It is 1,200 metres, as the crow flies, between the Danish parliament and Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen’s office at the Department of Economics in \u00d8ster Farimagsgade.<\/p>\n
For several years, the two worlds were at the centre of the 64-year-old economics professor\u2019s working life. First as chief economic adviser, then as chairman of the former centre-left coalition government’s productivity commission, and then, most recently, as chairman of the Danish Council on Climate Change, or \u2018Climate Council\u2019.<\/p>\n
Now it’s all over.<\/p>\n
Even though Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen would have liked to have taken another term in the Climate Council, he was dismissed in November 2018 by the Minister for Energy, Utilities and Climate, Lars Christian Lilleholt.<\/p>\n
He is now, as a result, concentrating on his work as a researcher and teacher at the Department of Economics at the University of Copenhagen.<\/p>\n
\u00bbMy secretariat had let the ministry understand that if it wished that I would take one more term, then I was available. But I fully acknowledge the minister’s right to choose someone else. And seen in relation to the process that took place, I was not surprised that he chose to appoint someone else.\u00ab<\/p>\n
It can\u2019t be put more diplomatically.<\/p>\n
The Danish Council on Climate Change\u2019s analyses were professional, and our recommendations were fully borne out by the analyses.<\/p>\n
Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
But behind the words is a sticky case that is all about politics and respect for letting independent experts speak out freely.<\/p>\n
The switch in the chairmanship came in the wake of a public dispute between Lars Christian Lilleholt and Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen on the Council’s latest report, which criticised the Danish government’s climate policy.<\/p>\n
Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen called the government’s climate policy ‘unambitious’, and the minister responded by calling the criticism ‘muddled’ and ‘nonsensical’.<\/p>\n
Four days later, the Ministry for Energy, Utilities and Climate issued a press release in which the Ministry rebuked the climate council’s criticism of the government. And later that same day, the Ministry announced that professor Peter M\u00f8lgaard from the Maastricht University School of Business and Economics in Holland would be the climate council’s new chairman.<\/p>\n
\nPeter Birch S\u00f8rensen<\/p>\n
\u00b7 64 years old, born in N\u00f8rre \u00c5by on Funen<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Lives in Charlottenlund, with his wife. He has two adult children<\/p>\n
\u00b7 MSc in economics from the University of Copenhagen<\/p>\n
\u00b7 PhD in economics, 1985<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Professor, Department of Economics, University of Copenhagen since 1995<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Chairman of the Economic Council 1997-99<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Chief Economic Adviser 2004-10<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Deputy Director of the Danish Central Bank, 2010-11<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Chairman of the Danish government’s Productivity Commission 2012-14<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Chairman of the Danish Council on Climate Change 2015-19<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
The process had opposition parties and policy experts accusing the government of firing Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen to silence him.<\/p>\n
Both the climate minister and Prime minister Lars L\u00f8kke Rasmussen rejected the idea that is was politics that had him dismissed. They said that the decision had been made before the climate council released its critical report on the government’s climate initiative. This turned out to only be a half-truth.<\/p>\n
Access to documents under the Freedom of Information Act made it clear that the Ministry knew about the report’s conclusions before it decided to get rid of Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen as chairman.<\/p>\n
But for Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen, this is not essential. The disagreement between him and the minister had started a long time before this.<\/p>\n
A long-standing conflict<\/h2>\n
\u00bbThe Minister’s officials had known the report\u2019s main conclusions before it was decided that I should stop as chairman. But the dispute went back further. It can therefore very well be true when the minister says that the switch in chairmanship was not due to the most recent report,\u00ab says Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen.<\/p>\n
The professor already had one of his main controversies with the minister when the Danish Council on Climate Change presented its first climate report back in 2015:<\/p>\n
\u00bbIn the report, we looked at the objective of Denmark reducing CO2 emissions by 40 per cent in 2020 compared to 1990. The minister took issue with this, as this was not the government’s objective. He believed that we were the Danish government’s advisers, and that we only had to advise the government in relation to the policy objectives that they had stipulated. I disagreed.\u00ab<\/p>\n
Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen has taken part in government-sponsored analysis work for many years. So he does not let himself be steamrolled by a minister who calls his expert analyses for ‘nonsense’ and a prime minister, who believes that he’s \u2018trying to make a martyr out of himself on this.’<\/p>\n
