Former NATO secretary-general Fogh Rasmussen: "President Trump can restore America’s global leadership"

I have always had the greatest respect for Anders Fogh Rasmussen, former Danish PM and former NATO secretary-general. His latest article on the incoming Trump administration is truly worth reading:

The intellectual elites in much of the Western world are still shell-shocked by Donald Trump’s election victory in November. However, instead of squawking nervously about every tweet, astute political observers should focus on the underlying political dynamics in the coming months and years.
The elites would do well to remember that populism is often based on a core of truth. Rather than ostracize populists, establishment parties are often better off welcoming them and working with them. The government I led in Denmark between 2001 and 2009 was based on a successful coalition of so-called populists and established center-right parties. We didn't agree on every issue, but together we were able to reform the welfare state, improve our immigration laws, and back the U.S.-led coalitions in Afghanistan and Iraq. Most importantly, we dealt a cultural blow to political correctness and bureaucratic elitism.
The emerging Trump coalition of conservative activists has broad appeal in America, which remains a fundamentally center-right nation politically. Barring significant errors of execution, Donald Trump has the potential to stabilize American politics and restore reliable American leadership to the world stage in the coming years.
So far, Trump has made several personnel appointments that present a more nuanced picture of future U.S. foreign policy than superficial media coverage suggests. He has brought in many globally respected figures from business and the military. These strong leaders won't tolerate a weak and meek America. And personnel is policy, as the saying goes.

I believe President Trump will be unorthodox, challenge the status quo and look at the global stage with fresh eyes. If applied wisely, this could be an effective approach. Let’s take military spending as one example. It would be disastrous to abandon U.S. allies in Europe, but Trump is right to point out that the U.S. is paying a disproportionate share of total defense costs in the NATO alliance. Trump’s unambiguity on this issue combined with Russia’s saber rattling have sent shock waves through many European countries. Most recently, Latvia and Lithuania have taken concrete steps to reach the 2% defense target in 2018. Others are likely to follow suit.

Read the entire article here.

Danish owner of "the first carbon-neutral hotel group in the world" on a mission to save the world from catastrophic global warming

(image by Wikipedia)

When it comes to self-promotion, the Danes are second to none. The Forbes interview with Kirsten Brøchner, the owner of "the first carbon-neutral hotel group in the world" (consisting of two small family run hotels) is a case in point.

Ms. Brøchner is apparently on a  mission to revolutionize the entire international business community in order to save the world from catastrophic human caused global warming:  

For instance, I wanted to set up a climate school for companies with training courses for employees, teaching them how to choose the green option at work and at home. One example is when boiling water for tea—only boiling the water needed, so energy is not wasted on boiling extra.

Well, maybe it's not so surprising that even the "green" Danish government agencies have told Brøchner that her "climate school" is not their cup of tea:

Unfortunately, none of the many government agencies I asked for help were interested in supporting the idea.

Jens Pedersen, senior scientist at Denmark's Technical University: "The Earth is entering a very unpleasant cooling period"

Jens Pedersen, senior scientist at Denmark's Technical University, is worried about the Earth entering an unpleasant cooling period:

 

There are signs that the Earth is entering a very unpleasant cooling period. Sunspot activity remains very low.

"The sun has been very unusual for almost 15 years now," Jens Pedersen, senior scientist at the Denmark's Technical University, said.

Pedersen said the sun recently reached solar maximum and that there should be a lot of sunspot activity, but there isn't.

"We have to go back 100 years to find a solar maximum that was as weak as the one we are in right now," he told CBN News. "And the recent solar minimum…one has to go back 200 years to find one that was as weak."

The last time the sun was this quiet, North America and Europe suffered through a weather event from the 1600s to the 1800s known as "Little Ice Age," when the Thames River in London regularly froze solid, and North America saw terrible winters. Crops failed and people starved.

Hiding the Evidence

Pedersen said climate scientists know the Earth stopped warming 15 years ago. But the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, of which Pedersen is an expert reviewer, suppressed a recent report from its own scientists that the U.N.'s climate model has been proven wrong.

"In particular one of the issues has been why global warming has stopped during the last 15 years, and climate scientists were very frank that the climate models do not match the climate we observe," Pedersen said.

But politicians removed that embarrassing finding from the final draft.  It's as if the alleged danger from climate change can't be wrong because it is now too important.

It has become a political movement, a cash cow for climate scientists and environmental groups, and a way for world leaders to control economies and people.

 

Read the entire article here

Copenhagen - European Green Capital 2014: Myth and Reality

Copenhagen has now officially been crowned European Green Capital for 2014 by the European Commission.

