Billund Kommune has set ambitious climate goals with a target of 70 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and net-zero emissions by 2050 at the latest. As the Children's Capital and Denmark's first UNICEF Child Friendly City and Municipality, Billund takes particular responsibility for ensuring future generations a sustainable future. With 27,000 residents and 3 million annual tourists, the municipality faces a unique climate challenge where both local emissions and visitors' climate footprint must be addressed. The municipality's total greenhouse gas emissions have fallen from 514,000 tonnes in 1990 to 264,000 tonnes in 2020 - a reduction of 49 percent (p. 18-19). Agriculture accounts for the largest share with 53 percent of emissions, followed by the energy sector with 28 percent and transport with 16 percent (p. 19). The particular challenge lies in agriculture's dominance with around 31,000 hectares of agricultural land, of which 9,000 hectares consist of organic soils that emit significant amounts of greenhouse gases when drained and cultivated (p. 8). Billund Kommune's climate challenge differs markedly from other Danish municipalities through the combination of extensive tourism, international companies like LEGO and Billund Airport, as well as the pronounced sandy soil type and large plantation areas. Nearly 10,000 people commute daily into the municipality for work, creating significant transport pressure without railway or motorway connections. At the same time, the sandy soil means agriculture is particularly dependent on irrigation from groundwater wells and vulnerable to drought periods. The most comprehensive planned measures focus on agriculture's transformation through taking 1,780 hectares of organic soils out of production by 2050, afforestation of 4,000 hectares of new forest, and implementation of the Agricultural Agreement 2021 to reduce emissions from livestock (p. 30). Within energy, a significant expansion is planned with wind energy to 70 percent of the municipality's potential by 2030 and solar cell production of 400,000 MWh annually, equivalent to approximately 440 hectares of solar cells. The Triangle Energy Alliance collaboration will develop PTX technologies and potentially green aviation fuel for Billund Airport. The municipality honestly acknowledges that solutions are missing to eliminate the last approximately 60,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, particularly from agriculture and transport (p. 22-23). This gap necessitates ongoing identification of new technologies and instruments throughout the planning period, including potential development of CCS technology for capture and storage of greenhouse gases. The municipality commits to revising the climate plan once per municipal council period based on two ongoing evaluations. Citizens and local businesses are involved through climate communities, where different local areas can work with concrete climate measures such as transport, energy, or food waste. A special travelling exhibition developed together with MARK Museum and Vestre School will engage schoolchildren, whilst a fold-out climate plan with dialogue games invites conversations about climate action. Binding climate partnerships with business and collaboration with local councils on city profiles will ensure broad support for the green transition across the municipality's many different stakeholders.

Source: Broen til en grøn fremtid - Klimaplan (2023)