\u00bbI find it hard to see that the Council on Climate Change could have done anything significantly different. Our analyses were professional, and our recommendations were fully borne out by the analyses.\u00ab<\/p>\n
He therefore has no regrets on what he has said, or on what the climate council has recommended, he says.<\/p>\n
Disagreement about the role of the Climate Council<\/h2>\n
When Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen looks back on his four years in the Council of Climate Change and the challenges that came with his chairmanship, it is especially the disagreements concerning the role of the council which has given rise to conflicts between him and the minister:<\/p>\n
\u00bbMe and the others on the climate council believed that it was relevant and legitimate to concern ourselves with the objective. Both because it was mentioned in the climate legislation that was the basis for the work on the climate, and because there was a parliamentary majority behind it.\u00ab
\n
\nThe dispute concerns a matter of principle. Is the climate council a kind of internal consultant for the current government or is the climate council also an independent advisor to the Danish parliament?<\/p>\n“It is not crystal clear in the climate legislation. It says that we should advise the government. But the government has to subsequently explain to the Danish parliament how it relates to our analyses and proposals. In this sense, the Danish parliament is also involved,” says Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen.<\/p>\n
But the dispute was about more than that. It is also about a basic distrust of the experts’ objectivity and impartiality. The government called Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen’s political independence into question.<\/p>\n
The governing Liberal Party has repeatedly made it clear that they see you as a man from the opposition party. Are they right?<\/em><\/p>\n
“No, I really think this is an unreasonable accusation. Everything that the climate council has recommended during my term, has had the complete backing of the whole climate council, which consists of six members and a chairman, all of whom are selected based on their professional expertise. Four of the Council\u2019s members were appointed by the Liberal Party and the Conservative Party in connection with the former Climate Commission of 2008-10. It is therefore very strange if we suddenly have become a political tool of the opposition.\u00ab<\/p>\n
But it is worth noting that you as an expert can select different methods depending on your personal convictions?<\/em><\/p>\n
\u00bbIt is clear that no matter how objective you try to be, you can have a skewed approach to a problem. But this is also why there are seven members on the Climate Council, who are each experts in their respective fields, and that there, in addition, is a secretariat with skilled professionals. This helps ensure that one single person does not just run off on a tangent with an obvious ideological standpoint. Otherwise we would undermine our own credibility.\u00ab<\/p>\n
Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen looks out the window and lets a hand pass through his beard.<\/p>\n
\u00bbIt’s not an objective in itself to get into conflict with those who you are to advise. You would like to be on good terms with them, but you have to stand on a professional basis and be loyal to the climate legislation. This is your duty.”<\/p>\n
Not without influence<\/h2>\n
He could have wished for a better start in the Climate Council. But he is happy for the four years he managed to be chairman of the council. And despite the lack of responsiveness on the part of the government he feels that it has been worth the effort.<\/p>\n
\nDANish Climate on council CHange<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Independent expert body set up under the climate legislation of 2014<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Set up by the Social Liberals, Social Democrats, Red-Green Alliance, Socialist People\u2019s Party and the Conservative Party<\/p>\n
\u00b7 According to the climate legislation, the council is to evaluate Denmark’s fulfilment of climate objectives and international commitments.<\/p>\n
\u00b7 The council select its own tasks. The Minister may not require that the council takes up certain themes, or avoids other themes.<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Consists of a chairman and six members<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen was chairman from December 2014 to December 2018.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
\u00bbIt has not been the best starting point that the climate council has worked under a minister, who voted against the original climate legislation and the set-up of the council. But there has, in general, been considerable interest in what we have done. This both on the part of the public and on the part of politicians in parliament that work on climate issues. So it has not been the case that we had to fight to bring attention to our analyses.”<\/p>\n
In this way, the work in the Climate Council is a lot like the other posts that Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen has held as a economic expert:<\/p>\n
\u00bbI have also been Chief Economic Adviser for a few years, and the government of the time was often annoyed by our advice. But that does not mean that the economic advisors have been without influence on the development of society. It just means that you must seek influence through other channels and enter into dialogue with the other stakeholders who are included in the political process. As long as you stay credible, people will listen to you\u00ab<\/p>\n