 

Frank Jensen, the city's social democratic mayor was celebrating the "win" in Brussels the other day:

“It’s a major pat on the back for all Copenhageners and the city’s green businesses who everyday do what they can to make Copenhagen a more green and sustainable city,” Jensen said in a press release.

Among the initiatives that swayed the independent jury in Copenhagen’s favour are the city’s efforts to increase the number of cyclists, become carbon neutral in 2025, and ensure Copenhageners better access to nature areas.

EU environment commissioner Janez Potočnik congratulated Copenhagen on the award.
“The rest of Europe could learn a lot from Copenhagen’s climate efforts and the high quality of life that Copenhageners lead. This prize reflects the fact that Copenhagen is making significant efforts to develop its urban space in order to deliver a more healthy and sustainable city for Copenhageners,” Potočnik said.

It is a well known fact, that Danes are very good in marketing (also themselves). They have obviously done a great marketing and promotion job with the EU Commission, as they were able to beat eleven who were also competing for the title.

But as somebody who has lived in Copenhagen a few years ago (and enjoyed it), I would agree with British journalist Richard Steed, who has lived in Copenhagen since 1998:

We love to create myth! And so too, it seems, does the European Commission, which has named

Copenhagen the European Green Capital of 2014. I am sorry, but if you think Copenhagen is one of the most litter-free and greenest cities in the world, I would recommend you visit Valbyparken. Head towards Kalveboderne and discover for yourselves the amount of rubbish by the side of the shore. It is simply embarrassing.  I feel sorry for the poor local swans who are probably some of the most toxic birds in Europe right now. Or does this simply not matter because it’s outside the city centre, and out of sight from the tourists? --

 I bet the European officials who voted for this didn’t consider that in 2014 this city would more resemble one big dirty building site than a harmonious, green and pleasant place to be.
Obviously Copenhagen didn’t award this accolade itself, but the council did nominate itself and produce a glossy multimedia brochure to showcase the city. Yet in my view, the city should be embarrassed by winning this award, and looking at the council’s meagre budget, I can only assume it’s not their top priority. Right now all they are doing is recycling the same old ‘green stories’ that we’ve all heard over and over. 

Greenland ends ban on uranium mining

This is good news for Greenland:

Greenland's parliament has voted to end a decades-long prohibition on mining for radioactive materials like uranium, further opening up the country to investors from Australia to China eager to tap its vast mineral resources.
The move will not only allow the mining of uranium deposits, but also of rare earths, minerals used in 21st century products from wind turbines to hybrid cars and smart phones and that are currently mostly extracted by China.
With sea ice thawing and new Arctic shipping routes opening, the former Cold War ally of the West has emerged from isolation and gained geopolitical attention from the likes of Beijing and Brussels thanks to its untapped mineral wealth.
"We cannot live with unemployment and cost of living increases while our economy is at a standstill. It is therefore necessary that we eliminate zero tolerance towards uranium now," Greenland Prime Minister Aleqa Hammond was quoted as saying by local newspaper Sermitsiaq during the debate.
Hammond's government won the heated debate by 15-14 votes.

Read the entire article here

Ban Ki-moon visits world famous Copenhagen Tivoli Gardens - "Fairy tale like experiences for all ages"

UN Secretary General  Ban Ki-Moon and his travelling circus earlier week visited the world famous Copenhagen Tivoli gardens as guests of the Danish government:

"The Tivoli Gardens - fairy tale like experiences for all ages"
(official UN photo)

Oh, yes, while enjoying the sights and sounds of the Danish capital, the busy Secretary General also found some time to deliver his standard "tipping point" warning:

"The world is at a 'tipping point,' and how it produces, distributes and uses energy will determine if sustainable development succeeds."

Ban's UN speechwriter had written an almost poetic end line for his boss's Copenhagen "keynote speech":

“With focus, resolve and ambition, we can lower the global thermostat and raise the level of economic opportunity for all – from the poorest households to the largest enterprises.”

Ban made the statement at the launch of the Sustainable Energy for All Energy Efficiency Hub at the UN City in the Danish capital.

The Danes were perhaps lucky to have Ban as the keynote speaker. Had it been the UN's climate boss Christiane Figueras, tears could not have been avoided ...

 

Bright future for Greenland: World's largest deposits of rare earth metals likely to be opened up for mining soon

Danmark's image as a green, anti-nuclear energy country, full of swivelling wind turbines, could according to the Danish weekly Weekendavisen soon change, if the autonomous Greenland government, as expected, decides to say yes to mining of Uranium and rare earth metals in the world's largest island.

