Going carbon neutral: Lessons from Denmark

Bornholm – a Danish island in the Baltic Sea – is trying to go
carbon neutral by 2025. It is a lofty ambition that would put the
island decades ahead of most countries. This dream has been 15
years in the making; a crash in fish stocks meant Bornholmers had
to reinvent themselves and they chose to become ‘the bright green
island’. Since then, they have been making biogas from pig
manure, building wind turbine after wind turbine, and now they
are piloting new ways of storing this renewable energy, including
in a battery made of salt.


The island is not just trying to rid itself of fossil fuels – it
is also aiming to go zero waste by 2032. Graihagh Jackson teams
up with CrowdScience presenter Caroline Steel to explore
Bornholm’s double quest to go green.The changes have not just
been at top-level – the island’s businesses and 40,000 residents
have been encouraged to reduce their climate impact too. Graihagh
visits a brewery whose production has gone carbon neutral by
capturing CO2 to create the bubbles in its beers, and meets a
chef whose Michelin-star restaurant uses locally-sourced food.


And over on CrowdScience, Caroline tackles Bornholm’s zero waste
ambition, visiting a project turning used nappies into compost
and a glassblower making tableware out of wasted insulin vials.
See link below.


Will Bornholm make its bold goals, and what lessons can be
learned for elsewhere?


Presenters: Graihagh Jackson and Caroline Steel Producer: Sophie
Eastaugh Production co-ordinators: Debbie Richford and Sophie
Hill Series Producer: Simon Watts Editor: China Collins Sound
engineer: Tom Brignell