quality, especially in densely populated 
areas. 

from 

 

The  reports  will  broadly  follow  the  outline  of  the  7th 
Environmental Action Programme2 and refer to the 2030 
related 
for  Sustainable  development  and 
Agenda 
Sustainable Development  Goals  (SDGs)3  to  the  extent  to 
which  they  reflect  the  existing  obligations  and  policy 
objectives of EU environmental law4.  

The  main  challenges  have  been  selected  by  taking  into 
account factors such as the importance or the gravity of 
the  environmental  implementation  issue  in  the  light  of 
the  impact  on  the  quality  of  life  of  the  citizens,  the 
distance to target, and financial implications. 

The  reports  accompany  the  Communication  "The  EU 
Environmental  Implementation  Review  2016:  Common 
challenges  and  how  to  combine  efforts  to  deliver  better 
results", which identifies challenges that are common to 
several Member States, provides preliminary conclusions 
on  possible  root  causes  of  implementation  gaps  and 
proposes  joint  actions  to  deliver  better  results.  It  also 
groups in its Annex the actions proposed in each country 
report to improve implementation at national level. 

General profile 

Main Opportunities 

Denmark could perform better on topics where there is 
already  a  good  knowledge  base  and  good  practices. 
This applies in particular to: 

to  make 

  Reinforce  policies  to  promote  waste  prevention 
recycling  more 
reuse  and 
and 
economically attractive, especially by shifting away 
from incineration, in order to further improve the 
resource efficiency. 

  Promote sustainable agricultural practices  

 

Implement clean air action plan. 

Points of Excellence 

is  a 

leader  on  environmental 
Where  Denmark 
implementation, 
innovative  approaches  could  be 
shared  more  widely  with  other  countries.  Good 
examples are: 

  Denmark's  promotion  of  the  circular  economy 
stands  out.  Integration  into  multiple  policy  areas, 
especially waste prevention, eco-innovation, green 
investment, but also beyond, appears key.  

Denmark is a typical low-lying country, characterised by a 
long  coastline  and  several  hundred  islands.  Most  of  the 
is 
country 

i.e.  approximately  60% 

is  cultivated, 

  Public  participation 

making  as  well  as 
information is well implemented in Denmark. 

in  environmental  decision-
sharing  environmental 

1 Communication "Delivering the benefits of EU environmental policies 

through a regular Environmental Implementation Review" 
(COM/2016/ 316 final). 

2 Decision No. 1386/2013/EU of 20 November 2013 on a General Union 
Environmental Action Programme to 2020 "Living well, within the 
limits of our planet". 

3 United Nations, 2015. The Sustainable Development Goals  
4 This EIR report does not cover climate change, chemicals and energy. 

5 European Environment Agency. 

Environmental Implementation Report – Denmark 

 
 
                                                            
 
                                                            
Denmark  5 

Part I: Thematic Areas 

1. Turning the EU into a circular, resource-efficient, green and 

competitive low-carbon economy 

Developing  a  circular  economy  and  improving 
resource efficiency 

The 2015 Circular Economy Package emphasizes the need 
to  move  towards  a  lifecycle-driven  ‘circular’  economy, 
with a cascading use of resources and residual waste that 
is  close  to  zero.  This  can  be  facilitated  by  the 
development  of,  and  access  to,  innovative  financial 
instruments and funding for eco-innovation. 

SDG  8  invites  countries  to  promote  sustained,  inclusive 
and  sustainable  economic  growth,  full  and  productive 
employment  and  decent  work  for  all.  SDG  9  highlights 
infrastructure,  promote 
the  need  to  build  resilient 
inclusive  and  sustainable  industrialization  and  foster 
innovation.  SDG 12  encourages countries  to  achieve  the 
sustainable  management  and  efficient  use  of  natural 
resources by 2030. 

Measures towards a circular economy 

Transforming our economies from linear to circular offers 
an  opportunity  to  reinvent  them  and  make  them  more 
sustainable  and  competitive.  This  will 
stimulate 
investments and bring both short and long-term benefits 
for the economy, environment and citizens alike6. 
Denmark's  resource  productivity7  (how  efficiently  the 
economy  uses  material  resources  to  produce  wealth)  in 
2015 in terms of value produced per kg of resources used 
is 2.26 EUR/kg, above an EU average of 2 EUR/kg. Figure 
1 shows that this represents a modest but stable increase 
since 2011. 

Many  activities  contribute  to  a  circular  economy  in 
Denmark, and eco-innovation is a tool in that process.  

In  2015  Denmark 
launched  a  strategy  for  waste 
prevention ‘Denmark without Waste II’ with 72 initiatives 
closely linked to circular economy8. The Strategy has two 
cross-cutting  topics,  Transition  in  Danish  businesses  and 
Green  Consumption,  and  five  action  areas:  Less  food 
waste,  Construction,  Clothing  and  textiles,  Electrical  and 
electronic equipment, and Packaging9. 

6 European Commission, 2015. Proposed Circular Economy Package 
7 Resource productivity is defined as the ratio between gross domestic 

product (GDP) and domestic material consumption (DMC). 
8 http://eng.mst.dk/media/164923/denmark-without-waste-

ii_wasteprevention.pdf  

Efforts by businesses and consumers are crucial in terms 
of  reducing  waste  volumes,  and  they  are  therefore 
essential for the two cross-cutting topics. The five action 
areas have been selected on the basis of an assessment 
identifying  areas  with  great  potential 
for  waste 
prevention  as  well  as  on  the  basis  of  extensive 
stakeholder engagement. 

The  Danish  Eco-Innovation  Program  (in  Danish:  MUDP  - 
Miljøteknologisk  Udviklings-  og  Demonstrationsprojekt) 
dates  back  to  2007.  MUDP  promotes  the  development 
and application of new efficient environmental solutions 
to  environmental  challenges  while  simultaneously 
supporting growth and employment. The general focus of 
MUDP  is  on:  water;  climate  change  adaptation;  circular 
economy  and  recycling  of  waste;  cleaner  air;  less  noise; 
fewer hazardous chemicals; the industry's environmental 
sustainable 
ecological 
performance; 
construction (Danish Environmental Protection Agency).  
Figure 1: Resource productivity 2003-1510 

and 

and 

The  Danish  Green  Investment  Fund11  is  an  independent 
state 
loan  fund  with  the  purpose  of  co-financing 
economically  viable  projects  that  facilitate  and  support 
the sustainable development in Denmark. The fund seeks 
to bridge the gap between traditional bank financing and 
equity capital. 

In  the  field  of  eco-innovation,  under  the  Danish  Eco-
Innovation  Program  (Miljøteknologiske  Udviklings-  og 
Demonstrationsprogram - MUDP) the Board decided that 

the generation of waste were published in "Moving towards a 
circular economy – successful Nordic business models” (Nordic 
Council of Ministers, 2015). 

9 In line with the idea of circular economy, a number of best practice 
examples in Denmark with focus on business models that prevent 

10 Eurostat, Resource productivity,accessed October 2016,  
11 http://gronfond.dk/en/  

Environmental Implementation Report – Denmark 

 
 
 
                                                            
 
                                                                                                 
for  2016,  following  priorities  will  be  given  to  projects 
that: 

  Contribute  to  achieving  the  objectives  of  the 
“Vandvisionen  2015”12  of  doubling  the  export  of 
Danish  water  technology  by  2025  and  the  objective 
to create a more efficient water sector. 
Increase  the  quality  and  efficiency  of  water  and 
waste supply management. 

 

  Promote circular economy by ensuring better (re)use 
of  resources  and  waste;  reduce  harmful  emissions 
and chemicals of concern in products and materials. 
  Help  to  reduce  fine  particle  and  flue  gas  emissions 

 

from industry and transport. 
Support  climate  adaptation  in  such  way  so  that  the 
preservation of the countryside can go hand in hand 
with  the  protection  of  coasts  and  cities  against 
erosion and flooding. 

Regarding good practices, Amminex Emission technology 
was  developed  in  Denmark.  The  company’s  unique  NOx 
reduction technology is based on a system for ammonia 
storage  and  delivery,  known  as  ASDS™.  The  system 
reductant  is  ammonia  bound  in  a  solid,  together  called 
AdAmmine™,  to  dramatically  reduce  the  emissions  of 
toxic NOx gasses from diesel exhaust. 

SMEs and resource efficiency 

Danish  SMEs  provide  about  65%  of  the  country's 
employment  (compared  to  the  EU  average  of  about 
67%).  They  account  for  nearly  62%  of  total  value  added 
(compared to the EU average of nearly 58%)13.  

In  the  Flash  426  Eurobarometer  "SMEs,  resource 
efficiency  and  green  markets",  it  is  shown  that  51%  of 
Denmark's  Small  and  Medium-sized  enterprises  (SMEs) 
have invested  up to 5% of their annual turnover in their 
resource efficiency actions (just above the EU28 average 
of  50%),  32%  of  them  are  currently  offering  green 
products  and  services  (EU28  average  26%),  71%  took 
measures  to  save  energy  (EU28  average  59%),  63%  to 
minimise waste (EU28 average 60%), 52% to save water 
(EU28  average  44%),  and  61%  to  save  materials  (EU28 
average 54%). From a circular economy perspective, 39% 
took  measures  to  recycle  by  reusing  material  or  waste 
within  the company (EU28 average  40%),  29% to  design 
products  that  are  easier  to  maintain,  repair  or  reuse 
(EU28 average 22%) and 39% were able to sell their scrap 
material to another company (EU28 average 25%).   

According to the Flash 426 Eurobarometer, the resource 
efficiency  actions  undertaken  allowed  the  reduction  of 
production costs in a 41% of the Denmark's SMEs (EU28 
average  45%).  The  Flash  426  Eurobarometer  shows  that 
27% of the SMEs in Denmark have one or more full time 

12 Water vision 2015 (DANVA) http://www.uk.vandtek.dk/about-

vandtek/water-vision-2015 
13 2015 SBA Fact Sheet Denmark  

Denmark  6 

employee  working  in  a  green  job  at  least  some  of  the 
time  (EU28  average  35%).  Denmark  has  an  average 
number of 1.6 full time green employees per SME (EU28 
average 1.7)14.  

Eco-innovation 

With  an  overall  score  of  167,  the  2015  Danish  eco-
innovation  performance  scores  first  place,  up  from 
second in 2014 as shown in Figure 2.  
Figure 2: Eco-Innovation Index 2015 (EU=100)15 

Denmark  is  followed  by  Finland  (index  140),  Ireland 
(index  134),  Germany  (index  129)  and  Sweden  and 
Luxembourg (both index 124) in the list of EU28 member 
states  (EU  average  at  100).  Denmark  has  never  been 
ranked  below  fourth  place  (2013)  in  the  Eco-innovation 
scoreboard during 2010-2015.  

Denmark  has  40  EMAS  registered  organisations  or  7 
registrations per million inhabitants, which is around the 
inhabitants)   
EU  average  (8  registrations  per  million 

14 The Flash 426 Eurobarometer "SMEs, resource efficiency and green 

markets" defines "green job" as a job that directly deals with 
information, technologies, or materials that preserves or restores 
environmental quality. This requires specialised skills, knowledge, 
training, or experience (e.g. verifying compliance with environmental 
legislation, monitoring resource efficiency within the company, 
promoting and selling green products and services). 

15 Eco-innovation Observatory: Eco-Innovation scoreboard 2015 

Environmental Implementation Report – Denmark 

 
                                                            
 
                                                            
Denmark  7 

Figure 3: Municipal waste by treatment in Denmark19 

Concerning the EU Ecolabel, Denmark has 4916 licenses or 
9 registrations per million inhabitants which is more than 
double  the  EU  average  (4  registrations  per  million 
inhabitants). 

Waste management  

Turning waste into a resource requires: 
 

implementation  of  Union  waste 

Full 
legislation, 
which  includes  the  waste  hierarchy;  the  need  to 
ensure  separate  collection  of  waste;  the  landfill 
diversion targets etc. 

  Reducing  per  capita  waste  generation  and  waste 

 

generation in absolute terms. 
Limiting energy recovery to non-recyclable materials 
and  phasing  out 
recyclable  or 
recoverable waste. 

landfilling  of 

SDG  12  invites  countries  to  substantially  reduce  waste 
generation  through  prevention,  reduction,  recycling  and 
reuse, by 2030. 

