Abstract
Denmark and Sweden take two-fold positions on the question whether shale gas should be developed. At first sight, it appears the governments are supportive by licencing exploration to domestic and foreign companies. However, Denmark has suspended issuance of new licenses as doubts of extraction activities have risen. Sweden was forced to give landowners and municipalities a say in decision-making, and there is a larger context of mining minerals policy controversy. Even though both countries only have exploration activities at the moment, and the economic promise is yet unclear, public awareness and attention are in-creasing and cause difficulties for governments and industry to proceed without open discussions and debates. Scandinavia’s green image is at stake as the new fossil fuel opportunities are in conflict with the ambitious goals for renewable energy development. Both countries now have to prioritise energy self-sufficiency and industrial economics versus ecological consciousness. Keywords: Denmark, energy, energy policy, fracking, hydraulic fracturing, mining, protest, public acceptance, regulatory politics, Scandinavia, shale gas, Sweden, unconventional gas
Highlights
Acceptance of shale gas development may be increasing in Europe
Scandinavia has generally shown reluctance to engage with the question whether unconventional gas should be developed
Becker & Werner: Shale Gas in Denmark and Sweden by 2020, more than 35 percent in final energy consumption should be supplied by renewable energy sources, 50 percent of electricity consumption by wind power; other aims include a reduction of gross energy consumption of 7.6 percent in comparison to 2010 and 34 percent reduction of greenhouse gas emission in relation to 1990
Summary
Acceptance of shale gas development may be increasing in Europe. Rising energy costs, better public understanding of the issue and fear of losing economic competitiveness contribute to a positive view. Scandinavia has generally shown reluctance to engage with the question whether unconventional gas should be developed As it is well known, the Scandinavian countries are determined to be international climate policy leaders and be very ambitious about the transformation of their energy sectors, replacing fossil fuel by renewable energy as quickly as possible which will be shown later in this article. Both Sweden and Denmark show no rush in this sector, though both have licenced domestic and foreign firms to explore promising fields. The industry has commercial interests and the general public, consisting of several smaller stakeholders wants to have a say in the related decisions as well
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