He points out that the Danish parliament on several occasions has directly followed some of the Climate Council’s recommendations and that it has therefore not been without influence.<\/p>\n
\u00bbWe recommended, for example, a tax deduction for the battery cost in the purchase of an electric car. This has been introduced. But more importantly, we recommended prior to the energy agreement last year that we should aim for a 55 per cent renewable energy share of energy consumption in 2030 instead of the 50 per cent which the government had proposed. The politicians took this on board.”<\/p>\n
Environmental interest from secondary school<\/h2>\n
Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen gets up from his chair and walks over to the bookshelf. He lets a finger slide over the spines of the books until it hits a worn paperback, which he pulls out and puts on the table.<\/p>\n
“One of the reasons why I started studying economics, was this book, which I read when I was in upper secondary school. It argued that the world was moving towards a catastrophe if we did not stop the increasing environmental degradation,” he says.<\/p>\n
The book The Limits to Growth<\/em> was dismissed by many economists as doomsday hysteria. But it sparked Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen’s long-standing interest in environmental issues, which started back in upper secondary school at the beginning of the 1970s at Skt. Knuds Gymnasium in Odense.<\/p>\n
“I have since then got a more nuanced picture of the relationship between growth and the environment. But the book made a deep impression on me and helped to awaken my interest in environmental problems,” says Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen.<\/p>\n
He is now back on full-time, teaching and researching at the Department of Economics and has already taken up new projects that he hopes might be able to influence climate policy in a positive direction.<\/p>\n
What is it that you can contribute as an economist?<\/em><\/p>\n
“For me as an economist, it’s about thinking environmental and climate policy and economic policy together. That is why I am helping develop an environmental-economic model for the Danish economy. I am also helping lead a large research project to calculate a green GDP for Denmark, which corrects the traditional GDP for environmental and climate effects. In this way, you can see whether the environmental costs have been so great that there has been no growth if you deduct them.”<\/p>\n
Are you optimistic about whether your recommendations will be used?<\/em><\/p>\n
\u00bbYes I am, actually. We have not finished our projects. But there is a growing political interest in the UN sustainable development goals and our commitments in the climate area, which means that I believe that this may have an impact.\u00ab<\/p>\n
Translated by Mike Young<\/em>
\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As chairman of a government-appointed Danish Council on Climate Change, Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen refused, right from the beginning, to submit to the government’s political logic. So he was dismissed, and now he is back on his professor seat at the Department of Economics. But he does not bear a grudge. In his experience, credible proposals from researchers always end up victorious.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":83435,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[48],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-83592","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","expression-portrait_article"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\n
\u00bbAs long as you stay credible, people will listen to you\u00ab<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/as-long-as-you-stay-credible-people-will-listen-to-you\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"\u00bbAs long as you stay credible, people will listen to you\u00ab\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As chairman of a government-appointed Danish Council on Climate Change, Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen refused, right from the beginning, to submit to the government's political logic. So he was dismissed, and now he is back on his professor seat at the Department of Economics. But he does not bear a grudge. In his experience, credible proposals from researchers always end up victorious.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/as-long-as-you-stay-credible-people-will-listen-to-you\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"University Post\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uniavis\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-03-25T09:03:54+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-03-25T13:00:06+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/peterbirchsoerensenweb06.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1250\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"833\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Gry Bartroff Gaihede\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Uniavisen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Uniavisen\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Gry Bartroff Gaihede\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"10 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/as-long-as-you-stay-credible-people-will-listen-to-you\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/as-long-as-you-stay-credible-people-will-listen-to-you\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Gry Bartroff Gaihede\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d2b932cb3c26d685292a221680e386fe\"},\"headline\":\"\u00bbAs long as you stay credible, people will listen to you\u00ab\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-03-25T09:03:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-03-25T13:00:06+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/as-long-as-you-stay-credible-people-will-listen-to-you\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":2112,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/as-long-as-you-stay-credible-people-will-listen-to-you\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/03\\\/peterbirchsoerensenweb06.