The EU's approach to waste management is based on the 
"waste  hierarchy"  which  sets  out  an  order  of  priority 
when  shaping  waste  policy  and  managing  waste  at  the 
operational 
level:  prevention,  (preparing  for)  reuse, 
recycling,  recovery  and,  as  the  least  preferred  option, 
incineration 
includes 
disposal  (which 
without energy recovery). 

landfilling  and 

The  progress  towards  reaching  recycling  targets  and the 
adoption  of  adequate  WMP/WPP17  should  be  the  key 
items  to  measure  the  performance  of  Member  States. 
This section focuses on management of municipal waste 
for which EU law sets mandatory recycling targets.  
The amount of municipal waste18 generated in Denmark 
is the highest in the EU (758 kg/y/inhabitant compared to 
the  EU  average  of  475  kg/y/inhabitant)  in  2014.  This  is 
however partly linked to methodological issue in terms of 
the scope of definition of municipal waste. 

Figure  3  depicts  the  municipal  waste  by  treatment  in 
Denmark  in  terms  of  kg  per  capita,  which  shows  that 
recycling remains stable and so does incineration, which 
is  still  the  main  waste  treatment  operation  benefitting 
from  subsidies  decided  in  the  past.  Denmark  has  the 
second  highest  proportion  of  incinerated  waste  (54%) 
(EU  average  is  27%)  and  recycling  accounts  for  44%  in 
2014,  which  is  almost  exactly  the  EU  average  (43.4%). 
Denmark has one of the lowest proportions of municipal 
waste landfilled (1%) (EU average is 28%). 

16 European Commission, Ecolabel. 
17 Waste Management Plans/Waste Prevention Programmes 
18 Municipal waste consists of waste collected by or on behalf of 

municipal authorities, or (according to the OECD guidelines) directly 
by the private sector (business or private non-profit institutions) not 
on behalf of municipalities. 

Figure  4  shows  that  Denmark  still  has  to  step  up  its 
recycling rate to achieve the EU 2020 target of 50%20. 
Figure 4: Recycling rate of municipal waste 2007-1421 

Denmark  has  taken  appropriate  steps  to  improve  waste 
management and implement the current European waste 
targets.  While  it  remains  one  of  the  countries  in  the  EU 
with  the  largest  amounts  of  municipal  waste  produced 
per  capita  and  with  a  high  percentage  incinerated,  it  is 
noted  that  its  Waste  Management  Plan  foresees  a  shift 
away from incineration towards more recycling.  

Moving towards the targets of the Roadmap on Resource 
Efficiency, which outlines how we can transform Europe's 
economy  into  a  sustainable  one  by  2050,  could  create 

19 Eurostat, Municipal waste and treatment, by type of treatment 

method, accessed October 2016 

20 Member States may choose a different method than the one used by 
ESTAT (and referred to in this report) to calculate their recycling rates 
and track compliance with the 2020 target of 50% recycling of 
municipal waste. 

21 Eurostat, Recycling rate of municipal waste, accessed October 2016 

Environmental Implementation Report – Denmark 

 
                                                            
 
 
                                                            
Denmark  8 

over  2,500  additional  jobs  and  increase  the  annual 
turnover of the waste sector by over EUR 260 million22. 

Suggested action 

  Reinforce  policies,  including  economic  instruments,  to 
promote waste prevention (e.g. PAYT), make reuse and 
recycling more economically attractive.  

  Shift  reusable  and  recyclable  waste  away 

from 
incineration  e.g.  by  gradually  phasing  out  subsidies  to 
incineration or introducing incineration taxes. 

22 Bio Intelligence service, 2011. Implementing EU Waste legislation for 
Green Growth, study for European Commission. The breakdown per 
country on job creation was made by the consultant on Commission 
demand but was not included in the published document.   

Environmental Implementation Report – Denmark 

 
                                                            
2. Protecting, conserving and enhancing natural capital 

Denmark  9 

Nature and Biodiversity  

The  EU  Biodiversity  Strategy  aims  to  halt  the  loss  of 
biodiversity  in  the  EU  by  2020,  restore  ecosystems  and 
their services in so far as feasible, and step up efforts to 
avert  global  biodiversity  loss.  The  EU  Birds  and  Habitats 
Directives  aim  at  achieving  favourable  conservation 
status of protected species and habitats.  

SDG  14  requires  countries  to  conserve  and  sustainably 
use the oceans, seas and marine resources, while SDG 15 
requires  countries  to  protect,  restore  and  promote  the 
sustainable  use  of  terrestrial  ecosystems,  sustainably 
manage  forests,  combat  desertification,  and  halt  and 
reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss. 

The  1992  EU  Habitats  Directive  and  the  1979  Birds 
Directive are the cornerstone of the European legislation 
aimed  at  the  conservation  of  the  EU's  wildlife.  Natura 
2000, the largest coordinated network of protected areas 
in  the  world,  is  the  key  instrument  to  achieve  and 
implement the Directives' objectives to ensure the  long-
term  protection,  conservation  and  survival  of  Europe's 
most  valuable  and  threatened  species  and  habitats  and 
the ecosystems they underpin. 

The  adequate  designation  of  protected  sites  as  Special 
Ares  of  Conservation  (SAC)  under  the  Habitats  Directive 
and  as  Special  Protection  Areas  (SPA)  under  the  Birds 
Directive 
is  a  key  milestone  towards  meeting  the 
objectives  of  the  Directives.  The  results  of  Habitats 
Directive Article 17 and Birds Directive Article 12 reports 
and  the  progress  towards  adequate  Sites  of  Community 
Importance (SCI)-SPA and SAC designation23 both in land 
and  at  sea,  should  be  the  key  items  to  measure  the 
performance of Member States. 

In  early  2016,  8.3%  of  the  Danish  national  territory  is 
covered  by  Natura  2000  (EU  average  18.1%),  with  Birds 
Directive  SPAs  covering  6.0%  (EU  average  12.3%)  and 
Habitats Directive SCIs covering 7.4% (EU average 13.8%). 
Furthermore,  substantial  marine  areas  have  been 
designated,  covering  app.  17%  of  the  Danish  EEZ.  There 
are  altogether  364  Natura  2000  sites  in  Denmark-  (113 
SPAs and 261 SACs), however with a big overlap.  
As  shown  in  Figure  524,  based  on  an  assessment  of  the 

23 Sites of Community Importance (SCIs) are designated pursuant to the 
Habitats Directive whereas Special Areas of Protection (SPAs) are 
designated pursuant to the Birds Directive; figures of coverage do 
not add up due to the fact that some SCIs and SPAs overlap. Special 
Areas of Conservation (SACs) means a SCI designated by the Member 
States. 

24 The percentages in Figure 5 refer to percentages of the total number 
of assessments (one assessment covering 1 species or 1 habitat in a 
given biographical region with the Member State); if a habitat type or 
a species occurs in more than 1 Biogeographic region within a given 
Member State, there will be as many individual assessments as there 

sufficiency of the SCI network25 for Annex II species and 
Annex I habitats occurring in Denmark, the Natura 2000 
network  in  Denmark  is  almost  complete  and  close  to 
complete  in  the  Atlantic  and  Continental  terrestrial  and 
Marine Atlantic and Baltic region. 

Figure  5:  Sufficiency  assessment  of  SCI  networks  in 
Denmark  based  on  the  situation  until  December  2013 
(%)26  

All  sites  have  been  designated  as  Special  Areas  of 
Conservation  (SAC)  and  conservation  objectives  and 
measures have been established for each of them. 

Denmark  is  an  agricultural  country  with  approximately 
2/3  of  the  land  area  being  cultivated.  The  area  of  open 
natural  habitat  has  declined  considerably  over  the  past 
century  but  is  now  relatively  stable,  at  around  10%  of 
Denmark's territory. The Danish marine environment is of 
great  importance,  e.g.  with  the  rather  shallow  waters 
containing  marine  habitat  types  and  habitats  for  e.g. 
internationally  important  numbers  of  waterfowl.  27%  of 
Denmark's  plant  and  animal  species,  which  have  been 
studied  or  assessed  are  Red-Listed27.  54%  of  Red-Listed 

are Biogeographic regions with an occurrence of that species or 
habitat in this Member State. 

25 For each Member State, the Commission assesses whether the 
species and habitat types on Annexes I and II of the Habitats 
Directive, are sufficiently represented by the sites designated to 
date. This is expressed as a percentage of species and habitats for 
which further areas need to be designated in order to complete the 
network in that country. A scientific reserve is given when further 
research is needed to identify the most appropriate sites to be added 
for a species or habitat. The current data, which were assessed in 
2014-2015, reflect the situation up until December 2013. 

26 European Commission, internal assessment. 
27 The IUCN Red List is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the 
global conservation status of biological species. It is set upon precise 

Environmental Implementation Report – Denmark 

 
 
                                                            
 
                                                                                                 
species are associated with forest habitats. Threats facing 
these  species 
include  fragmentation  of  populations, 
deteriorating habitats, disturbances, and climate change. 
Intensive agriculture, including the use of pesticides and 
nutrients,  continues  to  impact  biodiversity,  the  aquatic 
environment,  and  drinking  water.  The  nitrogen  load  has 
decreased in the last number of years. However, the use 
of pesticides has been increasing since 2014.  

According to the Danish report under Article 17 Habitats 
Directive28, almost 70% of the habitat assessments are in 
unfavourable-bad29 status (for comparison, 30% at EU27 
level)  as  shown  in Figure 6. Only  5%  of  the  assessments 
show  favourable  status  (for  comparison,  16%  at  EU27-
level).  

Figure 6: Conservation status of habitats and species in 
Denmark in 2007/2013 (%)30 

Denmark  10 

for  all  forest  types  and  forestry  measures  and  high 
deposition of airborne nitrogen are indicated as threats. 

According to Denmark, marine habitats are still under the 
influence  of  nutrients  supplied  from  surface  water  and 
from  atmospheric  deposition,  but  in  recent  years,  there 
are good signs of many years of efforts to limit emissions.  

The  results  are  better  concerning  species  assessments 
(other  than  birds),  namely  34%  are  at  favourable  status 
(EU27:  23%),  13%  at  unfavourable-inadequate  (EU27: 
42%), however 28% have unfavourable-bad status (EU27: 
18%).  
The  results  from  the  Article  12  report31  under  the  Birds 
Directive  show  that  short-term  trends  of  breeding  birds 
are improving for 22% of the taxa and stable for 41% and 
decreasing  for  33%  of  taxa  as  shown  in  Figure  7.  The 
same  categories  for  long-term  trends  are  39%,  19%  and 
38%. 

The  Danish  government  has  informed  the  Commission 
that regarding planned national initiatives planned in the 
Naturpakken, the  Nature  Package  includes  an  additional 
13,300 ha high-nature value forest in the national forests 
(owned  by  the  government)  and  at  least  900  additional 
ha of high-nature value privately own forests. Funding for 
2016-22 is  87.9 million DKK and 20 million DKK annually 
from 2021 (not including EU-funding).  

Figure  7:  Short-term  population  trend  of  breeding  and 
wintering bird species in Denmark in 2012 (%)32 

Alarming  is  that  e.g.  all  forest  habitats'  assessments  are 
unfavourable-bad as well as most of the grassland, bog or 
mire  and  coastal  habitat  types.  Denmark  is  one  of  the 
countries  reporting  the  most  habitat  assessments  with 
unfavourable  status.  Agriculture  and  pollution  are  the 
most  frequently  reported  pressures  of  high  importance. 
Structure and functions are reported highly unfavourable 

criteria to evaluate the extinction risk of thousands of species. 
28 The core of the ‘Article 17’ report is the assessment of conservation 
status of the habitats and species targeted by the Habitats Directive. 

29 Conservation status is assessed using a standard methodology as 

being either ‘favourable’, ‘unfavourable-inadequate’ and 
‘unfavourable-bad’, based on four parameters as defined in Article 1 
of the Habitats Directive. 