The Australian mining company GME, in charge of preparatory work, is enthusiastic about the prospects:

The mining project at Kuannersuit is a unique project in southern Greenland. The mining preparatory work that has been in operation since 2007, has unveiled the world's largest deposits of rare earth metals including uranium and zinc. --

Kvanefjeld has the potential to meet the world's rapidly growing demand for rare earth metals, and thus can contribute strongly to the Greenlandic economy for many decades to come.
Greenland Minerals and Energy believes that Kvanefjeld can be the starting point for a mining area in the world that can be developed in a responsible and environmentally friendly way and become one of the world's leading sources of rare earth metals.

The ore in Kvanefjeld contains a number of elements with a very high commercial value. The rare earth metals are the primary product and the uranium is extracted as a byproduct. The potential annual production of rare earth metals are more than 40,000 tonnes, which is ten times more than the production of the byproduct uranium oxide.

Greenland decided more than 30 years ago that there should not be exploration or mined uranium and other radioactive elements. This political decision remains valid - the so-called zero tolerance.
But the Greenlandic authorities have eased zero-tolerance a little bit and changed the standard conditions for mineral exploration, so Greenland Minerals and Energy has been allowed to continue test drilling and complete exploration work on Kvanefjeld, although there is uranium in the ore. --

The US and the EU - as well as China - are closely watching the development of the Kvanefjeld project:

China accounts for nearly 95 percent of world production of rare earth metals. The national demand is so high that the majority is consumed in China, and only a relatively small proportion is available for export. China has slowly but surely reduced its export quotas and increased their export tax knowing that the rare earth metals in the degree is a strategic commodity.
 
Unless large and stable detection of rare earth metals outside of China happen, foreign companies may be forced to relocate their production to China to get access to the rare earth metals. In the light of that the deposit on Kvanefjeld plays a significant strategic role, and the mining project will be followed with great attention in the EU and the U.S. and multinational industrial groups.

Greenland was in 1979 granted self-government by the Danish parliament. In 2009 Greenland acquired greater responsibility for internal affairs, including the right to decide about use of raw materials.

Greenpeace activists invade a Shell refinery in Denmark dressed in oil-based Polar Bear party costumes

Greenpeace activists dressed as polar bears have invaded a Shell refinery in Denmark this morning:

Shell’s oil refinery in the Jutland city of Fredericia was invaded by about 40 Greenpeace activists dressed up like polar bears early this morning.
The activists forced entry to the Dutch oil giant’s refinery just after 6am and a group of them immediately began climbing up one of the refinery’s large silos , where they hung a banner featuring an image of the well-known yellow and red Shell logo juxtaposed with a polar bear's face. --

The activist group in Fredericia includes Danes as well as individuals from Sweden, Norway, Finland, Italy, Germany and Latvia.


The Greenpeace polar bear squad:

Greenpeace activists from at least seven countries dressed in fancy Polar Bear party costumes made of oil derivatives. By the way,
did Greenpeace count the huge carbon footprints of the activists who took high carbon emission flights to Denmark?
(image by Greenpeace)

The greenies pretend to be saving the Arctic, but the only ones benefiting from their PR stunt are the  manufacturers (Chinese?) of their cheap Polar Bear dresses. The Greenpeace outfit is strikingly similar to this "Polar-Bear-Mascot-Costume-Fancy-Dress" sold by MadeInChina.com:

1.The deluxe costume is including head,body suit,gloves,shoes(a real boot,not only a cover)

2.It can fit 5'2"(160cm) to 6' feet (180cm)Weighing up to 180lbs.$30usd more if you need a larger size.

3.The body of this outfit is machine washable. The head can be Dry cleaned.

4.Discount accepted if you buy multiple costumes.

The "polyfoam material" used for the Greenpeace costumes is based on crude oil derivatives. The dresses could in fact be based on raw material from the Shell refinery in front of which the greenies are parading!

At least Greenpeace got a good discount for ordering "multiple costumes"! But did the Greenpeace purchasing department check that the costumes are not made by Chinese slave labor or children?

PS

If  Greenpeace "activists" still insist on wearing fancy party dresses, here is a much nicer Polar Bear dress for the next PR stunt:

Latest EU poll: "Euroscepticism is soaring amid bailouts and spending cuts"

The latest European poll should make the pygmy politicians and Brussels eurocrats in charge of the slow motion train wreck known as the European Union scared to death: 

Public confidence in the European Union has fallen to historically low levels in the six biggest EU countries, raising fundamental questions about its democratic legitimacy more than three years into the union's worst ever crisis, new data shows.

After financial, currency and debt crises, wrenching budget and spending cuts, rich nations' bailouts of the poor, and surrenders of sovereign powers over policymaking to international technocrats, Euroscepticism is soaring to a degree that is likely to feed populist anti-EU politics and frustrate European leaders' efforts to arrest the collapse in support for their project.

