Furesø Municipality has set an ambitious climate course with the goal of becoming CO2-neutral by 2030, CO2-negative by 2035 and climate-resilient by 2050. This vision requires a comprehensive transformation of a community that currently emits 174,000 tonnes of CO2 annually, corresponding to 15.8 tonnes per capita (p. 14, p. 40). The municipality's participation in the national DK2020 project underscores the ambition to contribute to the Paris Agreement's target of a maximum 2 degrees of global temperature rise. Furesø's current emissions are distributed with energy and heat supply as by far the largest category at 57 percent, followed by transport at 35 percent and agriculture at 4 percent (p. 14). The energy sector is particularly dominated by natural gas, which accounts for 46 percent of heating, while district heating accounts for 41 percent (p. 20). The transport sector is characterised by the fact that only 6.3 percent of the municipality's nearly 17,512 passenger cars are electric or plug-in hybrids, while 70 percent of citizens' work-related travel is by car (pp. 25-26). Furesø differs from many other Danish municipalities due to its distinctive geography and natural conditions. The municipality encompasses three large lakes - Furesø, Farum Sø and Søndersø - and has significant natural areas that make up 19 percent of the total area (p. 61). A particular challenge comes from cultivated lowland soils, which account for 73 percent of agricultural emissions despite the limited agricultural area (p. 34). At the same time, the municipality's high groundwater levels create increased risk of flooding during heavier rainfall, making climate adaptation a pressing task. The most comprehensive planned measures focus on a complete phase-out of natural gas boilers and oil boilers, establishment of CO2 capture at Vestforbrænding through the C4 collaboration and planting of 20,000 trees on 100 hectares (pp. 18-19, p. 33). The transport sector must undergo a 70 percent CO2 reduction by 2030 through expansion of charging infrastructure, fossil-free buses and improved public transport, including the planned S-train extension to Hillerød (p. 24). The municipality's collaboration with Vestforbrænding on CO2 capture technology can potentially create negative emissions for both district heating and electricity production, making this effort particularly significant. However, the climate plan also acknowledges significant gaps in the solutions. While technical advances in energy and transport look promising, concrete reduction figures for how much each sector must precisely contribute are lacking. The challenge of getting citizens and businesses to change their purchasing and consumption patterns in particular requires extensive behavioural changes, where the effect is harder to predict. The municipality's dependence on national decisions about infrastructure such as the S-train extension also creates uncertainty about the timing of important reductions. Citizen engagement builds on the Climate Families concept, where all households can participate in virtual platforms focusing on waste sorting, energy consumption, procurement and green transport (p. 8). The business community is engaged through Climate Partnerships, where companies commit to concrete climate measures and receive an official Climate Partner label (p. 9). The newly established Climate Forum is to meet twice a year to evaluate progress, while an annual Climate People's Meeting is to ensure broad democratic participation. With over 100 existing Climate Ambassadors at the municipality's workplaces, Furesø has already created a solid organisational platform for the comprehensive transformation to be carried out in the coming decade.

Source: Klimaplan 2022-2050 (2022)