30 These figures show the percentage of biogeographical assessments in 
each category of conservation status for habitats and species (one 
assessment covering 1 species or 1 habitat in a given biographical 
region with the Member State), respectively.  The information is 
based on Article 17 of the Habitats Directive reporting - national 
summary of Denmark 

Suggested action 

  Make  further  efforts  to  ensure  that  the  Natura  2000 
network  is  managed  towards  favourable  conservation 
status  of  protected  habitats  and  species,  especially  by 
reducing the pressures from agriculture. 

31 Article 12 of the Birds Directive requires Member States to report 
about the progress made with the implementation of the Birds 
Directive 

32 Article 12 of the Birds Directive reporting - national summary of 

Denmark 

Environmental Implementation Report – Denmark 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                                                                 
 
 
                                                            
  Put  in  place  clearly  defined  conservation  objectives, 
reinforce the necessary conservation measures for the 
sites  and  provide  adequate  resources 
for  their 
implementation  in  order  to  maintain/restore  species 
and  habitats  of  community  interest  to  a  favourable 
conservation status across their natural range.  

Estimating Natural Capital  

The EU Biodiversity Strategy to 2020 calls on the Member 
States  to  map  and  assess  the  state  of  ecosystems  and 
their  services  in  their  national  territory  by  2014,  assess 
the  economic  value  of  such  services,  and  promote  the 
integration of these values into accounting and reporting 
systems at EU and national level by 2020. 

in 

While  a  more  comprehensive  mapping  and  analysis  of 
ecosystems  and  ecosystem  services33  have  still  to  be 
carried  out,  several  studies  have  already  confirmed  the 
value  of  specific  ecosystem  services 
forestry, 
agriculture  and  fisheries.  A  MAES34  project  finalised  in 
2014  provided  an  overview  of  existing  data  sources  and 
methods and revealed the large unexploited potential for 
combining  modelling  and  mapping  of  ecosystems 
services  and  economic  valuation  of  biodiversity  and 
ecosystem  services  in  Denmark.  In  cooperation  with 
Danish  Universities,  a  follow-up  MAES  project  launched 
in 2015 will illustrate synergies and trade-offs between 6 
ecosystem  services  and  biodiversity,  based  on  data 
covering 1/6 of the area of Denmark. 

Suggested action 

  Continue  support  for  the  mapping  and  assessment  of 
ecosystems and their services, and valuation work and 
develop natural capital accounting systems. 

Denmark  11 

Green Infrastructure  

The  EU  strategy  on  green  infrastructure35  promotes  the 
incorporation  of  green  infrastructure  into  related  plans 
and  programmes  to  help  overcome  fragmentation  of 
habitats  and  preserve  or  restore  ecological  connectivity, 
enhance  ecosystem  resilience  and  thereby  ensure  the 
continued provision of ecosystem services. 

Green  Infrastructure  provides  ecological,  economic  and 
social  benefits  through  natural  solutions.  It  helps  to 
understand the value of the benefits that nature provides 
to human society and to mobilise investments to sustain 
and enhance them. 

large  element  of  Denmark's  efforts 

A 
is  aimed  at 
retaining and improving existing biodiversity habitats, as 
well as the restoration of wetlands and wood habitats36. 

The  development  of  ecological  corridors/networks  has 
been integrated into the spatial planning system and the 
In 
Spatial  Planning  Act. 
years,  Danish 
creating  green  and 
started 
municipalities  have 
sustainable cities using Green Infrastructure as a broader 
concept.  

recent 

for 

for 

In  May  2016  a  political  agreement  on  a  Danish  Nature 
Programme  was  adopted.  The  programme  focuses  on 
natural forests and allocates new areas to natural forests 
adding  up  to  25,000  hectares.  The  programme  also 
establishes  means 
local  projects  and  new 
the  benefit  of 
interconnected  nature  areas 
threatened species. According to the programme, nature 
areas  close 
to  cities  should  be  developed  and 
opportunities for the population to enjoy nature through 
outdoor  activities  will  be  promoted.  The  programme 
attaches  great  priority  to  stimulate  farmers  to  manage 
and  protect  nature  though  incentives  such  as  subsidies 
for hedgerows and possibilities to redistribute of land in 
order  to  protect  vulnerable nature  areas  and  better  use 
introduces  a 
non-vulnerable  areas.  The  programme 
revision  of 
for  nature 
protection  in  order  to  create  a  more  efficient  and  less 
bureaucratic administration. 

the  regulatory 

framework 

An  innovation  is  a  “Green  Map”  of  Denmark  which  will 
provide both a strategic framework for nature policy and 
will  function  as  an  actual  map  for  planning  purposes.  It 
will  contribute  to  targeting  ongoing  and  new  initiatives 
with the greatest impact in terms of ecosystem services.. 
It will show where existing valuable nature is and where 
new  potential  areas  that  can  create  connectivity  could 
be.  By  2017,  municipalities  must  designate  areas  of  the 
map,  based  on  a  common  base  map  and  common 
criteria.  They  will  be  included  in  municipal  plans  for  the 
first time in 2017 and gradually refined and implemented 

33 Ecosystem services are benefits provided by nature such as food, 
clean water and pollination on which human society depends. 

34 Mapping and assessment of ecosystems and their services 

35 European Union, Green Infrastructure — Enhancing Europe’s Natural 

Capital, COM/2013/0249 

36Ministry of Environment, Biodiversity - the building block of life  

Environmental Implementation Report – Denmark 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
                                                            
by 2050.  

reduces  soil  erosion 

Benefits  of  green 
for  Denmark  are 
infrastructure 
illustrated by hedgerow planting. Hedgerows are natural 
features  acting  as  wildlife  corridors  or  stepping  stones. 
through 
Hedgerow  planting 
windbreaks  which  also  provide  habitats  for  various 
the  Danish  Rural  Development 
species.  Under 
Programme  2007-2013, 
for 
reimbursement of 40–60% of the cost for establishing 1–
7  rowed  hedges  or  woodlots  smaller  than  0.5  ha.  As  a 
follow  up,  a  national  support  scheme 
is  under 
development to establish more shelterbelts and biotope 
improving plantations 

farmers 

could 

ask 

Besides  the  subsidy,  the  success  of  the  hedgerow 
planting  scheme  (Denmark  has  a  very  low  soil  erosion 
rate  compared  to  other  European  countries)  has  been 
attributed  to  farmers’  participation,  good  products  and 
governmental action with a windbreak law that has been 
revised multiple times. 

Soil protection  

further  soil  degradation  and 

The  EU  Soil  Thematic  Strategy  highlights  the  need  to 
ensure  a  sustainable  use  of  soils.  This  requires  the 
the 
prevention  of 
preservation of its functions, as well as the restoration of 
degraded  soils.  The  2011  Road  Map  for  Resource-
Efficient  Europe,  part  of  Europe  2020  Strategy  provides 
that  by  2020,  EU  policies  take  into  account  their  direct 
and  indirect  impact  on  land  use  in  the  EU  and  globally, 
and  the  rate  of  land  take  is  on  track  with  an  aim  to 
achieve no net land take by 2050. 

SDG  15  requires  countries  to  combat  desertification, 
restore degraded land and soil, including land affected by 
desertification, drought and floods, and strive to achieve 
a land-degradation-neutral world by 2030. 

Soil is an important resource for life and the economy. It 
provides  key  ecosystem  services  including  the  provision 
of food, fibre and biomass for renewable energy, carbon 
sequestration,  water  purification  and  flood  regulation, 
the provision of raw and building material. Soil is a finite 
and  extremely 
increasingly 
degrading  in  the  EU.  Land  taken  by  urban  development 
and infrastructure is highly unlikely to be reverted to its 
natural  state;  it  consumes  mostly  agricultural  land  and 
increases  fragmentation  of  habitats.  Soil  protection  is 
indirectly  addressed  in  existing EU policies  in  areas  such 
as  agriculture,  water,  waste,  chemicals,  and  prevention 
of industrial pollution. 

resource  and 

fragile 

Denmark  12 

provided  by  CORINE  Land  Cover  was  0.44%  in  Denmark 
over the period 2006-12, around the EU average (0.41%). 
It  represented  1495  hectares  per  year37  and  was  mainly 
driven by diffuse residential developments. 

The annual land take rate (land taken for urban and other 
artificial  land  development)  in  Denmark  was  0.44%  over 
the period 2000-2006, close to the EU average (0.46%). It 
represented  1,495  hectares  per  year  and  was  mainly 
residential  developments.  The 
driven  by  diffuse 
percentage  of  built  up  land  in  2009  was  3.58%,  close  to 
the EU average (3.23%)38.  

The soil water erosion rate in 2010 was 0.50 tonnes per 
ha per year, well below EU28 average (2.46 tonnes)39. 

Figure 8 shows the different land cover types in Denmark 
in 2012. 
Figure 8: Land Cover types in Denmark in 201240 

There  are  still  not  EU-wide  datasets  enabling  the 
provision of benchmark indicators for soil organic matter 
decline, contaminated sites, pressures on soil biology and 
diffuse  pollution.  An  updated  inventory  and  assessment 
of  soil  protection  policy  instruments  in  Denmark  and 
other  EU  Member  States  is  being  performed  by  the  EU 
Expert Group on Soil Protection.  

Artificial  land  cover  is  used  for  settlements,  production 
systems and infrastructure. It may itself be split between 
built-up areas (buildings) and non-built-up areas (such as 
linear transport networks and associated areas). 

The  annual  land  take  rate  (growth  of  artificial  areas)  as 

37 European Environment Agency Draft results of CORINE Land Cover 

(CLC) inventory 2012; mean annual land take 2006-12 as a % of 2006 
artificial land. 

38 European Environment Agency, 2016. Imperviousness and 

imperviousness change 

39 Eurostat, Soil water erosion rate, Figure 2, accessed November 2016 
40 European Environment Agency, Land cover 2012 and changes country 

analysis [publication forthcoming] 

Environmental Implementation Report – Denmark 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
Marine protection 

The EU Coastal and Marine Policy and legislation require 
that by 2020 the impact of pressures on marine waters is 
reduced  to  achieve  or  maintain  good  environmental 
status and coastal zones are managed sustainably. 

SDG  14  requires  countries  to  conserve  and  sustainably 
use  the  oceans,  seas  and  marine  resources 
for 
sustainable development. 
The Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD)41 aims 
to  achieve  Good  Environmental  Status  (GES)  of  the  EU's 
marine  waters  by  2020  by  providing  an  ecosystem 
approach  to  the  management  of  human  activities  with 
impact  on  the  marine  environment.  The  Directive 
requires  Member  States  to  develop  and  implement  a 
marine  strategy  for  their  marine  waters,  and  cooperate 
with  Member  States  sharing  the  same  marine  region  or 
sub region. 

As part of their marine strategies, Member States had to 
make  an  initial  assessment  of  their  marine  waters, 
determine  GES42  and  establish  environmental  targets  by 
July  2012.  They  also  had  to  establish  monitoring 
programmes for the on-going assessment of their marine 
waters  by  July  2014.  The  next  element  of  their  marine 
strategy is to establish a Programme of Measures (2016). 
The  Commission  assesses  whether  these  elements 
constitute  an  appropriate  framework  to  meet  the 
requirements of the MSFD. 

The  Danish  marine  waters  are  part  of  two  marine 
regions, the North-East Atlantic Ocean and the Baltic Sea. 
Denmark  is  therefore  party  to  both  the  Convention  for 
the  protection  of  the  marine  environment of  the  North-
East Atlantic (OSPAR Convention) and the Convention on 
the  Protection  of  the  Marine  Environment  of  the  Baltic 
Sea  (HELCOM).  The  North  Sea  is  one  of  the  busiest 
maritime areas, with exploitation of oil and gas reserves 
also  occurring  in  parallel  to  the  important  maritime 
traffic. 
In  addition,  overfishing  and  bottom-trawling 
might impact the biodiversity in that region. In the Baltic 
Sea,  main  risks  for  biodiversity  relate  to  eutrophication, 
overfishing  and  bycatch,  pollution  by  contaminants  and 
oil, and introduction of non-indigenous species43. 