Figures from Eurobarometer, the EU's polling organisation, analysed by the European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR), a thinktank, show a vertiginous decline in trust in the EU in countries such as Spain,Germany and Italy that are historically very pro-European.

The six countries surveyed – Germany, France, Britain, Italy, Spain, and Poland – are the EU's biggest, jointly making up more than two out of three EU citizens or around 350 million of the EU's 500 million population.

The findings, published exclusively in the Guardian in Britain and in collaboration with other leading newspapers in the other five countries, represent a nightmare for Europe's leaders, whether in the wealthy north or in the bailout-battered south, suggesting a much bigger crisis of political and democratic legitimacy. 

"The damage is so deep that it does not matter whether you come from a creditor, debtor country, euro would-be member or the UK: everybody is worse off," said José Ignacio Torreblanca, head of the ECFR's Madrid office. "Citizens now think that their national democracy is being subverted by the way the euro crisis is conducted." --

The most dramatic fall in faith in the EU has occurred in Spain, where the banking and housing market collapse, eurozone bailout and runaway unemployment have combined to produce 72% "tending not to trust" the EU, with only 20% "tending to trust".

The data compares trust and mistrust in the EU at the end of last year with levels in 2007, before the financial crisis, to reveal a precipitate fall in support for the EU of the kind that is common in Britain but is much more rarely seen on the continent.

In Spain, trust in the EU fell from 65% to 20% over the five-year period while mistrust soared to 72% from 23%.

In five of the six countries, including Britain, mistrust prevailed over trust by sizeable margins, whereas in 2007 – with the exception of the UK – the opposite was the case.

Five years ago, 56% of Germans "tended to trust" the EU, whereas 59% now "tend to mistrust". In France, mistrust has risen from 41% to 56%. In Italy, where public confidence in Europe has traditionally been higher than in the national political class, mistrust of the EU has almost doubled from 28% to 53%.

The failure of the present European Union is becoming more apparent day by day. The co-founder of the Danish Saxo Bank, Lars Seier Christensen, has some interesting ideas about what could be done to stop the madness:

The big question raised in the book (by Vaclav Klaus) is really whether the EU is more the problem than the solution in the current crisis.

Both the EU and Denmark are in a difficult situation. The euro has shown its true colours and anyone with a rational view of the world sees the currency collaboration as a historic failure that can lead to even further fatal consequences for Europe and the continent’s competitiveness vis-à-vis the rest of the world. There is one thing, and only one thing, that can rescue the euro. That is a much more far-reaching integration between the euro countries; a common financial policy, joint debt issuing, a willingness to pay enormous transfers from the rich to the poor countries or, more specifically, from Germany to all the other member states.

That is a possible route, but not a desirable one. At least not for the citizens who in this case - like in too many other cases - seem to have fundamentally different interests than politicians. It requires a will to give up national independence to an extent that is not acceptable to the voters and, precisely because of this, can only be accomplished in an undemocratic manner.

A speech by British Prime Minister David Cameron on January 23 was extraordinarily important. It represented a strengthening of the critical debate that many Europeans are striving for. Until this moment, Václav Klaus was the only head of state who contributed to that debate. The fact that the prime minister of one of the EU’s most important countries is stepping forward as the focal point for citizens who want a different EU can turn out to be extremely important, although the initial reactions from the EU elite were as negative as they were predictable. The EU does not take criticism and debate lightly.

But with the UK’s forthcoming attempt to negotiate a less restrictive agreement with the EU, Pandora’s box has now been opened. Cameron’s rational reasoning will contribute to exposing the EU’s rigid insistence on more power despite the poor results. It will become increasingly difficult for both the Brits and other EU citizens to understand a firm rejection of Cameron’s five principles – competitiveness, flexibility, more power to the national states, democratic responsibility and fairness. That the EU will have to argue against such reasonable demands and as strongly as possible try to prevent referendums about them would only create more attention and more criticism not least because the Eurozone will come under further economic pressure as a possible referendum would be approaching in the UK in 2017.

It is a unique chance for the countries outside the Eurozone to create an independent forum chaired by Cameron. The Danish Prime Minister ought to have been on the first flight to London to discuss this. It did not happen, of course, but the hope for a better EU has been strengthened by Cameron’s newfound leadership.

The truth about the euro: "Once the French get into a full- scale crisis, it’s over."

France, led by an incompetent socialist former party apparatchik, could be the country that completes the collapse of the euro:

Lars Seier Christensen, co-chief executive officer of Danish bank Saxo Bank A/S, said the euro’s recent rally is illusory and the shared currency is set to fail because the continent hasn’t supported it with a fiscal union.

