Gladsaxe Municipality has, through joining the DK2020 climate partnership, committed to becoming climate-neutral by 2050 at the latest and reducing CO2 emissions by 70 percent by 2030 compared to 2007 (p. 11). As one of Denmark's largest business municipalities with many knowledge-intensive companies and a population of around 70,000, Gladsaxe's climate efforts are crucial for the regional green transition. Transport constitutes the largest climate burden in Gladsaxe, where private cars and extensive through-traffic in particular dominate the CO2 accounts (p. 9). Around 60,000 daily commuters and the municipality's status as a fully built-up urban municipality with 75 percent buildings and infrastructure make the transport challenge particularly complex. Unlike many other municipalities, Gladsaxe has no land for wind turbines or large solar panel parks, which limits the options for local renewable energy production. The most ambitious planned measures focus on transforming the transport sector through the forthcoming Hovedstadens Letbane (Capital Region Light Rail), which is to reduce car traffic, as well as the target that one third of the vehicle fleet should run on green fuels by 2030 (p. 12). At the same time, the municipality must carry out comprehensive separation of rainwater from wastewater across the entire municipality by 2055, starting with areas such as Mørkhøj, Buddinge and Søborg (p. 23). In the energy area, the focus is on completely phasing out oil and natural gas for heating by 2030 at the latest and reducing energy consumption in existing homes by 15 percent. Despite the ambitious measures, the municipality acknowledges that there will still be a shortfall of around 40,000 tonnes of CO2 reduction to achieve climate neutrality by 2050 (p. 14). Heavy transport in particular - lorries and construction site machinery - constitutes a persistent challenge that requires technological development and national framework changes beyond the municipality's direct influence. The transition to climate-friendly heavy transport depends on technologies such as Power-to-X and CO2 capture that are not yet fully developed. Gladsaxe builds its climate strategy on extensive partnerships and citizen engagement through co-creation with both private and social housing estates. The municipality works closely with Vestforbrænding, Novafos and other utility companies and has established a regional DK2020 collaboration with Lyngby-Taarbæk, Gentofte and Rudersdal. Concrete projects such as rainwater management in the Pileparken housing estate show how climate adaptation can be combined with recreational values and citizen activation. Through systematic engagement of the business community via Gladsaxe Erhvervsby and a focus on different forms of participation, the municipality seeks to secure broad support for the green transition among the city's many small and medium-sized enterprises.

Source: DK2020 GLADSAXE Klimaplan 2050 (2022)