Denmark has a comprehensive Marine Environmental Act 
and  fishing  is  regulated  by  the  EU  Common  Fisheries 
Policy. In relation to hazardous substances, Denmark has 
a comprehensive chemicals regulation. With wastewater 
plans,  plans  for  the  aquatic  environment,  as  well  as 
nature restoration projects, Denmark has achieved large 
reductions  in  nitrogen  and  phosphorus  loadings  to  the 

41 European Union, Marine Strategy Framework Directive 2008/56/EC 
42 The MSFD defines Good Environmental Status (GES) in Article 3 as: 
“The environmental status of marine waters where these provide 
ecologically diverse and dynamic oceans and seas which are clean, 
healthy and productive”. 

43 European Environment Agency, 2016, The Baltic Sea.  

Denmark  13 

the  designated 
marine  environment.  Furthermore, 
Natura  2000  sites  are  essential  in  the  protection  of 
biodiversity  in  Danish  marine  areas.  In  Denmark,  97 
marine  or  partly  marine  Natura  2000  sites  have  been 
designated, totalling 18% of Denmark's marine area.. 

To  minimise  the  spread  of  non-indigenous  species, 
Denmark  ratified  the  IMO  Ballast  Water  Management 
Convention in 2012. 

In its implementation of the MSFD, despite an ambitious 
and  overall  consistent  determination  of  the  GES, 
Denmark  did  not  sufficiently  clearly  define  all  the 
descriptors.  They  are  defined  in  a  qualitative  manner, 
avoiding reference to specific baselines, reference states 
or  thresholds.  Apart  from  descriptors  on  biodiversity, 
underwater noise and eutrophication, GES is set in high-
level  and  general 
insufficient 
reference is made to standards in existing EU legislation 
or  in  the  relevant  Regional  Sea  Conventions,  with  the 
exception  of  the  descriptor  on  eutrophication,  which 
usefully refers to the Water Framework Directive44.  

In  addition, 

terms. 

Denmark has had a formalized monitoring of the aquatic 
environment  for  many  years.  Through  the  years,  the 
monitoring has been expanded or adapted to cover new 
the 
legislation,  primary  EU  Directives. 
monitoring  program  was  adapted  in  order  to  meet  the 
requirements under the MSFD.  

In  2014, 

With  the  exception  of  a  few  elements  of  some 
descriptors  the  monitoring  programme  is  implemented 
and  will  be  used  for  the  initial  assessments  being 
prepared  by 
regional  sea  conventions.  The 
Commission will in the near future publish an assessment 
of the Danish MSFD Monitoring Programme45. 

the 

Danish  marine  protected  areas  covered  19,101.9  square 
kilometers  of  its  marine  waters,  with  5,290.8  square 
kilometers  in  the  Baltic  Sea  and  13,811.1  in  the  Greater 
North Sea46. 

In  its  reports  on  the  implementation  of  the  MSFD,  the 
Commission  provided  guidance  to  assist  Denmark  in  its 
implementation  of  the  Marine  Strategy  Framework 
Directive. 

44 Commission Staff Working Document Accompanying the Commission 
Report on "The first phase of implementation of the Marine Strategy 
Framework Directive (2008/56/EC) - The European Commission's 
assessment and guidance" (SWD(21014) 049 final and 
COM(2014)097 final)SWD(21014) 049 final and COM(2014)097 final) 
45 Commission Staff Working Document Accompanying the Commission 
Report assessing Member States' monitoring programmes under the 
Marine Strategy Framework Directive (COM(2017)3 and SWD(2017)1 
final) 

46 2012 Data provided by the European Environmental Agency – Not 

published. 

Environmental Implementation Report – Denmark 

 
 
 
 
                                                            
 
 
                                                            
Denmark  14 

Suggested action 

  Continue  work  to  improve  the  definitions  of  GES 
including  through  regional  cooperation  by  using  the 
work of the relevant Regional Sea Conventions. 

  Address knowledge gaps. 
  Continue  integrating  monitoring  programmes  already 
existing  under  relevant  EU  legislation  and  other  joint 
monitoring  programmes  where  they  exist,  developed 
at regional or sub regional level, for instance by OSPAR 
and HELCOM. 

  Enhance  comparability  and  consistency  of  monitoring 

approaches within its marine regions. 

  Urgently  report  and  implement  its  programme  of 

measures47. 

  Ensure  that  all  of  the  monitoring  programme 

is 
implemented  without  delay,  and  is  appropriate  to 
monitor progress its GES. 

47 As of 7.10.2016, DK had not yet reported its programme of measures 

to the Commission 

Environmental Implementation Report – Denmark 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
Denmark  15 

3. Ensuring citizens' health and quality of life 

Air quality  

The  EU  Clean  Air  Policy  and  legislation  require  that  air 
quality  in  the  Union  is  significantly  improved,  moving 
closer  to  the  WHO  recommended  levels.  Air  pollution 
and its impacts on ecosystems and biodiversity should be 
further reduced with the long-term aim of not exceeding 
critical  loads  and  levels.  This  requires  strengthening 
efforts  to  reach  full  compliance  with  Union  air  quality 
legislation  and  defining  strategic  targets  and  actions 
beyond 2020. 

The  EU  has  developed  a  comprehensive  suite  of  air 
legislation48,  which  establishes  health-based 
quality 
standards  and  objectives  for  a  number  of  air  pollutants. 

Significant  emission  reductions  have  been  recorded  for 
volatile organic compounds (-48%) as well as ammonia (-
42%),  however  emissions  for  these  pollutants  are  above 
current ceilings, by 24% and 6%, respectively. It should be 
noted  that  the  exceedance  of  the  volatile  organic 
compounds  ceiling  is  largely  the  result  from  the  recent 
addition  of  volatile  organic  compounds  emissions  from 
agriculture  to  the  emission 
inventories,  while  the 
exceedance  of  the  ammonia  ceiling  partly  results  from 
the  reporting  of  new  sources  of  ammonia  emissions 
which  were  not  estimated  or  considered  at  the  time 
when the emission ceilings were set. 

At the same time, air quality in the Denmark continues to 
give cause for concern. For the year 2013, the European 

Figure 9: Attainment situation for PM10, NO2 and O3 in 2014 in Denmark 

that  up-to-date 

As  part  of  this,  Member  States  are  also  required  to 
information  on  ambient 
ensure 
concentrations  of  different  air  pollutants  is  routinely 
made  available  to  the  public.  In  addition,  the  National 
Emission  Ceilings  Directive  provides 
for  emission 
reductions  at  national  level  that  should  be  achieved  for 
main pollutants.  

The  emission  of  several  air  pollutants  has  decreased 
significantly in Denmark49. Reductions between 1990 and 
2014  for  sulphur  oxides  (-94%),  nitrogen  oxides  (-62%) 
ensure  air  emissions  for  these  pollutants  are  within  the 
ceilings50. 
applicable  national  emission 
currently 

48 European Commission, 2016. Air Quality Standards  
49 See EIONET Central Data Repository and Air pollutant emissions data 

viewer (NEC Directive)  

50 The current national emission ceilings apply since 2010 (Directive 

Environment  Agency  estimated 
that  about  2890 
premature  deaths  were  attributable  to  fine  particulate 
matter51  concentrations,  110  to  ozone52  concentration 
and  over  60  to  nitrogen53  dioxide  concentrations54.  This 

2001/81/EC); revised ceilings for 2020 and 2030 have been set by 
Directive (EU) 2016/2284 on the reduction of national emissions of 
certain atmospheric pollutants, amending Directive 2003/35/EC and 
repealing Directive 2001/81/EC. 

51 PM is a mixture of aerosol particles (solid and liquid) covering a wide 
range of sizes and chemical compositions. PM10 (PM2.5) refers to 
particles with a diameter of 10 (2.5) micrometres or less. PM is 
emitted from many anthropogenic sources, including combustion. 
52 Low level ozone is produced by photochemical action on pollution 

and it is also a greenhouse gas. 

53 NOx is emitted during fuel combustion e.g. from industrial facilities 
and the road transport sector. NOx is a group of gases comprising 
nitrogen monoxide (NO) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). 

54 European Environment Agency, 2016. Air Quality in Europe – 2016 

Environmental Implementation Report – Denmark 

 
 
 
                                                            
                                                                                                 
 
the 

the 
illustrates 
exceedances  above  the  EU  air  quality  standards  such  as 
shown in Figure 955 are brought to a halt.  

importance  of  ensuring 

that 

For 2014, exceedances above the EU air quality standards 
to  annual  mean 
have  been 
concentration of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) in one air quality 
zone (Copenhagen)56. 

registered 

related 

The persistent breach of air quality requirements for NO2, 
which have negative effects on health and environment, 
are  being  followed  up  by  the  European  Commission 
through 
the 
Member States concerned, including Denmark. The aim is 
that  adequate  measures  are  put  in  place  to  bring  all 
zones into compliance. 

infringement  procedures  covering  all 

It  has  been  estimated  that  the  health-related  external 
costs  from  air  pollution  in  Denmark  are  above  EUR  3 
billion/year  (income  adjusted,  2010),  which  include  not 
only the intrinsic value of living a full health life but also 
direct costs to the economy. These direct economic costs 
relate  to  814  thousand  workdays  lost  each  year  due  to 
sickness related to air pollution, with associated costs for 
employers  of  EUR  115  million/year  (income  adjusted, 
2010),  for  healthcare  of  above  EUR  11  million/year 
(income adjusted, 2010), and for agriculture (crop losses) 
of EUR 44 million/year (2010)57. 

Suggested action 

  Maintain  downward  emissions  trends  of  air  pollutants 
in  order  to  achieve  full  compliance  with  currently 
applicable  national  emission  ceilings  and  air  quality 
limit values - and reduce adverse air pollution impacts 
on health, environment and economy. 

  Reduce  ammonia  (NH3)  emissions  to  comply  with 
currently  applicable  national  emission  ceilings58,  for 
example  by  introducing  or  expanding  the  use  of  low-
emission agricultural techniques. 

  Reduce nitrogen oxide (NOx) emissions to comply with 
currently applicable national emission ceilings59 and/or 
to 
(and  ozone 
(NO2) 
inter  alia,  by  reducing  transport 
concentrations), 
related emissions - in particular in urban areas. 

reduce  nitrogen  dioxide 

Report. (Table 10.2, please see details in this report as regards the 
underpinning methodology) 

55 Based on European Environment Agency, 2016. Air Quality in Europe 

– 2016 Report. (Figures 4.1, 5.1 and 6.1) 

56 See EEA/Eionet Air Quality Portal  and the related Central Data 

Repository 

57 These figures are based on the Impact Assessment for the 

Commission Integrated Clean Air Package (2013) 

58 Under the provisions of the revised National Emission Ceilings 

Directive Member States now may apply for emission inventory 
adjustments. Pending evaluation of any adjustment application, 
Member States should keep emissions under close control with a 
view to further reductions. 

59 Ibid. 

Denmark  16 

  Reduce  NMVOCs  emissions  to  comply  with  currently 

applicable national emission ceilings60. 

Noise 

The  Environmental  Noise  Directive  provides  for  a 
common  approach  for  the  avoidance,  prevention  and 
reduction  of  harmful  effects  due  to  exposure  to 
environmental noise. 

Excessive  noise  is  one  of  the  main  causes  of  health 
issues61.  To alleviate  this,  the  EU  acquis  sets  out  several 
requirements, 
including  assessing  the  exposure  to 
environmental  noise  through  noise  mapping,  ensuring 
that information on environmental noise and its effects is 
made  available  to  the  public,  and  adopting  action  plans 
with  a  view  to  preventing  and  reducing  environmental 
noise  where  necessary  and  to  preserving  the  acoustic 
environment quality where it is good. 

Danish authorities have fulfilled all their obligations with 
regards  to  the  Environmental  Noise  Directive62  for  the 
current reporting period. 

Water quality and management 

(including  surface  and  ground  waters) 

The  EU  water  policy  and  legislation  require  that  the 
impact  of  pressures  on  transitional,  coastal  and  fresh 
waters 
is 
significantly  reduced  to  achieve,  maintain  or  enhance 
good  status  of  water  bodies,  as  defined  by  the  Water 
Framework Directive; that citizens throughout the Union 
benefit from high standards for safe drinking and bathing 
water;  and  that  the  nutrient  cycle  (nitrogen  and 
phosphorus)  is  managed  in  a  more  sustainable  and 
resource-efficient way. 