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Politics\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/as-long-as-you-stay-credible-people-will-listen-to-you\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/as-long-as-you-stay-credible-people-will-listen-to-you\\\/\",\"name\":\"\u00bbAs long as you stay credible, people will listen to you\u00ab\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/as-long-as-you-stay-credible-people-will-listen-to-you\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/as-long-as-you-stay-credible-people-will-listen-to-you\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/03\\\/peterbirchsoerensenweb06.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2019-03-25T09:03:54+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2019-03-25T13:00:06+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d2b932cb3c26d685292a221680e386fe\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/as-long-as-you-stay-credible-people-will-listen-to-you\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/as-long-as-you-stay-credible-people-will-listen-to-you\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/as-long-as-you-stay-credible-people-will-listen-to-you\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/03\\\/peterbirchsoerensenweb06.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2019\\\/03\\\/peterbirchsoerensenweb06.jpg\",\"width\":1250,\"height\":833,\"caption\":\"Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/as-long-as-you-stay-credible-people-will-listen-to-you\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"\u00bbAs long as you stay credible, people will listen to you\u00ab\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/\",\"name\":\"University Post\",\"description\":\"Independent of management\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/d2b932cb3c26d685292a221680e386fe\",\"name\":\"Gry Bartroff Gaihede\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/772958c7278c6a2aa225a325594d9f297ad3aecc397eb592b61049c2bf57a3f8?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/772958c7278c6a2aa225a325594d9f297ad3aecc397eb592b61049c2bf57a3f8?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/772958c7278c6a2aa225a325594d9f297ad3aecc397eb592b61049c2bf57a3f8?s=96&d=identicon&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Gry Bartroff Gaihede\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/uniavisen.dk\\\/en\\\/author\\\/gry\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"\u00bbAs long as you stay credible, people will listen to you\u00ab","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/as-long-as-you-stay-credible-people-will-listen-to-you\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"\u00bbAs long as you stay credible, people will listen to you\u00ab","og_description":"As chairman of a government-appointed Danish Council on Climate Change, Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen refused, right from the beginning, to submit to the government's political logic. So he was dismissed, and now he is back on his professor seat at the Department of Economics. But he does not bear a grudge. In his experience, credible proposals from researchers always end up victorious.","og_url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/as-long-as-you-stay-credible-people-will-listen-to-you\/","og_site_name":"University Post","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/uniavis","article_published_time":"2019-03-25T09:03:54+00:00","article_modified_time":"2019-03-25T13:00:06+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1250,"height":833,"url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/peterbirchsoerensenweb06.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Gry Bartroff Gaihede","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@Uniavisen","twitter_site":"@Uniavisen","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Gry Bartroff Gaihede","Est. reading time":"10 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/as-long-as-you-stay-credible-people-will-listen-to-you\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/as-long-as-you-stay-credible-people-will-listen-to-you\/"},"author":{"name":"Gry Bartroff Gaihede","@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/#\/schema\/person\/d2b932cb3c26d685292a221680e386fe"},"headline":"\u00bbAs long as you stay credible, people will listen to you\u00ab","datePublished":"2019-03-25T09:03:54+00:00","dateModified":"2019-03-25T13:00:06+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/as-long-as-you-stay-credible-people-will-listen-to-you\/"},"wordCount":2112,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/as-long-as-you-stay-credible-people-will-listen-to-you\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/peterbirchsoerensenweb06.jpg","articleSection":["Politics"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/as-long-as-you-stay-credible-people-will-listen-to-you\/","url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/as-long-as-you-stay-credible-people-will-listen-to-you\/","name":"\u00bbAs