Henrik Vejre presented the background to Denmark’s Green Tripartite Agreement, rooted in the country’s long tradition of tripartite cooperation and involving seven actors from government, industry, agriculture, environmental organizations, municipalities, and trade unions. The agreement emerged from a joint initiative between agricultural and nature conservation interests and achieved broad political consensus in the Danish Parliament.
The agreement responds to pressing environmental challenges: Agriculture and land use account for more than half of Denmark’s greenhouse gas emissions, coastal waters are heavily polluted by nutrients, and Denmark ranks among the lowest in Europe in terms of protected nature. At the same time, binding EU deadlines for water, nature, and ecosystem restoration legislation are approaching in 2027, while Denmark’s Climate Act commits the country to achieving climate neutrality by 2045.
To address these challenges, the agreement commits to transforming 10–15% of Denmark’s land area from agricultural use to forest, wetlands, and nature areas by 2045. Key measures include phasing out approximately 140,000 hectares of cultivated peatlands, restoring 100,000 hectares of wetlands, and establishing 250,000 hectares of new forest. Agriculture is to be transformed through support for organic and regenerative practices, increased plant-based production, and reduced livestock numbers, supported by new policy instruments such as a nitrogen quota system and a CO₂ tax on agriculture, the second of its kind globally.
Implementation is supported by €5.7 billion in secured funding and organized through a new governance structure comprising 23 regional tripartite bodies. All regional transformation plans have been submitted and include mandatory nitrogen reduction measures and compulsory peatland extensification. Peatland phase-out is already around 50% complete and widely considered feasible, while large-scale afforestation remains more uncertain due to its reliance on voluntary participation.
Vejre emphasized that the main challenges are social and economic rather than technical but noted that Denmark has previously carried out comparable land-use transformations. He concluded by presenting an ongoing, multi-dimensional research and monitoring programme, led by himself, which follows implementation, supports selected local processes, and includes action-oriented research in three municipalities.