SDG  6  encourages  countries  to  ensure  availability  and 
sustainable management of water and sanitation for all. 

The  main  overall  objective  of  EU  water  policy  and 
legislation  is  to  ensure  access  to  good  quality  water  in 
sufficient  quantity  for  all  Europeans.  The  EU  water 
acquis63  seeks  to  ensure  good  status  of  all  water  bodies 

60 Ibid. 
61 WHO/JRC, 2011, Burden of disease from environmental noise, 

Fritschi, L., Brown, A.L., Kim, R., Schwela, D., Kephalopoulos, S. (eds), 
World Health Organization, Regional Office for Europe, Copenhagen, 
Denmark 

62 The Noise Directive requires Member States to prepare and publish, 
every 5 years, noise maps and noise management action plans for 
agglomerations with more than 100,000 inhabitants, and for major 
roads, railways and airports.  

63 This includes the Bathing Waters Directive (2006/7/EC); the Urban 

Waste Water Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC) concerning 
discharges of municipal and some industrial waste waters; the 
Drinking Water Directive (98/83/EC) concerning potable water 
quality; the Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC) concerning 
water resources management; the Nitrates Directive (91/676/EEC) 
and the Floods Directive (2007/60/EC) 

Environmental Implementation Report – Denmark 

 
 
 
 
                                                                                                 
                                                            
across Europe by addressing pollution sources (from e.g. 
agriculture, urban areas and industrial activities), physical 
and  hydrological modifications  to  water  bodies)  and  the 
management of risks of flooding.  

(RBMPs)  are  a 
River  Basin  Management  Plans 
requirement  of  the  Water  Framework  Directive  and  a 
means  of  achieving  the  protection,  improvement  and 
sustainable use of the water environment across Europe. 
This includes surface freshwaters such as lakes and rivers, 
groundwater,  estuaries  and  coastal  waters  up  to  one 
nautical mile. 

Denmark  has  provided  information  to  the  Commission 
from  its  second  generation  of  RBMPs.  However,  as  the 
Commission  has  not  yet  been  able  to  validate  this 
information  for  all  Member  States,  it  is  not  reported 
here. 

In its first generation of RBMPs under the WFD Denmark 
reported the status of 16881 river bodies, 940 lakes, 162 
coastal and 385 groundwater bodies. Only 30% of natural 
surface  water  bodies  achieve  a  good  or  high  ecological 
status64  and  17%  of  heavily  modified  or  artificial  water 
bodies  achieve  a  good  or  high  ecological  potential  (61% 
unknown).  Only  0.5%  of  surface  water  bodies  (99.5% 
unknown),  0.1%  of  heavily  modified  and  artificial  water 
bodies65  (99.6%  unknown)  and  57%  of  groundwater 
status66.  65%  of 
bodies  achieve  good  chemical 
groundwater bodies are in good quantitative status67. 
Danish  water  bodies  are affected  by  diffused  pollution68 
(nutrients,  organic  matter  and  pesticides) 
from 
agriculture  as  well  as  point  pollution  (nutrients,  organic 
and  chemical  contaminants)  from  urban  wastewater, 
industry and aquaculture.  

for  status  assessments  were  not 

There were certain deficiencies in the Danish River Basin 
in  particular  the 
Management  Plans  for  2009-2015 
methods 
fully 
developed.  This  has  apparently  been  improved  in  the 
second  generation  of  River  Basin  Management  Plans, 
which  are  currently  under  examination.  A  number  of 
exceptions  were  applied.  The  planned  measures  are 
expected to result in improvement of ecological status of 
surface  water bodies  by  29%.  The  measures  should  also 
bring improvement of ecological potential of artificial and 

64 Good ecological status is defined in the Water Framework Directive, 
referring to the quality of the biological community, the hydrological 
characteristics and the chemical characteristics. 

65 Many European river basins and waters have been altered by human 
activities, such as land drainage, flood protection and building of 
dams to create reservoirs. 

66 Good chemical status is defined in the Water Framework Directive 

referring to compliance with all the quality standards established for 
chemical substances at European level. 

67 For groundwater, a precautionary approach has been taken that 

comprises a prohibition on direct discharges to groundwater, and a 
requirement to monitor groundwater bodies. 

68 Diffuse pollution comes from widespread activities with no one 
discrete source, e.g. acid rain, pesticides, urban run-off, etc.   

Denmark  17 

heavily  modified  water  bodies  by  5%.  No  change  in 
chemical  and  quantitative  status  of  groundwater  can  be 
expected. 

In  the  context  of  the  Nitrates  Directive,  Denmark  has 
decided  to  apply  mandatory  measures  on  its  whole 
territory.  With  respect  to  water  quality  and  nitrate 
concentration,  progress  has  been  made  throughout  the 
last  years.  However  data  show  that  there  are  still 
important issues both concerning nitrate concentrations, 
in  particular  in  groundwater,  and  eutrophication  of 
surface  waters.  In  addition,  agriculture  remains  the 
largest  diffuse  pollution  contributor  to  coastal  water  in 
issue 
the  country.  This 
considering that, when including the Kattegat, about 50% 
of the country drains into the Baltic Sea69, which is largely 
eutrophic and strongly affected by nutrients pollution. 

is  a  particularly  serious 

Denmark  is  changing  its  legislation  implementing  the 
Nitrates  Directive.  In  view  of  the  high  agricultural 
pressure  (e.g.  Denmark  is  one  of  the  biggest  pork 
producers  in  the  EU70)  and  the  existing  water  quality 
issues, waiving environmental standards could hinder the 
necessary  nutrient  pollution  reduction  in  Danish  waters 
and 
in  the  Baltic  Sea  and  give  rise  to  a  further 
intensification of livestock farming. 

As  regards  drinking  water,  Denmark  reaches  very  high 
compliance  rates  of  99-100%  for  microbiological  and 
chemical parameters, but shows a 98.7% compliance rate 
with  indicator  parameters  laid  down  in  the  Drinking 
Water Directive71. 

As shown in Figure 10, in 2015, in Denmark out of 1028 
bathing waters, 85.7% were of excellent quality, 9.6% of 
good  quality,  3.0%  of  sufficient  quality.  Six  bathing 
waters  were  of  poor  quality  or  non-compliant  while  it 
was  not  possible  to  assess  the  remaining  11  bathing 
waters72. 

69 Lars Rydén, Pawel Migula, Magnus Andersson, 2003, Environmental 

science: understanding, protecting and managing the environment in 
the Baltic Sea region,  Baltic University Press. 

70Eurostat, Pig farming sector - statistical portrait 2014  
71 Commission's Synthesis Report on the Quality of Drinking Water in 
the Union examining Member States' reports for the 2011-2013 
period, foreseen under Article 13(5) of Directive 98/83/EC; 
COM(2016)666. 

72 European Environment Agency, 2016. European bathing water quality 

in 2015, p. 26 

Environmental Implementation Report – Denmark 

 
 
 
 
                                                            
                                                            
Figure 10: Bathing water quality 2012 – 201573 

The  quality  of  the  bathing  water 
in  Denmark  has 
improved  every  year  from  2012  to  2015  as  showed  in 
figure  10.  In  2015,  Denmark  was  above  the  EU  average 
bathing water quality. 

Denmark 
is  fully  compliant  with  the  Urban  Waste 
Treatment  Directive  and  demonstrates  excellent 
compliance  rates  for  secondary  and  more  stringent 
treatment  (99.3%  of  the  load  collected  is  subject  to 
secondary  treatment  in  accordance  with  Art  4  of  the 
Urban  Waste  Water  Treatment  Directive  and  98.8%  of 
the load collected is subject to more stringent treatment 
in accordance with Article 5 of the Directive)74. 

Denmark  18 

one  area  (Holstebro).  Between  2002  and  2013,  for  the 
three  floods  recorded  the  total  direct  costs  were  EUR 
1,400  million.  The  average  cost  per  flood  was  EUR  450 
million76, well above the EU average of EUR 370 million77. 

Suggested action 

  Improve methods for status assessment and analysis of 

pressures of water bodies78. 

legislation 

  Ensure  that 
implementing  the  Nitrates 
Directive 
includes  measures  proportionate  to  the 
Danish agricultural pressures and water quality issues. 
The  measures  chosen  to  implement  the  Directive 
should  improve  water  quality  both  in  the  short  and 
long term. 

Enhancing the sustainability of cities  

The  EU  Policy  on  the  urban  environment  encourages 
cities  to 
implement  policies  for  sustainable  urban 
planning and design, including innovative approaches for 
urban  public 
sustainable 
buildings,  energy  efficiency  and  urban  biodiversity 
conservation.  

transport  and  mobility, 

SDG11  aims  at  making  cities  and  human  settlements 
inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. 

Europe is a Union of cities and towns; around 75% of the 
EU  population  are  living  in  urban  areas79.  The  urban 
environment  poses  particular  challenges 
the 
environment  and  human  health,  whilst  also  providing 
opportunities and efficiency gains in the use of resources.  

for 

The  Member  States,  European  institutions,  cities  and 
stakeholders have prepared a new Urban Agenda for the 
EU  (incorporating  the  Smart  Cities  initiative)  to  tackle 
these  issues  in  a  comprehensive  way,  including  their 
connections with social and economic challenges. At the 
heart  of  this  Urban  Agenda  will  be  the  development  of 
twelve  partnerships  on  the  identified  urban  challenges, 
including air quality and housing80.  

The  European  Commission  will 
benchmark system in 201781. 

launch  a  new  EU 

The  EU  stimulates  green  cities  through  awards  and 

Denmark undertook a preliminary assessment of the risk 
of  flooding  from  rivers  and  coastal  waters75.  Coastal 
flooding  is  of  the  most  relevance  to  Denmark.  Denmark 
has limited data on historic river flooding as they did not 
cause  large  amounts  of  damage,  with  the  exception  of 

73 European Environment Agency, State of bathing water, 2016 
74 Eighth Report on the Implementation Status and the Programmes for 

Implementation (as required by Article 17) of Council Directive 
91/271/EEC concerning urban waste water treatment (COM 
(2016)105 final) and Commission Staff Working Document 
accompanying the report (SWD(2016)45 final). 

75Commission Staff Working Document, Report on the progress in 

implementation of the Floods Directive, p. 37 

76 Based on those floods that are sufficient to exceed the threshold for 

inclusion in the EM-DAT database 

77RPA, 2014. Study on Economic and Social Benefits of Environmental 

Protection and Resource Efficiency Related to the European 
Semester. Study for the European Commission, Annex 1: Country 
fiches  

78 The full set of recommendations relevant to the Water Framework 

Directive are found here.  

79 European Environment Agency, Urban environment 
80 http://urbanagendaforthe.eu/ 
81 The Commission is developing an Urban Benchmarking and 

Monitoring ('UBaM') tool to be launched in 2017. Best practices 
emerge and these will be better disseminated via the app featuring 
the UBaM tool, and increasingly via e.g. EUROCITIES, ICLEI, CEMR, 
Committee of the Regions, Covenant of Mayors and others. 

Environmental Implementation Report – Denmark 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
                                                            
funding,  such  as  the  EU  Green  Capital  Award  aimed  at 
cities  with  more  than  100,000  inhabitants  and  the  EU 
Green  Leaf  initiative  aimed  at  cities  and  towns,  with 
between 20,000 and 100,000 inhabitants. For example, in 
Denmark,  the  ERDF  co-financed  Copenhagen  Cleantech 
Cluster has been shortlisted as a REGIOSTAR 2016 finalist 
by the European Commission82. 

intensity  have  meant 

Copenhagen  won  the  Green  Capital  Award  in  2014. 
in  Copenhagen  with 
Increasing  urban  development 
accompanying expansion of the sewer system, as well as 
increased  rainfalls 
increased 
pressure  on  central  waste  water  treatment  plants83.  To 
minimise this pressure of draining off stormwater in new 
urban development areas, major renovation work is to be 
carried out according to the SUDS principles (Sustainable 
Urban  Drainage  Systems).  The  new  Ørestad  district, 
which  was  founded  in 1996 and  today  is  an  area of  150 
hectares,  was  established  with  a  three-stringed  system. 
In  the  three-stringed  system,  household  wastewater  is 
discharged  to  a  central  treatment  plant,  roof  water  is 
discharged  to  recreational  canals  whereas  road  water  is 
treated 
the 
locally  before  being  discharged 
recreational canals. 

to 

Copenhagen  placed  public-private  partnerships  at  the 
core  of  its  approach  to  eco-innovation  and  sustainable 
employment.  Its  North  Harbour  project,  for  example, 
including  a  “Green 
focusing  on  eco-
laboratory” 
technologies,  has  high  potential  for  replication  in  the 
region  around  the  city  and  beyond.  Furthermore, 
Copenhagen alone has around 400 km of cycle paths, and 
about 40 per cent of the capital's population commute to 
work by bicycle84.  