long as you stay credible, people will listen to you\u00ab","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/as-long-as-you-stay-credible-people-will-listen-to-you\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/as-long-as-you-stay-credible-people-will-listen-to-you\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/peterbirchsoerensenweb06.jpg","datePublished":"2019-03-25T09:03:54+00:00","dateModified":"2019-03-25T13:00:06+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/#\/schema\/person\/d2b932cb3c26d685292a221680e386fe"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/as-long-as-you-stay-credible-people-will-listen-to-you\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/as-long-as-you-stay-credible-people-will-listen-to-you\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/as-long-as-you-stay-credible-people-will-listen-to-you\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/peterbirchsoerensenweb06.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/peterbirchsoerensenweb06.jpg","width":1250,"height":833,"caption":"Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/as-long-as-you-stay-credible-people-will-listen-to-you\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"\u00bbAs long as you stay credible, people will listen to you\u00ab"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/#website","url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/","name":"University Post","description":"Independent of management","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/#\/schema\/person\/d2b932cb3c26d685292a221680e386fe","name":"Gry Bartroff Gaihede","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/772958c7278c6a2aa225a325594d9f297ad3aecc397eb592b61049c2bf57a3f8?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/772958c7278c6a2aa225a325594d9f297ad3aecc397eb592b61049c2bf57a3f8?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/772958c7278c6a2aa225a325594d9f297ad3aecc397eb592b61049c2bf57a3f8?s=96&d=identicon&r=g","caption":"Gry Bartroff Gaihede"},"url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/author\/gry\/"}]}},"advancedCustomFields":{"feature_color":"","align_content":"alignleft","enable_comments":true,"expression":{"term_id":14,"name":"Portrait Article","slug":"portrait_article","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":14,"taxonomy":"expression","description":"","parent":0,"count":798,"filter":"raw"},"layout_group":[{"acf_fc_layout":"Headline","use_post_title":true,"headline":"","style":"default","highlighted_words":"","text_size":"small"},{"acf_fc_layout":"Image","image":{"ID":83435,"id":83435,"title":"Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen web06","filename":"peterbirchsoerensenweb06.jpg","filesize":157072,"url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/peterbirchsoerensenweb06.jpg","link":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/saa-laenge-man-er-trovaerdig-vil-der-ogsaa-blive-lyttet\/photographer-daniel-hjorthwww-danielhjorth-dkcontactdanielhjorth-dk-3\/","alt":"Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen","author":"8","description":"Photographer: Daniel Hjorth www.danielhjorth.dk contact@danielhjorth.dk","caption":"Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen","name":"photographer-daniel-hjorthwww-danielhjorth-dkcontactdanielhjorth-dk-3","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":83438,"date":"2019-03-20 10:34:36","modified":"2019-03-20 15:41:50","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1250,"height":833,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/peterbirchsoerensenweb06-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/peterbirchsoerensenweb06-480x320.jpg","medium-width":480,"medium-height":320,"medium_large":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/peterbirchsoerensenweb06-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/peterbirchsoerensenweb06.jpg","large-width":1250,"large-height":833,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/peterbirchsoerensenweb06.jpg","1536x1536-width":1250,"1536x1536-height":833,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/peterbirchsoerensenweb06.jpg","2048x2048-width":1250,"2048x2048-height":833,"featured-soft":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/peterbirchsoerensenweb06-290x193.jpg","featured-soft-width":290,"featured-soft-height":193,"featured-hard":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/peterbirchsoerensenweb06-290x180.jpg","featured-hard-width":290,"featured-hard-height":180,"narrow":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/peterbirchsoerensenweb06-700x466.jpg","narrow-width":700,"narrow-height":466,"extended":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/peterbirchsoerensenweb06-990x660.jpg","extended-width":990,"extended-height":660}},"style":"screen","text_placement":"metadata-below","image_link_url":"","image_link_title":"","caption_prefix":"","enable_alternative_caption":false,"alternative_caption":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"Standfirst","subject":"Interview","text":"Som formand for Klimar\u00e5det n\u00e6gtede Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen fra begyndelsen at underl\u00e6gge sig regeringens politiske logik. S\u00e5 han r\u00f8g ud, og nu er han tilbage i sin professorstol p\u00e5 \u00d8konomisk Institut. Men han er ikke bitter. Hans erfaring er, at trov\u00e6rdige forslag fra forskerne ender med at sejre.","use_post_excerpt":true},{"acf_fc_layout":"Byline","is_author":false,"contributors":[{"use_registered_user":true,"user":{"ID":69,"user_firstname":"Signe","user_lastname":"Bjerre","nickname":"sbjerre","user_nicename":"sbjerre","display_name":"Signe