“The whole thing is doomed,” Christensen said yesterday in an interview at the bank’s Dubai office. “Right now we’re in one of those fake solutions where people think that the problem is contained or being addressed, which it isn’t at all.” --

France is grappling with shrinking investment, job cuts by companies such as Renault SA and pressure from European partners to speed budget cuts. While Germany expanded 0.7 percent last year, France posted no growth and Italy probably contracted more than 2 percent, the weakest in the euro area after Greece and Portugal, according to the European Commission.

The economy is on the brink of its third recession in four years and the highest joblessness since 1998. Prime Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said Feb. 13 the country won’t make its budget-deficit target of 3 percent of gross domestic product this year as the economy fails to generate growth and taxes.

“Another possible fallout is getting rid of some of the countries that are being ruined by being in the euro, notably the southern European economies,” Christensen said. “People have been dramatically underestimating the problems the French are going to get from this. Once the French get into a full- scale crisis, it’s over. Even the Germans cannot pay for that one and probably will not.”

Read the entire article here

The selective silence of EU's Danish climate commissioner

The warmist New Europe Online has published an article ("Kallas speaks, Hedegaard hears no evil, EU Budget loses") about the failure of the European Union to include the shipping industry in the community's CO2 emission trading system:

Directive 2009/29 amending Directive 2003/87 so as to improve and extend the greenhouse gas emissions allowance trading scheme of the Community, stipulates that if the International Maritime Organization (IMO), an organization controlled by ship-owners, does not adopt internationally binding rules on CO2 emissions reduction for the shipping industry by 31 December 2011, the European Commission should submit a legislative proposal to the European Parliament and the Council so that the new act will enter into force by 2013.

However, no such "legislative proposal" has emerged:

On the contrary, during the course of 2012 the Commission not only did not submit any proposal as ought to do but last October, the Commissioner responsible for Transport (who is not charged with the climate change portfolio but is associated indirectly as the Members of the Commission responsible for Environment, Maritime Affairs, Entreprises etc) announced to the press in London that the Commission has abandoned its plans to make a proposal for the inclusion of the shipping industry in the community CO2 emissions reduction system. Thus substantially depriving the EU budget of a significant revenue of several billions of Euros every year.

Danish climate commissioner Connie Hedegaard and her Climate Action would have been the people primarily responsible for making the proposal for inclusion of the shipping industry. The New Europe Online thinks that "the Commission services in matters of maritime policy are particularly compassionate to ship-owners".

New Europe Online bemoans Hedegaard's and her colleagues' lack of action. On the contrary, the failure to act should be praised. The less ETS, the better. However, it is interesting to note that the article is illustrated with a picture of one of Danish Maersk line's huge containers ships. Mrs. Hedegaard's silence is no mere coincidence. 

Copenhagen - not quite so wonderful for bikers

This is one  of several vehicles, that pick up approximately 13,000 abandoned bicycles on public streets in Copenhagen each year.(wikipedia)

Copenhagen´s socialist mayor Frank Jensen has been on a high carbon foot print trip to Peking in order to promote biking. Jensen had this message to his communist colleagues in the Chinese capital:  

Half of all Copenhagen residents bike to work every day and the city is now expanding its cycle network by 30 percent, in a move to reduce emissions by 7,000 tonnes per year. This will also cut the city’s healthcare expenditure bill by 300 million kroner annually, owing to improved health of commuters.

Jensen himself bikes to his office at City Hall every morning, and told Xinhua it was “the most efficient way to commute in Copenhagen”, ranking above the city’s bus and underground rail network.

He added that biking is less stressful than driving, builds a sense of community in a big city, and is a great social leveller.

“In Copenhagen, all kinds of people go by bike: cabinet members, deputy mayors, businessmen. It is not only for poor people. It is also for people in prestigious positions,” Jensen said.

Jensen´s talk about biking as a "great social leveller" should of course be taken with a pinch of salt. Danish cabinet members and other politicians bike to work mainly because it is the politically correct thing to do - every politician in Denmark wants to look "green". A pinch of salt is also needed in order to believe the 300 million saving Jensen is boasting about. 

And anybody who has lived in Copenhagen knows that Jensen´s PR speak differs somewhat from the reality: 

According to the Danish Cyclists' Federation and Wonderful Copenhagen, the official tourism organisation for Denmark, the sheer success of the drive to get more locals and tourists on bikes is creating a dangerous, intimidating and unpleasant climate for cyclists in the city.

"In Copenhagen, we have quite extraordinary problems around cycling congestion," said Aneh Hajdu, of Wonderful Copenhagen. "I don't take my children on their bikes into Copenhagen at rush hour any more. It's too dangerous and scary. I just wouldn't risk it."