Denmark  19 

International agreements  

The  EU  Treaties  require  that  the  Union  policy  on  the 
environment  promotes  measures  at  the  international 
level  to  deal  with  regional  or  worldwide  environmental 
problems. 

Most  environmental  problems  have  a  transboundary 
nature  and  often  a  global  scope  and  they  can  only  be 
addressed effectively through international co-operation. 
International  environmental  agreements  concluded  by 
the Union are binding upon the institutions of the Union 
and  on  its Member  States. This  requires  the  EU and the 
Member  States  to  sign,  ratify  and  effectively  implement 
all  relevant  multilateral  environmental  agreements 
(MEAs) in a timely manner. This will also be an important 
contribution  towards  the  achievement  of  the  SDGs, 
which Member States committed to in 2015 and include 
many  commitments  contained  already  in  legally  binding 
agreements. 

The  fact  that  some  Member  States  did  not  sign  and/or 
ratify  a  number  of  MEAs  compromises  environmental 
implementation,  including  within  the  Union,  as  well  as 
in  related  negotiations  and 
the  Union’s  credibility 
international  meetings  where 
the 
participation of third countries to such agreements is an 
established  EU  policy  objective.  In  agreements  where 
voting takes place it has a direct impact on the number of 
votes to be cast by the EU. 

supporting 

Denmark is performing as one of the best in the EU with 
regard to signing and ratifying such agreements. 

Danish authorities have fulfilled all their obligations with 
regards  to  the  Environmental  Noise  Directive  for  the 
current reporting period. 

82 European Commission, 2016 REGIOSTARS finalists. 
83European Green Capital Award, 2011, Good Practice Statement, p.25 
84Denmark, Green Living  

Environmental Implementation Report – Denmark 

 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
 
 
 
Part II: Enabling Framework: Implementation Tools 

4. Market based instruments and investment  

Denmark  20 

Green  taxation  and  environmentally  harmful 
subsidies  

The Circular Economy Action Plan encourages the use of 
financial  incentives  and  economic  instruments,  such  as 
taxation  to  ensure  that  product  prices  better  reflect 
environmental costs. The phasing out of environmentally 
harmful  subsidies  is  monitored  in  the  context  of  the 
European  Semester  and  in  national  reform  programmes 
submitted by Member States. 

Taxing pollution and resource use can generate increased 
revenue  and  bring  important  social  and  environmental 
benefits. 

Environmental  tax  revenues  relative  to  GDP  are  high 
compared to the EU although there is room to align their 
design  more  with  their  environmental  objectives.  They 
amounted  to  4.08%  of  GDP  in  2014,  as  compared  with 
the EU average of 2.46%. In the same year environmental 
tax revenues accounted for 8.18% of total revenues from 
taxes  and  social-security  contributions  (EU28  average: 
6.35%)  as  shown  in  Figure  11.  This  represents  a  modest 
decrease compared to 2013 (8.92%).  
A  2016  study85  based  on  levels  of  environmental  taxes 
that already exist in similar countries, shows there might 
be  considerable  potential  for  shifting  taxes  from  labour 
to environmental taxes in Denmark, which could be used 
to increase revenues or reduce other taxes. Under a good 
practice  scenario86,  these  environmental  taxes  could 
generate  an  additional  DKK  8.93  billion  (EUR  1.2  billion) 
in  2018,  rising  to  DKK  15.01  billion  (EUR  2.01  billion)  in 
2030 (both in real 2015 terms), although this may decline 
as behaviour changes. This is equivalent to an increase by 
0.42% and 0.55% of GDP in 2018 and 2030, respectively.  

The  largest  potential  source of  revenue  comes  from  the 
amendments to taxes on transport fuels generating DKK 
10.59 billion in 2030 (EUR 1.42 billion) (real 2015 terms), 
equivalent to 0.39% of GDP.  

Per  capita  road  transport  emissions  in  Denmark  are 

85 Eunomia Research and Consulting, IEEP, Aarhus University, ENT, 

2016. Study on Assessing the Environmental Fiscal Reform Potential 
for the EU28. N.B. National governments are responsible for setting 
tax rates within the EU Single Market rules and this report is not 
suggesting concrete changes as to the level of environmental 
taxation. It merely presents the findings of the 2016 study by 
Eunomia et al on the potential benefits various environmental taxes 
could bring. It is then for the national authorities to assess this study 
and their concrete impacts in the national context. A first step in this 
respect, already done by a number of Member States, is to set up 
expert groups to assess these and make specific proposals. 
86 The good practice scenario means benchmarking to a successful 

taxation practice in another Member State. 

among  the  highest  in  the  EU,  which  suggests  that  the 
structure of car taxation in Denmark, currently based on 
low annual and high registration taxes at the time of the 
purchase, is not meeting its environmental objectives. In 
an  effort  to  counter  the  resulting  disincentives  to 
purchase newer and more efficient cars, car registration 
taxes  have  been  lowered.  This  is  offset  by  the  gradual 
extension of car registration taxes to cover hydrogen and 
electric  cars.  To  incentivise  the  use  of  hydrogen  or 
electric cars, a 52% increase in the diesel ‘countervailing 
charge’  has  been  set,  but  exempting  trucks,  buses  and 
tractors.  Previous  increases  in  the  duty  on  emission  of 
nitrogen oxides are also being rolled back. 

Figure  11:  Environmental  tax  revenues  as  a  share  of 
total  revenues  from  taxes  and  social  contributions  
(excluding imputed social contributions) in 201487 

The  reduction  of  environmentally  harmful  subsidies  is 
another key area. The discrepancy between tax rates for 
petrol and diesel has been fairly stable at about EUR 0.18 
to  EUR  0.20  per  litre  over  the  past  two  decades,  but 
being close to 30% of the petrol tax, it is significant. The 

87 Eurostat, Environmental tax revenues, accessed October 2016 

Environmental Implementation Report – Denmark 

 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
 
                                                            
is  addressed  with  a  partially  offsetting 
discrepancy 
circulation  surtax  on  diesel  vehicles,  which  has  recently 
been  increased.  Nevertheless,  Denmark  would  benefit 
from  phasing  out  the  reduced  energy  duty  for  diesel, 
in 
especially 
neighbouring  countries,  which  will  not  only  address 
negative  impacts  on  environment  but  at  the  same  time 
will deliver additional revenues. 

if  coordinated  with 

similar  moves 

Green Public Procurement  

The  EU  green  public  procurement  policies  encourage 
Member States to take further steps to reach the target 
of applying green procurement criteria to at least 50% of 
public tenders. 
Green  Public  Procurement  (GPP)  is  a  process  whereby 
public  authorities  seek  to  procure  goods,  services  and 
works  with  a  reduced  environmental  impact  throughout 
their  life-cycle  when  compared  to  goods,  services  and 
works  with  the  same  primary  function  that  would 
otherwise be procured.  

The  purchasing  power  of  public  procurement  equals  to 
approximately  14%  of  GDP88.  A  substantial  part  of  this 
money  is  spent  on  sectors  with  high  environmental 
impact such as construction or transport, so GPP can help 
to  significantly  lower  the  impact  of  public  spending  and 
foster 
The 
innovative 
Commission has proposed EU GPP criteria89. 

businesses. 

sustainable 

 A  National  Strategy  on  GPP  is  in  force  through  the 
government strategy on Intelligent Public Procurement90. 
Denmark  has  adopted  the  indicative  political  target  of 
50% of GPP as referred to in the GPP communication91. 

Denmark has a well-functioning procurement system that 
is quite advanced in its strategic dimension, as it includes 
green,  SME,  social  and  to 
innovation 
criteria.  Procurement  is  conducted  primarily  at  the  local 
level,  whereas  the  central  government  and  the  regions 
have a lesser share of procurement. 

lesser  extent 

GPP criteria are developed at the national level, however 
for  the  most  part  the  EU  GPP  criteria  are  being 
communicated  to  the  procurers.  National  GPP  criteria 
have  been  developed  for  the  product  groups:  electricity 
using  products,  timber,  and  transport  (small  and  large 
vehicles).  The EU  GPP criteria are recommended for  the 
product groups where there is no national guidance92. To 

88 European Commission, 2015. Public Procurement 
89 In the Communication “Public procurement for a better environment” 
(COM /2008/400) the Commission recommended the creation of a 
process for setting common GPP criteria. The basic concept of GPP 
relies on having clear, verifiable, justifiable and ambitious 
environmental criteria for products and services, based on a life-cycle 
approach and scientific evidence base. 

90 Denmark, Green Living   
91 European Commission, 2015. Documentation on National GPP Action 

Plans 

Denmark  21 

support the uptake of GPP initiatives such as knowledge 
sharing  networks,  partnership  for  frontrunners,  TCO 
tools,  best  practice  examples,  GPP  task  force  etc.  have 
been launched at national level. 

The  implementation  of  Green  Public  Procurement  was 
investigated at national level for the year 2013 in a report 
published  in  2016.  The  report  finds  that  in  24%  of  the 
tenders  covered  all  relevant  green  criteria  has  been 
applied  and  in  71%  of  the  tenders  one  or  more  criteria 
has been applied. In the report, GPP has been measured 
within  the  9  product  areas  related  to  the  50%  target  in 
EU93. 

Investments: the contribution of EU funds 

European  Structural  and  Investment  Funds  Regulations 
provide  that  Member  States  promote  environment  and 
in  their  funding  strategies  and 
climate  objectives 
programmes 
territorial 
social  and 
cohesion,  rural  development  and  maritime  policy,  and 
reinforce the capacity of implementing bodies to deliver 
cost-effective and sustainable investments in these areas. 

for  economic, 

Making  good  use  of  the  European  Structural  and 
Investment  Funds  (ESIF)94  is  essential  to  achieve  the 
environmental goals and integrate these into other policy 
areas.  Other  instruments  such  as  the  Horizon  2020,  the 
LIFE  programme  and  the  EFSI95  may  also  support 
implementation and spread of best practice. 

Denmark has ERDF funding of EUR 206.6m over the 2014-
2020  programming  period  (see  Figure  12).  Apart  from 
investments in energy efficiency measures in businesses, 
the ERDF programmes does not envisage investments in 
environmental projects as such; but projects may contain 
components  addressing  environmental  issues  or  climate 
change directly.  

substantial 

environmental 
As  Denmark  makes 
investments from national sources, only relatively small, 
explicit  investments  from  the  ERDF  have  been  deemed 
necessary.  The  regions  have  adopted  development 
and 
strategies,  which 
opportunities identified for the individual region (smarty 
specialization).  Important  elements  of  these  strategies 
are business clusters e.g. CLEANTECH.   

challenges 

capture 

the 

The  National  Rural  Development  Program  of  Denmark 
(RDP) allocates EUR 918.8m from EARDF.  

93 European Commission, 2015. Documentation on National GPP Action 

Plans 

94 ESIF comprises five funds – the European Regional Development 
Funds (ERDF), the Cohesion Fund (CF), the European Social Fund 
(ESF), the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development 
(EAFRD), and the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF). The 
ERDF, the CF and the ESF together form the Cohesion Policy funds. 