Bjerre","user_email":"info@signebjerre.com","user_url":"","user_registered":"2019-01-07 12:27:43","user_description":"","user_avatar":"<img alt='' src='https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b7cfe159c1b4d3130a4bd6c57bde95e38aa1fc14ecb84021dd8ffb53ff221916?s=96&d=identicon&r=g' srcset='https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b7cfe159c1b4d3130a4bd6c57bde95e38aa1fc14ecb84021dd8ffb53ff221916?s=192&d=identicon&r=g 2x' class='avatar avatar-96 photo' height='96' width='96' loading='lazy' decoding='async'\/>"},"contributor_name":"","contributor_title":"","contributor_image":false}]},{"acf_fc_layout":"Content","content":"<p>It is 1,200 metres, as the crow flies, between the Danish parliament and Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen’s office at the Department of Economics in \u00d8ster Farimagsgade.<\/p>\n<p>For several years, the two worlds were at the centre of the 64-year-old economics professor\u2019s working life. First as chief economic adviser, then as chairman of the former centre-left coalition government’s productivity commission, and then, most recently, as chairman of the Danish Council on Climate Change, or \u2018Climate Council\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>Now it’s all over.<\/p>\n<p>Even though Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen would have liked to have taken another term in the Climate Council, he was dismissed in November 2018 by the Minister for Energy, Utilities and Climate, Lars Christian Lilleholt.<\/p>\n<p>He is now, as a result, concentrating on his work as a researcher and teacher at the Department of Economics at the University of Copenhagen.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbMy secretariat had let the ministry understand that if it wished that I would take one more term, then I was available. But I fully acknowledge the minister’s right to choose someone else. And seen in relation to the process that took place, I was not surprised that he chose to appoint someone else.\u00ab<\/p>\n<p>It can\u2019t be put more diplomatically.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>The Danish Council on Climate Change\u2019s analyses were professional, and our recommendations were fully borne out by the analyses.<\/p>\n<p class=\"quotee\">Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>But behind the words is a sticky case that is all about politics and respect for letting independent experts speak out freely.<\/p>\n<p>The switch in the chairmanship came in the wake of a public dispute between Lars Christian Lilleholt and Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen on the Council’s latest report, which criticised the Danish government’s climate policy.<\/p>\n<p>Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen called the government’s climate policy ‘unambitious’, and the minister responded by calling the criticism ‘muddled’ and ‘nonsensical’.<\/p>\n<p>Four days later, the Ministry for Energy, Utilities and Climate issued a press release in which the Ministry rebuked the climate council’s criticism of the government. And later that same day, the Ministry announced that professor Peter M\u00f8lgaard from the Maastricht University School of Business and Economics in Holland would be the climate council’s new chairman.<\/p>\n<div class=\"factbox\">\n<p class=\"factbox-header feature-color\">Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen<\/p>\n<p>\u00b7 64 years old, born in N\u00f8rre \u00c5by on Funen<\/p>\n<p>\u00b7 Lives in Charlottenlund, with his wife. He has two adult children<\/p>\n<p>\u00b7 MSc in economics from the University of Copenhagen<\/p>\n<p>\u00b7 PhD in economics, 1985<\/p>\n<p>\u00b7 Professor, Department of Economics, University of Copenhagen since 1995<\/p>\n<p>\u00b7 Chairman of the Economic Council 1997-99<\/p>\n<p>\u00b7 Chief Economic Adviser 2004-10<\/p>\n<p>\u00b7 Deputy Director of the Danish Central Bank, 2010-11<\/p>\n<p>\u00b7 Chairman of the Danish government’s Productivity Commission 2012-14<\/p>\n<p>\u00b7 Chairman of the Danish Council on Climate Change 2015-19<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The process had opposition parties and policy experts accusing the government of firing Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen to silence him.<\/p>\n<p>Both the climate minister and Prime minister Lars L\u00f8kke Rasmussen rejected the idea that is was politics that had him dismissed. They said that the decision had been made before the climate council released its critical report on the government’s climate initiative. This turned out to only be a half-truth.<\/p>\n<p>Access to documents under the Freedom of Information Act made it clear that the Ministry knew about the report’s conclusions before it decided to get rid of Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen as chairman.<\/p>\n<p>But for Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen, this is not essential. The disagreement between him and the minister had started a long time before this.<\/p>\n<h2>A long-standing conflict<\/h2>\n<p>\u00bbThe Minister’s officials had known the report\u2019s main conclusions before it was decided that I should stop as chairman. But the dispute went back further. It can therefore very well be true when the minister says that the switch in chairmanship was not due to the most recent report,\u00ab says Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen.<\/p>\n<p>The professor already had one of his main controversies with the minister when the Danish Council on Climate Change presented its first climate report back in 2015:<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbIn the report, we looked at the objective of Denmark reducing CO2 emissions by 40 per cent in 2020 compared to 1990. The minister took issue with this, as this was not the government’s objective. He believed that we were the Danish government’s advisers, and that we only had to advise the government in relation to the policy objectives that they had stipulated. I disagreed.\u00ab<\/p>\n<p>Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen has taken part in government-sponsored analysis work for many years. So he does not let himself be steamrolled by a minister who calls his expert analyses for ‘nonsense’ and a prime minister, who believes that he’s \u2018trying to make a martyr out of himself on this.’<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbI find it hard to see that the Council on Climate Change could have done anything significantly different. Our analyses were professional, and our recommendations were fully borne out by the analyses.\u00ab<\/p>\n<p>He therefore has no regrets on what he has said, or on what the climate council has recommended, he says.<\/p>\n<h2>Disagreement about the role of the Climate Council<\/h2>\n<p>When Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen looks back on his four years in the Council of Climate Change and the challenges that came with his chairmanship, it is especially the disagreements concerning the role of the council which has given rise to conflicts between him and the minister:<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbMe and the others on the climate council believed that it was relevant and legitimate to concern ourselves with the objective. Both because it was mentioned in the climate legislation that was the basis for the work on the climate, and because there was a parliamentary majority behind it.\u00ab<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"Quote","quote":"It's not an objective in itself to get into conflict with those who you are to advise. ","quotee":"Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen","style":"extended"},{"acf_fc_layout":"Content","content":"<p>The dispute concerns a matter of principle. Is the climate council a kind of internal consultant for the current government or is the climate council also an independent advisor to the Danish parliament?<\/p>\n<p>“It is not crystal clear in the climate legislation. It says that we should advise the government. But the government has to subsequently explain to the Danish parliament how it relates to our analyses and proposals. In this sense, the Danish parliament is also involved,” says Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen.<\/p>\n<p>But the dispute was about more than that. It is also about a basic distrust of the experts’ objectivity and impartiality. The government called Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen’s political independence into question.<\/p>\n<p><em>The governing Liberal Party has repeatedly made it clear that they see you as a man from the opposition party. Are they right?<\/em><\/p>\n<p>“No, I really think this is an unreasonable accusation. Everything that the climate council has recommended during my term, has had the complete backing of the whole climate council, which consists of six members and a chairman, all of whom are selected based on their professional expertise. Four of the Council\u2019s members were appointed by the Liberal Party and the Conservative Party in connection with the former Climate Commission of 2008-10. It is therefore very strange if we suddenly have become a political tool of the opposition.\u00ab<\/p>\n<p><em>But it is worth noting that you as an expert can select different methods depending on your personal convictions?<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u00bbIt is clear that no matter how objective you try to be, you can have a skewed approach to a problem. But this is also why there are seven members on the Climate Council, who are each experts in their respective fields, and that there, in addition, is a secretariat with skilled professionals. This helps ensure that one single person does not just run off on a tangent with an obvious ideological standpoint. Otherwise we would undermine our own credibility.\u00ab<\/p>\n<p>Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen looks out the window and lets a hand pass through his beard.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbIt’s not an objective in itself to get into conflict with those who you are to advise. You would like to be on good terms with them, but you have to stand on a professional basis and be loyal to the climate legislation. This is your duty.”<\/p>\n<h2>Not without influence<\/h2>\n<p>He could have wished for a better start in the Climate Council. But he is happy for the four years he managed to be chairman of the council. And despite the lack of responsiveness on the part of the government he feels that it has been worth the effort.<\/p>\n<div class=\"factbox\">\n<p class=\"factbox-header feature-color\">DANish Climate on council CHange<\/p>\n<p>\u00b7 Independent expert body set up under the climate legislation of 2014<\/p>\n<p>\u00b7 Set up by the Social Liberals, Social Democrats, Red-Green Alliance, Socialist People\u2019s Party and the Conservative Party<\/p>\n<p>\u00b7 According to the climate legislation, the council is to evaluate Denmark’s fulfilment of climate objectives and international commitments.<\/p>\n<p>\u00b7 The council select its own tasks. The Minister may not require that the council takes up certain themes, or avoids other themes.