It's official: Denmark will end crude oil extraction in 2050

Denmark's Climate, Energy and Utilities Minister Dan Jørgensen on Oct. 30, 2020. Photo Dan Jørgensen | Source: National Observer

Denmark is the European Union's largest oil producer with 100,000 barrels of crude oil and oil equivalents each day.

The Nordic country has committed to ending the extraction of fossil fuels by 2050 while guaranteeing continued employment for affected workers.

“When the calendar reads 2050, the oil and gas valves will be turned off for good,” said Danish Climate, Energy and Utilities Minister Dan Jorgensen, according to National Observer.

On December 3rd, the Danish Parliament reached a deal that would see the country cancel its current and future licensing rounds for oil and gas in the North Sea, and phase out all fossil fuel production by 2050.

This deal, which is in fact a political agreement, makes the Scandinavian country the largest oil producer in the world to fix an end date for fossil fuel exploration within their shores.

It recognizes that oil exploration in the Danish part of the North Sea since 1972 “has been important in financing the Danish welfare state”.

The last 50 years were an “important and productive period in Danish business and energy history,” it states.

“But it has come with a price.”

The parliamentary agreement also commits to a “just transition” initiative in and around the Danish west coast seaport of Esbjerg, where there is a “high concentration of companies in the energy industry and specialized knowledge within the energy sector.”

The agreement sets aside about $18 million to support the development of “large-scale offshore wind” in the region.