92 European Commission, 2015. Documentation on National GPP Action 

95 European Investment Bank, 2016 European Fund for Strategic 

Plans 

Investments 

Environmental Implementation Report – Denmark 

 
                                                            
                                                            
Denmark  22 

agricultural package, there is no legal instrument, or any 
voluntary 
(which  would  be  anyway 
considered  inadequate)  to  fill  in  the  gap  that  exists  to 
decrease nitrates pollution as necessary. 

instrument 

With regard to the integration of environmental concerns 
into  the  Common  Agricultural  Policy  (CAP),  the  two  key 
areas  for  Denmark  (as  for  all  Member  States)  are,  first, 
using Rural Development funds to pay for environmental 
land  management  and  other  environmental  measures, 
while  avoiding  financing  measures  which  could  damage 
the  environment;  and  secondly,  ensuring  an  effective 
implementation of the first pillar of the CAP with regard 
to  cross  compliance  and  1st  pillar  'greening'.  30%  of 
is  allocated  to  greening 
direct  payment  envelope 
practices 
environment.  An 
for 
environmentally  ambitious  implementation  of  1st  pillar 
the 
clearly  help 
greening  would 
environmental  situation  in  areas  not  covered  by  rural 
development,  including  intensive  agricultural  areas,  and 
if appropriate Denmark could review its implementation 
of this. 

beneficial 

improve 

the 

to 

For  the  year  2015  Denmark  made  it  possible  to  use  six 
elements laid down by the regulation as ecological focus 
areas (EFAs) out of a possible 18 elements. For example, 
from  landscape  features,  only  ponds  and  protected 
ancient elements can be declared by farmers as an EFA. 
On short rotation coppices as EFAs, fertiliser is allowed to 
be used and plant protection products are not allowed to 
be  used.  Denmark  did  not  choose  to  implement  EFA  in 
the  form  of  nitrogen  fixing  crops.  As  indicated  by 
Denmark  in  informal  exchanges,  for  the  year  2016,  only 
catch crops can be designated as an EFA. 20% of Natura 
2000  grasslands  were  designated  as  environmentally 
sensitive,  with  nothing  designated  outside  Natura  2000 
areas, which is not an ambitious choice. 

the 

relative  contribution  will 

The  budget  for  agri-environmental-climate  measures 
represents  22.5%  of  the  total  EAFRD  budget  -  of  the 
approved  RDP  and,  since  DK  does  not  propose  to 
increase  the  allocation  for  agri-environment-climate 
therefore 
measure, 
significantly  decline,  although  there  are  other  measures 
that  contribute  to  restoring,  preserving  and  enhancing 
ecosystems related to agriculture and forestry, as well as 
reducing  ammonia 
additional 
emissions.  Denmark  does  not  activate  the  measure  on 
compensation 
from 
restrictions 
implementation of Natura 2000 in the RDP. 

funds  allocated 

emanating 

for 

to 

Biodiversity  financing  in  DK  RDP  is  problematic  since  DK 
takes an ''island'' approach that does not consider areas 
outside  Natura  2000,  although  these  directly  contribute 
to  the  objectives  of  Natura  2000,  as  well  as  the  EU 
to 
Biodiversity  Strategy  2020.  DK 
introducing  measures 
in 
intensive agricultural areas. 

is  committed 
to  promote  biodiversity 

Figure 12: EU Structural & Investment Funds 2014-2020: 
Budget Denmark by theme, EUR billion96 

A  small  allocation  exists  to  support  high-nature  value 
forests,  and  the  reconversion  of  non-indigenous,  non-
resilient plantations to stands of native tree species. 

for 

organic 

farming 

conversion 

The  RDP  includes  measures  for  pasture  management  in 
high-nature  value  and  Natura  2000  areas,  as  well  as  a 
measure 
and 
maintenance. However, the main focus of funding is not 
on biodiversity, but rather on tackling pollution. After the 
modification,  the  RDP  is  going  to  be  one  of  the  main 
instruments for voluntary measures on constructed mini-
wetlands,  to  tackle  nitrates  pollution  after  the  abolition 
of  obligatory  measures  and  the  introduction  of  a  new 
agricultural  package.  Currently,  after  adoption  of  the 

96 European Commission, European Structural and Investment Funds 

Data By Country 

Environmental Implementation Report – Denmark 

 
 
                                                            
 
5. Effective governance and knowledge 

Denmark  23 

SDG  16  aims  at  providing  access  to  justice  and  building 
effective,  accountable  and  inclusive  institutions  at  all 
levels. SDG 17 aims at better implementation, improving 
policy  coordination  and  policy  coherence,  stimulating 
science, 
innovation,  establishing 
partnerships and developing measurements of progress. 

technology 

and 

Effective governance of EU environmental legislation and 
policies  requires  having  an  appropriate 
institutional 
framework,  policy  coherence  and  coordination,  applying 
legal  and  non-legal  instruments,  engaging  with  non-
governmental  stakeholders,  and  having  adequate  levels 
of  knowledge  and  skills97.  Successful  implementation 
depends, to a large extent, on central, regional and local 
government  fulfilling  key  legislative  and  administrative 
tasks,  notably  adoption  of 
implementing 
legislation,  co-ordinated  action  to  meet  environmental 
objectives  and  correct  decision-making  on  matters  such 
as  industrial  permits.  Beyond  fulfilment  of  these  tasks, 
government  must 
to  ensure  day-to-day 
compliance  by  economic  operators,  utilities  and 
individuals  ("compliance  assurance").  Civil  society  also 
has  a  role  to  play,  including  through  legal  action.  To 
underpin the roles of all actors, it is crucial to collect and 
share  knowledge  and  evidence  on  the  state  of  the 
environment  and  on  environmental  pressures,  drivers 
and impacts. 

intervene 

sound 

Equally,  effective  governance  of  EU  environmental 
legislation  and  policies  benefits  from  a  dialogue  within 
Member  States  and  between  Member  States  and  the 
Commission  on  whether  the  current  EU  environmental 
legislation  is  fit  for  purpose.  Legislation  can  only  be 
properly 
into  account 
experiences  at  Member  State  level  with  putting  EU 
commitments  into  effect.  The  Make  it  Work  initiative,  a 
Member  State  driven  project,  established 
in  2014, 
organizes a discussion on how the clarity, coherence and 
structure  of  EU  environmental 
legislation  can  be 
improved without lowering existing protection standards. 

implemented  when 

it  takes 

Effective  governance  within  central,  regional 
and local government 

Those  involved  in  implementing  environment  legislation 
at  Union,  national,  regional  and  local  levels  need  to  be 
equipped  with  the  knowledge,  tools  and  capacity  to 
improve  the  delivery  of  benefits  from  that  legislation, 
and the governance of the enforcement process. 

97 The Commission has work ongoing to improve the country-specific 
knowledge about quality and functioning of the administrative 
systems of Member States. 

Capacity to implement rules 

is 

that 

crucial 

regional  and 

local 
central, 
It 
administrations  have  the  necessary  capacities  and  skills 
and training to carry out their own tasks and co-operate 
and  co-ordinate  effectively  with  each  other,  within  a 
system of multi-level governance. 

The  Ministry  of  Environment  and  Food  of  Denmark 
includes the Department, the Danish AgriFish Agency and 
the  Danish  Veterinary  and  Food  Administration,  the 
Environmental  Protection  Agency,  The  Danish  Nature 
Agency, the Danish Coastal Authority and the Agency for 
Water  and  Nature  management.  Three  independent 
appeal boards are also linked to the Ministry including for 
environmental  appeals  (they  have  become  part  of  the 
Ministry for Business and Growth since 1 January 2017). 
The Ministry itself is the political arm of the organisation 
with  its  main  tasks  being:  policy  development,  minister 
related service and management. All parts of the ministry 
prepare and implement legislation.  

Environmental 

Protection  Agency 

The 
prepares 
legislation  and  guidelines  and  grants  authorisations  in 
several  areas.  Further  duties  include  the  monitoring  of 
chemicals and offshore platforms. 

Municipalities  are  responsible  for  granting  permits  and 
inspection  of  other  enterprises  and  also  carry  out  the 
majority  of 
sector  duties.  The 
municipalities  are  typically  the  point  of  contact  for  the 
general  public  and  for  companies  wishing  to  access 
information on the environment. 

specific  public 

The  Danish  regions  are  charged  with  the  generation  of 
regional development plans. They undertake special tasks 
in the areas of soil contamination and raw materials. 

The  2013  European  Quality  of  Government  Index  puts 

Environmental Implementation Report – Denmark 

 
 
 
 
 
                                                            
 
Denmark in first place out of the 28 Member States98. 

Transposition  and  implementation  of  EU  environmental 
legislation  by  Denmark  has  traditionally  been  good.  In 
general,  Denmark  communicates 
transposition 
legislation  fast  and  the  overall  conformity  of  the  Danish 
environmental legislation with the EU legislation is good. 

the 

The  number  of  complaints  and 
infringement  cases 
concerning DK is low. The areas of concern are related to 
water  management  (e.g.  timely  adoption  of  River  Basin 
Management  Plans  required  by  the  Water  Framework 
Directive) and air pollution (i.e. the compliance with limit 
values  for  air  pollutants).  The  "agricultural  package" 
which  Denmark  adopted  in  December  2015,  is  also 
subject to an investigation to make sure that it fulfils the 
requirements of the nitrates and water legislation. 

Coordination and integration 

Denmark  24 

include  administrative  action 

audits for systemic weaknesses. Similarly, there is a range 
of  means  to  promote  compliance,  including  awareness-
raising  campaigns  and  use  of  guidance  documents  and 
online  information  tools.  Follow-up  to  breaches  and 
(e.g. 
liabilities  can 
withdrawal of a permit), use of criminal law102 and action 
law  (e.g.  required  remediation  after 
under 
damage  from  an  accident  using 
liability  rules)  and 
contractual  law  (e.g.  measures  to  require  compliance 
with  nature  conservation  contracts).  Taken  together,  all 
of these interventions represent "compliance assurance" 
as shown in Figure 13.  

liability 

Figure 13: Environmental compliance assurance 

Impact  assessments  are 
important  tools  to  ensure 
environmental  integration  in  all  government  policies99. 
The  Commission  issued  a  guidance  document  in  2016100 
regarding  the  setting  up  of  coordinated  and/or  joint 
procedures 
to 
assessments  under  the  EIA  Directive,  Habitats  Directive, 
Water Framework Directive, and the Industrial Emissions 
Directive101. 

simultaneously 

that  are 

subject 

Compliance assurance 

EU  law  generally  and  specific  provisions  on  inspections, 
other  checks,  penalties  and  environmental  liability  help 
lay  the  basis  for  the  systems  Member  States  need  to 
have 
secure  compliance  with  EU 
to 
environmental rules. 

in  place 

Public  authorities  help  ensure  accountability  of  duty-
holders by monitoring and promoting compliance and by 
taking credible follow-up action (i.e. enforcement) when 
breaches occur or liabilities arise. Compliance monitoring 
can  be  done  both  on  the 
initiative  of  authorities 
themselves  and  in  response to  citizen complaints. It  can 
involve  using  various  kinds  of  checks, 
including 
inspections  for  permitted  activities,  surveillance  for 
possible  illegal  activities,  investigations  for  crimes  and 

98 Dr Nicholas Charron, European Quality of Government Index 2013. 
99 Article 11 of the TFEU provides that "Environmental protection 

requirements must be integrated into the definition and 
implementation of the Union's policies and activities, in particular 
with a view to promoting sustainable development." 

100 European Commission, 2016. Commission notice — Commission 
guidance document on streamlining environmental assessments 
conducted under Article 2(3) of the Environmental Impact 
Assessment Directive (Directive 2011/92/EU of the European 
Parliament and of the Council, as amended by Directive 2014/52/EU). 

101 European Commission, 2016. Commission notice — Commission 
guidance document on streamlining environmental assessments 
conducted under Article 2(3) of the Environmental Impact 
Assessment Directive (Directive 2011/92/EU of the European 
Parliament and of the Council, as amended by Directive 2014/52/EU). 

Best  practice  has  moved  towards  a  risk-based  approach 
at strategic and operational levels in which the best mix 
of compliance monitoring, promotion and enforcement is 
directed at the most serious problems. Best practice also 
recognises  the  need  for  coordination  and  cooperation 
between  different  authorities  to  ensure  consistency, 
avoid  duplication  of  work  and  reduce  administrative 
burden. Active participation in established pan-European 
networks  of  inspectors,  police,  prosecutors  and  judges, 
such as IMPEL103, EUFJE104, ENPE105 and EnviCrimeNet106, 
is  a  valuable  tool  for  sharing  experience  and  good 
practices. 

