The expertise of Danish pension funds in organising private-sector financing for the clean-energy transition is in demand from other parties at Climate Week in New York, particularly in the face of current economic obstacles for renewable energy projects, according to the Nordic country’s pensions and insurance lobby.

Insurance & Pension Denmark (IPD) said its officials are in New York this week for the business-focused series of climate-related events, along with representatives of big Danish pension funds PFA, PKA, PensionDanmark and Velliv.

Tom Vile Jensen, IPD deputy director, said: “The climate crisis is one of the biggest crises in the world, yet we are currently experiencing economic headwinds for renewable energy projects in some parts of the world.

“That’s why it’s important that we, internationally, share knowledge about how we solve the problems of getting the necessary energy transition financed. It goes both ways: we learn from others, they can learn from us,” he said.

Vile Jensen said that having invested DKK343bn (€46bn) in the climate transition, the Danish pension industry had left a lasting mark on the climate and energy agenda, which had clearly attracted international interest.

IPD said Danish pension providers had given a concrete commitment to invest DKK450bn by 2030 in the energy transition from fossil fuels to green fuels.

The pledge, made in 2019 around the UN Climate Action Summit in New York and then increased, is conditional, depending on various factors, including market conditions, company-specific circumstances, and political developments, according to IPD.

Vile Jensen said there was a big debate globally about the financing gap.

“How do we find private financing on a large scale to switch from fossil fuels to the use of more sustainable and renewable energy?” he said.

“The Danish pension companies have helped to crack the code for this, for example through the two large funds, CIP [Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners] and AIP Management,” he said.

In this way, the IPD deputy director said, Denmark had developed into an international green investment hub.

Vile Jensen said he was bringing suggestions to New York on what steps were required to promote investments in energy transition, according to the Danish model.

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Rachel is IPE's Nordic correspondent. She has long been a freelance writer, and over the years, has written for The Telegraph, The Independent, The Observer, AMWatch and elsewhere. In 2001, Rachel's personal finance book Kickstart Your Money was published by John Wiley & Sons.View full Profile

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