It is not just the locals who are, according to Hajdu, finding the sheer crush of cyclists in Copenhagen an ordeal. "I went on a cycling trip around Copenhagen with a friend visiting from London recently, and she was terrified by the mass of cyclists and the aggressive way they behaved," said Hadju. "She found them so overwhelming that she burst into tears. She was too scared to get back on her bike. We had to put it in a taxi and drive back home."

As numbers increase in the cycle lanes, says Hadju, so behaviour deteriorates, with jostling and cutting-up becoming more frequent. "The locals rush past the foreigners, who are often uncertain on their bikes and going slowly," she said. "The locals get impatient and therefore become more threatening."

Frits Bredal, of the Danish Cyclists' Federation adds: 

"In rush hour, there are enormous numbers of cyclists fighting for space on Copenhagen's bike paths, which become cramped and packed.

"As numbers grow and they fight for space, cyclists are becoming more aggressive and reckless in traffic. I increasingly see people bringing themselves and others into dangerous situations," he adds. "They break the laws and use their bikes in completely reckless ways."

And finally a word of warning: 

If you planning to rent a car while visiting Copenhagen, be aware of the fact there is nothing more arrogant and aggressive, from a driver´s point of view, than a Danish biker!

The future of wind turbine maker Vestas hangs in the balance

The future of Danish Vestas, the world´s largest wind turbine manufacturer, hangs in the balance: 

Vestas Wind Systems A/S (VWS) fell the most in four weeks after a report that the turbine maker is in talks with two banks about restructuring debts after drawing a 300 million-euro ($379 million) credit line.

The shares tumbled 8.1 percent in Copenhagen after the Sunday Times reported that Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc and HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA) demanded Vestas submit a comprehensive financial plan from Vestas. The British newspaper said Vestas hired PwC and the banks appointed Ernst & Young LLP to advise on the plan.

And it is not only Vestas that is doing badly: 

Vestas along with rivals General Electric Co. (GE) andSiemens AG (SIE) is struggling with declining turbine prices and excess capacity as nations from the U.S. to Germany rein in support for renewable energy.

--

"Banks are no longer willing to finance large projects constrained by their own financial issues while delays in grid connection and legal reasons in promising offshore wind markets inhibit growth, he said. “Also, the market is in overcapacity and there is price pressure from China.” 

Read the entire article here

The crisis for wind turbine manufacturers should not come as a surprise to anybody. An industry which is totally dependent on government (tax payer) subsidies will never be successful in the long term. 

Hu Jintao in Copenhagen: Danes excel in the art of kowtowing

The visit of China´s president Hu Jintao in Denmark proceeds as expected; the Danes, who otherwise are eager to show how they care about democracy and human rights - particularly in small economically less important countries - are speaking softly, and without a stick in sight, to their high guest.

Denmark´s socialist Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt refuses to put Tibet on the agenda during her discussions with Hu tomorrow, thus going against the clearly manifested policy agreed by the Danish parliament. 

Instead the representative of China´s authoritarian ruling clique is wined and dined like an emperor while in Copenhagen. Today Queen Margrethe took her guest on a tour of the harbor on board the royal yacht Dannebrog. Earlier in the morning almost the entire Danish cavalry - 48 riders - greeted Hu on his arrival at the Queen´s Amalienborg palace. 

Later on in the afternoon Crown Prince Frederik will pay tribute to the "300 years of Danish-Chinese trade", at a business gathering. Denmark, like most other crisis ridden EU countries, is looking for help from China to get the economy going. So far, China has offered only nice words - which is the likely outcome also of this visit. 

Meanwhile, tens of thousands of political prisoners languish in the enormous government operated Laogai slave labor camps in China ...

But, who knows, maybe Hu will offer to buy the loss making Danish wind turbine manufacturer Vestas. Modern Danish technology could be the key to improving the productivity of the camps ...

Denmark next country to kowtow to China´s authoritarian communist leaders

Ordinary people - and media - in the Western countries are so used to their leaders kowtowing to the communist party authoritarians, who run China, that questions about the country´s abysmal human rights record are more or less forgotten. 

On Thursday it is Denmark´s turn to give a Royal welcome Chinese President Hu Jintao. Queen Margrethe will host a formal state banquet in honor of the visiting dignitary. Denmark´s socialist Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt has described Hu´s visit as "historic", and the left wing socialist foreign minister Villy Soevndal said "the visit reflected Denmark's status as the sole Nordic state and one of very few European countries that has made a Strategic Partnership Agreement with China".

The Danish trade minister Pia Olsen-Dyhr described the real reason for the excitement:

A visit to Denmark later this week by Chinese President Hu Jintao is expected to provide a backdrop for companies to sign export deals worth more than 10 billion Danish crowns ($1.68 billion), the Danish trade minister said.