Currently, there exist a number of sectoral obligations on 
inspections  and  the  EU  directive  on  environmental 
liability  (ELD)107  provides  a  means  of  ensuring  that  the 
"polluter-pays  principle" 
is  applied  when  there  are 
accidents  and  incidents  that  harm  the  environment. 
information  giving 
There 
insights  into  existing  strengths  and  weaknesses  in  each 
Member State.  

is  also  publically  available 

For  each  Member  State,  the  following  were  therefore 

102 European Union, Environmental Crime Directive 2008/99/EC 
103 European Union Network for the Implementation and Enforcement 

of Environmental Law  

104 European Union Forum of judges for the environment  
105 The European Network of Prosecutors for the Environment  
106 EnviCrimeNet 
107 European Union, Environmental Liability Directive 2004/35/CE, p.56 

Environmental Implementation Report – Denmark 

 
                                                            
 
                                                            
reviewed:  use  of  risk-based  compliance  assurance; 
coordination  and  co-operation  between  authorities  and 
participation in pan-European networks; and key aspects 
of implementation of the ELD based on the Commission's 
recently  published  implementation  report  and  REFIT 
evaluation108.  

 

to 

the 

competent 

in  relation 

inspections  of 

Planning of environmental compliance monitoring based 
on  risk-based  approaches  is  widely  used  in  Denmark,  in 
industrial 
particular 
installations109. Inspection guidance is in place and efforts 
have  been  done  to  develop  a  performance  assessment 
framework focussing on specific environmental problems 
strategic 
reflecting 
priorities110.  Some  data  collection  arrangements  which 
allow  following  trends  and  better  targeting  compliance 
assurance are established111. Municipalities are mainly in 
in  the  Danish  de-centralised 
charge  of 
system112. 
are 
conducted at regional and local level and mechanisms for 
a dialogue with the regulated community are in place113. 
Denmark is active within IMPEL, in particular in its Expert 
Team 'Land & Water'. 

inspection 
Compliance 

authority’s 

promotion 

activities 

As  regards  enforcement,  the  set  of  sanctions  applicable 
to  environmental  offences  is  not  flexible  enough  to 
respond  to  different  types of  non-compliance  behaviour 
and significant differences in sanctions application across 
the country have been observed114.  

Up-to-date  information  is  lacking  in  relation  to  the 
following: 

 

the extent to which risk-based methods are used to 

108 COM(2016)204 final and COM(2016)121 final of 14.4.2016. This 

highlighted the need for better evidence on how the directive is used 
in practice; for tools to support its implementation, such as guidance, 
training and ELD registers; and for financial security to be available in 
case events or incidents generate remediation costs. 

109 Study on 'Assessment and summary of the Member States' 

implementation reports for the IED, IPPCD, SED and WID. Industrial 
Emissions Directive, 2016, Amec Foster Wheeler 
Environment&Infrastructure UK Ltd in collaboration with Milieu Ltd, 
p. 187.  

110 Mazur, E. (2010), Outcome Performance Measures of Environmental 
Compliance Assurance: Current Practices, Constraints and Ways 
Forward, OECD Environment Working Papers, No 18, OECD 
Publishing, p. 10.  

111 For instance, an OECD study highlights statistics showing the trends 

in non-compliance among waste-water treatment plants and 
illustrating the positive impact of compliance measures on the 
behaviour of the regulated entities, ibid, p. 38-39.  

112 There are indications that municipalities suffer budget constraints 
and sometimes lack the expertise to inspect complex industrial 
installations. See 'Study into Possible Options for Revising 
Recommendation 2001/331/EC providing for minimum criteria for 
environmental inspections', COWI/Ecorys, 2011, p. 186-188.  

113 Ibid, p. 189.  
114 See 'Study into Possible Options for Revising Recommendation 
2001/331/EC providing for minimum criteria for environmental 
inspections', COWI/Ecorys, 2011, p. 187 and 'Comparative study of 
pressures and measures in the major River Basin Management Plans', 
Section Governance, 2012, p. 49.  

Denmark  25 

direct  compliance  assurance  in  relation  to  critical 
activities outside of industrial installations, especially 
specific  problem-areas  highlighted  elsewhere  in  this 
Country  Report,  poor  air  quality  and  the  pressures 
on water quality from diffuse sources of pollution115.  
arrangements  for  cooperation  and  coordination 
between  different  municipal  inspection  authorities 
and  between  them  and  other  authorities  with 
relevant competencies.  

  how  the  Danish  authorities  ensure  a  targeted  and 
proportionate  response  to  different  types  of  non-
compliant  behaviour,  in  particular  in  relation  to 
serious  breaches  detected,  given  indications  that 
low  probability  of  being  criminally 
there 
is  a 
prosecuted  and 
for  environmental 
offences  and  that  fines  cannot  be  imposed  through 
administrative proceedings.  

sentenced 

Concerning the ELD, the Danish authorities have issued a 
comprehensive  guidance  document  with  regard  to  the 
application  of  the  directive  especially  focusing  on  the 
understanding  of  the  term  ‘environmental  damage’.  For 
the  period 2007-2013,  however Denmark  did  not  report 
any  instance  of  environmental  damage  or  imminent 
threat  that  was  handled  under  the  Environmental 
Liability Directive, suggesting that the Danish authorities 
apply  a  high  bar  before  the  Directive  is  considered 
applicable  and  that  alternative  instruments,  which  were 
in  force  prior  to  the  directive,  have  been  considered 
sufficient  in  the  concrete  cases.  It  is  not  mandatory  for 
operators to take out insurance covering incidents under 
the ELD. The Danish State has encouraged the insurance 
industry  to  develop  appropriate  insurance  products  but 
there  is  no  evidence  to  what  degree  such  insurance 
policies have been taken out.  

Suggested action 

  Improve 

transparency  on 

the  organisation  and 
functioning  of  compliance  assurance  and  on  how 
significant risks are addressed, as outlined above. 

  Encourage 
authorities 
EnviCrimeNet. 

greater  participation  of 
competent 
in  the  activities  of  ENPE,  EUFJE  and 

further  develop  and  popularize 

  Take further steps to encourage the insurance industry 
to 
insurance 
instruments covering environmental damage under the 
ELD.  

115 Some issues have been identified also in relation to control of water 
abstraction European Court of Auditors, Special Report No 4, 2014, 
Integration of EU water policy objectives with the CAP: a partial 
success, p. 35.  

Environmental Implementation Report – Denmark 

 
                                                            
 
 
                                                            
Public participation and access to justice 

The  Aarhus  Convention,  related  EU  legislation  on  public 
participation and environmental impact assessment, and 
the case-law of the Court of Justice require that citizens 
and  their  associations  should  be  able  to  participate  in 
decision-making  on  projects  and  plans  and  should  enjoy 
effective environmental access to justice. 

Citizens  can  more  effectively  protect  the  environment  if 
they can rely on the three "pillars" of the Convention on 
Access  to  Information,  Public  Participation  in  Decision-
making  and  Access  to  Justice  in  Environmental  Matters 
("the  Aarhus  Convention").  Public  participation  in  the 
administrative  decision  making  process  is  an  important 
element to ensure that the authority takes its decision on 
the  best  possible  basis.  The  Commission  intends  to 
examine compliance with mandatory public participation 
requirements more systematically at a later stage. 

Access  to  justice  in  environmental  matters  is  a  set  of 
guarantees  that  allows  citizens  and  their  associations  to 
challenge  acts  or  omissions  of  the  public  administration 
before  a  court. 
for  decentralised 
It 
implementation of EU environmental law. 

is  a 

tool 

For  each  Member  State,  two  crucial  elements  for 
effective  access  to  justice  have  been  systematically 
reviewed:  the  legal  standing  for  the  public,  including 
NGOs and the extent to which prohibitive costs represent 
a barrier. 

Denmark  provides  excellent  public  participation  and 
generally  an  effective  access  to  justice  in  environmental 
matters.  The  public  may,  however,  face  problems 
obtaining  legal  standing  when  an  authority  refuses  to 
intervene in case of an unlawful activity116.  

Suggested action 

  Take  the  necessary  measures  to  ensure  that  the  costs 
of legal challenges involving EU environmental law are 
not  prohibitively  expensive,  and 
line  with  the 
requirements  of  EU 
law  as  well  as  the  Aarhus 
Convention. 

in 

Access 
evidence 

to 

information,  knowledge  and 

The  Aarhus  Convention  and  related  EU  legislation  on 
access  to  information  and  the  sharing  of  spatial  data 
require that the public has access to clear information on 
the environment, including on how Union environmental 
law is being implemented. 

It is of crucial importance to public authorities, the public 
and business that environmental information is shared in 
an  efficient  and  effective  way.  This  covers  reporting  by 

116 European Commission, 2012/2013 access to justice in environmental 

matters in 2012/2013 

Denmark  26 

authorities 

active 
through 

public 
the  public, 

and 
increasingly 

and 
businesses 
dissemination 
to 
electronic means. 
The  Aarhus  Convention117,  the  Access  to  Environmental 
Information  Directive118  and  the  INSPIRE  Directive119 
together  create  a  legal  foundation  for  the  sharing  of 
environmental  information  between  public  authorities 
and with the public. They also represent the green part of 
the  ongoing  EU  e-Government  Action  Plan120.  The  first 
two 
to  provide 
information  to  the  public,  both  on  request  and  actively. 
The  INSPIRE  Directive  is  a  pioneering  instrument  for 
electronic  data-sharing  between  public  authorities  who 
can  vary  in  their  data-sharing  policies,  e.g.  on  whether 
access to data is for free. The INSPIRE Directive sets up a 
geoportal which indicates the level of shared spatial data 
in  each  Member  State  –  i.e.  data  related  to  specific 
locations,  such  as  air  quality  monitoring  data.  Amongst 
other  benefits 
it  facilitates  the  public  authorities' 
reporting obligations.  

create  obligations 

instruments 

accessibility  of 
State, 
For  each  Member 
environmental data (based on what the INSPIRE Directive 
envisages)  as  well  as  data-sharing  policies  ('open  data') 
have been systematically reviewed.  

the 

Denmark's  performance  on  the  implementation  of  the 
INSPIRE  Directive  as  enabling  framework  to  actively 
disseminate  environmental  information  to  the  public 
leaves room for improvement. Denmark has indicated in 
the  3-yearly  INSPIRE  implementation  report121  that  the 
necessary  data-sharing  policies  allowing  access  and  use 
of  spatial  data  by  national  administrations,  other 
institutions 
Member  States'  administrations  and  EU 
without  procedural  obstacles  are  available  and 
implemented.  Denmark 
implementing  a  common 
is 
public  data  infrastructure  with  common  public  data-
sharing policies based on open data principles. 
Assessments of monitoring reports122 issued by Denmark 
and  the  spatial information  that  Denmark has  published 
on  the  INSPIRE  geoportal123  indicate  that  not  all  spatial 
and 
for 
information 
implementation of EU environmental law has been made 
available  or  is  accessible.  The  larger  part  of  this  missing 
spatial  information  consists  of  the  environmental  data 
required  to  be  made  available  under  the  existing 
reporting 
EU 
environmental law. 

and  monitoring 

regulations 

evaluation 

needed 

the 

of 

117 European Union, Directive 2003/4/EC on public access to 

environmental information  

118 European Union, INSPIRE Directive 2007/2/EC  
119 European Commission, 2016. INSPIRE Directive 
120 European Union, EU eGovernment Action Plan 2016-2020 - 

Accelerating the digital transformation of government COM(2016) 
179 final 

121European Commission, INSPIRE reports 
122 Inspire indicator trends 
123 Inspire Resources Summary Report  

Environmental Implementation Report – Denmark 

 
                                                            
                                                            
Suggested action 

  Identify and document all spatial data sets required for 
the  implementation  of  environmental  law,  and  make 
the  data  and  documentation  at  least  accessible  'as  is' 
to  other  public  authorities  and  the  public  through  the 
digital services foreseen in the INSPIRE Directive. 

Denmark  27 

Environmental Implementation Report – Denmark