IN BRIEF

A PEACEFUL LAND IN THE NORTH

PEACEFULNESS: A study by the Economist Intelligence Unit ranks Denmark 3rd of 121 countries for peacefulness, with Norway and New Zealand taking the top spots.

According to The Global Peace Index, a new study published by Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), Denmark is the third most peaceful country in the world. Only its very close neighbour Norway, and very distant neighbour New Zealand scored better in the peacefulness stakes.

The index rates 121 countries on 24 separate criteria including levels of violence, organised crime and military expenditure. The study, commissioned from EIU by the Australian IT entrepreneur Steve Killelea, is backed by international figures including the Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and former US president Jimmy Carter, all winners of the Nobel peace prize.

The study found that small, stable countries that are part of regional blocs like the European Union are most likely to be more peaceful, with income and education crucial in promoting peace. The Dalai Lama said the new index could provide a useful tool for policymakers: “Compiling and maintaining an index of which countries are the most peaceful and publishing the results will undoubtedly make the factors and qualities that contribute to that status better known, and will encourage people to foster them in their own countries,” he said.

The rest of the top 10 countries on the list is: Ireland, Japan, Finland, Sweden, Canada, Portugal, and Austria.

Denmark ranks second on the Global Responsible Competitiveness Index Denmark and the Nordic countries feature prominently in “The State of Responsible Competitiveness 2007: Making Sustainability Count in Global Markets” from the London-based think tank AccountAbility. The report compares the efforts of countries in advancing competitiveness based on responsible business practices. The Responsible Competitiveness Index ranks 108 countries, which account for 96% of global economic activity, on progress in advancing responsible business practices, including such issues as the environment, climate change, human rights and combating corruption. Sweden currently heads the index as the world’s most responsibly competitive nation, followed by Denmark, Finland, Iceland, UK, Norway, New Zealand, Ireland, Australia, and Canada. Other strong performers outside Europe include Chile, South Africa and the Republic of Korea.

THE NUMBER OF FRESHERS SETS A RECORD

The number of students starting courses at Danish universities has set a record this year. In total there were 27,300 freshers, which is 1,100 more than last year and corresponds to a
16% increase since 2001.

The Danish Minister for Science, Technology and Innovation Helge Sander sees the rising figure as proof of the success of the government’s efforts to increase the numbers of highly trained graduates. The more of them we have, the better our competitiveness, says the Minister.

Aalborg University saw the highest increase with 19% more students, followed by the University of Southern Denmark with a 9% rise.

The rise in intake was especially marked on technical courses such as IT and engineering.

MORE SERVICE PRODUCTS THAN GOODS

EMPLOYMENT: These days, Denmark produces more service products than physical goods. Since the service sector is more knowledgeintensive, the value of service exports is increasing accordingly

Denmark today employs three times more people in the service
sector than in the agricultural, construction and manufacturing industries combined. The service sector provides almost 2 million jobs, and the fastest growing segment is finance and
consultancy. Some 400,000 people in the service sector are producing services exclusively for exports, compared with 260,000 people producing goods for export.

New data from the Danish Chamber of Commerce shows that more services are being exported than traditional manufactured goods. These knowledge-intensive services are generating correspondingly improved revenues in IT, engineering consultancy, the advertising and film industry, architecture and economics.

In the last three years, the service sector has created around 100,000 new jobs compared with 6,000 new jobs in the manufacturing industry. Of Denmark’s 5.5 million inhabitants, 2.8 million (51%) are in employment.

“Globalisation is increasingly making Denmark a service society, with the physical production of goods playing a diminishing role. This is carried out in other countries, often based on input provided by the service sector,” says economist Christian Sestoft of the Danish Chamber of Commerce.

DENMARK’S FIRST HYDROGEN POWERED CAR

A two seater hydrogen powered car with a range of 100 miles and a top speed of 50 mph will be launched in October

In October, a new type of car began cruising along Danish roads. The name of the two-seater vehicle, Hywet, gives an initial clue as to the fuel it uses – Hydrogen. The Hywet vehicle is a further development of a Danish electric car called Kewet.

The new hydrogen powered car is the outcome of a public-private sector collaboration between Heat, Serenegy, Cemtec, Aalborg University and Mariagerfjord Municipality. The Hywet has a 13 kW electric motor that is powered by a combination of a high temperature proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell stack and a rechargeable lithium ion battery. The car is designed to be capable of reaching 80 kph (50 mph), and can travel 160 km (100 miles) on a tankfull of hydrogen. When the car reaches mass production, the price will reportedly be in the region of USD 37,000. In Denmark, hydrogen fuelled cars have already been accorded tax-free status.

In practice the Hywet’s power system works like this: The car starts using the charged-up lithium ion battery, then after a short period switches over to the fuel cell stack, which reacts the hydrogen fuel with atmospheric oxygen to supply the necessary electrochemical power to drive the motor. While the vehicle is operating, the fuel cell stack also recharges the lithium ion battery, so that the car is ready for the next battery start. The fuel cell hydrogen/oxygen reaction produces pure water as its sole waste product, making Hywet a zero-CO2 emission vehicle. The positive environmental profile is potentially further strengthened by the fact that surplus power from wind turbines can be used to create the vehicle’s hydrogen fuel on a zero-CO2 emission basis from the electrolysis of water.

EXPORT BOOM FOR DENMARK’S WIND ENERGY INDUSTRY

New statistics from Denmark’s wind energy industry show that exports from this sector now account for more than half of all Danish energy technology exports. And export revenues are
growing apace: in 2006, exports of wind - turbines, components and know-how totalled USD 5 billion, a 41% rise on the 2005 figure of USD 3.5 billion.

According to Danish Wind Industry Association director Bjarne Lundager Jensen, the figures evidence the farsightedness of the political decision taken years ago to invest in wind power for the domestic market, which now provides a shop window for demonstrating to customers worldwide that the technology works in practice.

Total revenues from the wind energy industry domiciled in Denmark were an estimated USD 6 billion, up 36% on the 2005 figure of USD 4.4 billion. On a global level, total 2006 revenues were USD 9 billion, up 25% on last year’s figure.

DANISH CITY FIRST CO2-NEUTRAL IN EUROPE A newly established fund, Project Zero in Sønderborg, southern Jutland, aims to create 5,000 new jobs in the region, and make Sønderborg one of three showcase cities for the high profile UN climate conference, which will be hosted by Denmark in 2009. In the long term, Project Zero plans to make Sønderborg the first CO2-neutral growth area in Europe. Business development, changing habits, city development and new residential property concepts are some of the elements in a plan to optimise energy consumption and sustainable energy supply in the region. Project Zero will initially involve 77,000 citizens.