Denmark also hopes the June 14-16 visit will lead to a doubling of exports to China over the next five years and improve the balance of trade, which is now in China's favor, Minister for Trade and Investment Pia Olsen Dyhr told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday

Oh yes, the trade minister also mentioned human rights:


Olsen Dyhr said that Denmark would not miss the opportunity to discuss human rights in China with the Chinese officials. "We always talk human rights when we meet with the Chinese." 

These kind of meaningless "discussions" are of course always on the agenda when western leaders meet with China´s authoritarian communist bosses. Their only purpose is to offer a chance to tell the media that "of course we brought up the issue of human rights". 

Neither Denmark´s socialist Prime Minister, nor the country´s far left foreign minister will ask Hu e.g. this question:

Mr President, why is your government running a system of state sponsored slavery consisting of more than 1,000 slave labour prisons with more than five million prisoners, among them tens of thousands of political or religious prisoners?

The EU global warming mafia wants to punish Poland

Poland´s sensible opposition to even stronger EU climate change commitments is one of the few bright spots in the ever more depressing reality of European co-operation. But the the valiant Poles are in urgent need of allies against the club of politically correct hypocrites who now are running the European Union. 

The current EU Presidency holder Denmark - a country which according to the latest WWF report has the dirtiest ecologicl footprint of all Western countries - has already threatened to link a Polish veto of a deal to raise CO2 reduction goals beyond 2020 to the 2014-2020 budget talks:

The source also told Reuters that the current holder of the EU's rotating presidency, Denmark, had threatened to link a Polish veto of a deal to raise CO2 reduction goals beyond 2020 to the 2014-2020 budget talks.

Poland has rejected that programme - dubbed the 2050 road map - twice already, upsetting Germany and the Scandinavian EU states that have led the green agenda, and will likely do so again if the plan is presented to another meeting due in June.

--

"Poland's obstruction on climate is going to cost it badly, increasingly badly. It could backlash on all sorts of other issues," said Jesse Scott, energy and climate advisor at demosEuropa think-tank.

Read the entire article here

Let us hope that the mess created by the failed euro currency and the increasingly negative EU growth numbers will make it easier for the Poles to stand by their views against the ever more desperate Brussels global warming mafia.

The fact that Poland also wants to pursue its national interest by planning for a shale gas future is another thorn in the side of the EU warmists, who are assisted by the wind energy lobby and Gazprom. Also here Poland needs all available assistance, e.g. from the UK. 

Denmark not quite a fairy tale kingdom for enviro-fundamentalists

"Thumbelina" from H.C. Andersen´s fairy tale

Flashback April 17, 2012:

“This is the place to be for renewable energy and green growth”

Helle Thorning-Schmidt, Prime Minister of Denmark

WWF, May 15: 

Denmark’s demand on the earth’s resources is one of the greatest in the world according to a a new report by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF).

The biennial Living Planet Report examined the impact of human activity on the planet and found that Denmark’s ecological footprint per person – measured in terms of the amount of space demanded per inhabitant for the country’s global activities – is the fourth largest in the world.

This places Denmark behind only the gulf oil states of Qatar, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, but ahead of industrial superpowers and heavy polluters like the USA, Canada and China.

A country’s ecological footprint is made up of both the quantity of goods and services individuals consume and the amount of waste they produce, as well as the decisions of businesses and governments and their environmental demands and impacts.

Read the entire article here

PS

It goes without saying that both the PM and the WWF are trying to hype their own misleading and false "green" propaganda. However, it is interesting to note that Denmark is not quite the enviro-fundamentalist paradise Mrs. Thorning-Schmidt would like us to believe.  Maybe she has been reading too many of the great Hans Christian Andersen´s fairy tales?

(image wikipedia)

Danish minister - and the IEA - mislead about fossil fuel subsidies

As the profitability of wind and solar is fast declining, due to cuts in subsidies and tax breaks, the international renewable energy lobby and warmist ministers are desperately trying to counteract by using dubious International Energy Agency statistics:

Last year, David Cameron´s - now deposed retired - energy and climate change secretary Chris Huhne noted in a speech:

 “Globally, subsidies for fossil fuels outstrip subsidies for renewables by a factor of five.”


The latest warmist government minister to use the same argument is "wind energy superpower" Denmark´s Christian Friis Bach:

Speaking at the Center for Global Development event, Danish Development Cooperation Minister Christian Friis Bach noted that fossil fuels received four to five times more subsidies worldwide than renewable energy. 


Many people have not yet realized that IEA is not anymore the kind energy security organization it used to be. The once highly revered Paris based institution is now in the forefront of the global warming "sustainability" crusade. This is also clearly reflected in its approach to statistics.

Ben Pile gives us the reality behind the IEA´s, Huhne´s and Friis Bach´s "facts":

Even more disingenuous is the claim that fossil fuel subsidies outstrip subsidies for the renewable sector by five (or twelve) times. It makes no sense to talk about the proportions of global and absolute subsidies without any idea of how much actual substance were produced by those subsidies. If conventional energy production is more than five or twelve times greater than renewable energy production, then in fact renewable energy enjoys a greater level of subsidy than conventional energy. 
--

However, according to the IEA (PDF here), in 2008, the world produced fossil fuels (coal, oil, gas, peat) equivalent to 10,065 million tonnes of oil (Mtoe), but only 90.2Mtoe of energy from renewables (geothermal, solar, electricity and heat, wind). So although renewables only enjoyed a tenth (or so) of the subsides that fossil fuels received, fossil fuels accounted for 112 times as much energy. In other words, on a Mtoe basis, the renewable sector received nearly 13 times as much subsidisation as the fossil fuel sector.
This calculation doesn’t include hyro-electric generation. Some might say this is unfair. But large hydro projects are not included in the UNEP’s definition of ‘renewable’, though small hydro is.

Pile admits that his calculation is crude, but the overall picture is clear: The renewable energy lobby and its warmist government supporters are not being honest about the true costs of wind and solar power.

Times they are a changin´ - Germany and France want to reintroduce border controls

These "border controls" are not anymore good enough  for  the  Germans

We now read about a joint proposal by Germany and France to allow Schengen-zone countries to temporarily reintroduce border controls:

Germany and France are serious this time. During next week's meeting of European Union interior ministers, the two countries plan to start a discussion about reintroducing national border controls within the Schengen zone. According to the German daily Süddeutsche Zeitung, German Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich and his French counterpart, Claude Guéant, have formulated a letter to their colleagues in which they call for governments to once again be allowed to control their borders as "an ultima ratio" -- that is, measure of last resort -- "and for a limited period of time."

You may remember what happened in June last year, when the Danish government wanted to introduce some kind of (lawful) border controls:

German Foreign Ministry official Warner Hoyer fretted about countries “playing with the fire of nationalism.” 

The German ambassador to Denmark also joined in the fray, strongly criticizing the Danes and earning a strong rebuke from right-wing politicians.

"Denmark is aware of our criticism on their plan," said German Interior Minister Hans-Peter Friedrich while attending talks with European Union Counterparts on Thursday. 

"We do not want to initiate a conflict with Denmark, but we will ask clear questions," he said. "We cannot accept that Schengen be undermined."



Well, the least one can say is that, The Times They Are a-Changin'! 

Danish PM: Denmark "the place to be" for wind energy - But is it?

Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning Schmidt today spoke at  the annual gathering of the European wind power subsidy beneficiaries - also known as the European Wind Energy Association’s Annual Event - in Copenhagen: 

“This is the place to be for renewable energy and green growth”, Helle Thorning-Schmidt, Prime Minister of Denmark, said in Copenhagen this morning at the opening of the European Wind Energy Association’s Annual Event. 

Flashback January 2012:

With a goal to reduce its fixed costs by more than 1.1 billion kroner by the end of the year, Vestas (the world´s largest Wind turbine manufacturer) announced this morning that it is laying off 1,300 employees at its facilities in Denmark. An additional 1,000 employees will be cut worldwide

Vestas is closing a factory in the western Jutland town of Varde and trimming administrative services in Hammel, Varde, Lem, Ringkøbing and at the company’s headquarters in Aarhus.

The company blamed the layoffs on the global financial crisis and a sluggish market for wind turbines in the United States and said that support functions are being streamlined to adjust capacity to meet market demand.

--

Last year, Vestas laid off 3,000 workers worldwide after posting a 24 percent drop in the third quarter.

One wonders whether Mrs. Thorning-Schmidt - a social democrat - has asked the former Vestas employees whether they also think that Denmark "is the place to be for renewable energy and green growth"?

Or has she asked what ordinary Danish taxpayers think about her green boasting? Obviously not, since most Danes are well aware of these facts:

Denmark's economic growth is forecast to slow for the second consecutive year in 2012, the Economic Council said Thursday.
The economy is set to expand 1.1 percent next year, slower than the 1.3 percent growth estimated for 2011, the council said. The gross domestic product rose 1.7 percent in 2010.
The accumulated growth forecast for the period 2011-13 has been lowered by more than 2 percentage points, compared to the assessment in Danish Economy, spring 2011.
The public deficit is likely to rise to DKK 84.2 billion in 2012 from an estimated DKK 72.5 billion this year, the council assessed.
In an annual Banking System Outlook on Denmark, Moody's on Wednesday said the Danish banking system's outlook remains negative.