<\/p>\n<p>\u00b7 Consists of a chairman and six members<\/p>\n<p>\u00b7 Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen was chairman from December 2014 to December 2018.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u00bbIt has not been the best starting point that the climate council has worked under a minister, who voted against the original climate legislation and the set-up of the council. But there has, in general, been considerable interest in what we have done. This both on the part of the public and on the part of politicians in parliament that work on climate issues. So it has not been the case that we had to fight to bring attention to our analyses.”<\/p>\n<p>In this way, the work in the Climate Council is a lot like the other posts that Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen has held as a economic expert:<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbI have also been Chief Economic Adviser for a few years, and the government of the time was often annoyed by our advice. But that does not mean that the economic advisors have been without influence on the development of society. It just means that you must seek influence through other channels and enter into dialogue with the other stakeholders who are included in the political process. As long as you stay credible, people will listen to you\u00ab<\/p>\n<p>He points out that the Danish parliament on several occasions has directly followed some of the Climate Council’s recommendations and that it has therefore not been without influence.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbWe recommended, for example, a tax deduction for the battery cost in the purchase of an electric car. This has been introduced. But more importantly, we recommended prior to the energy agreement last year that we should aim for a 55 per cent renewable energy share of energy consumption in 2030 instead of the 50 per cent which the government had proposed. The politicians took this on board.”<\/p>\n<h2>Environmental interest from secondary school<\/h2>\n<p>Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen gets up from his chair and walks over to the bookshelf. He lets a finger slide over the spines of the books until it hits a worn paperback, which he pulls out and puts on the table.<\/p>\n<p>“One of the reasons why I started studying economics, was this book, which I read when I was in upper secondary school. It argued that the world was moving towards a catastrophe if we did not stop the increasing environmental degradation,” he says.<\/p>\n<p>The book <em>The Limits to Growth<\/em> was dismissed by many economists as doomsday hysteria. But it sparked Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen’s long-standing interest in environmental issues, which started back in upper secondary school at the beginning of the 1970s at Skt. Knuds Gymnasium in Odense.<\/p>\n<p>“I have since then got a more nuanced picture of the relationship between growth and the environment. But the book made a deep impression on me and helped to awaken my interest in environmental problems,” says Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen.<\/p>\n<p>He is now back on full-time, teaching and researching at the Department of Economics and has already taken up new projects that he hopes might be able to influence climate policy in a positive direction.<\/p>\n<p><em>What is it that you can contribute as an economist?<\/em><\/p>\n<p>“For me as an economist, it’s about thinking environmental and climate policy and economic policy together. That is why I am helping develop an environmental-economic model for the Danish economy. I am also helping lead a large research project to calculate a green GDP for Denmark, which corrects the traditional GDP for environmental and climate effects. In this way, you can see whether the environmental costs have been so great that there has been no growth if you deduct them.”<\/p>\n<p><em>Are you optimistic about whether your recommendations will be used?<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u00bbYes I am, actually. We have not finished our projects. But there is a growing political interest in the UN sustainable development goals and our commitments in the climate area, which means that I believe that this may have an impact.\u00ab<\/p>\n<p><em>Translated by Mike Young<\/em><\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"Image","image":{"ID":83434,"id":83434,"title":"Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen web05","filename":"peterbirchsoerensenweb05.jpg","filesize":293555,"url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/peterbirchsoerensenweb05.jpg","link":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/saa-laenge-man-er-trovaerdig-vil-der-ogsaa-blive-lyttet\/photographer-daniel-hjorthwww-danielhjorth-dkcontactdanielhjorth-dk-2\/","alt":"Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen","author":"8","description":"Photographer: Daniel Hjorth www.danielhjorth.dk contact@danielhjorth.dk","caption":"Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen","name":"photographer-daniel-hjorthwww-danielhjorth-dkcontactdanielhjorth-dk-2","status":"inherit","uploaded_to":83438,"date":"2019-03-20 10:34:34","modified":"2019-03-20 15:41:51","menu_order":0,"mime_type":"image\/jpeg","type":"image","subtype":"jpeg","icon":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-includes\/images\/media\/default.png","width":1250,"height":833,"sizes":{"thumbnail":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/peterbirchsoerensenweb05-150x150.jpg","thumbnail-width":150,"thumbnail-height":150,"medium":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/peterbirchsoerensenweb05-480x320.jpg","medium-width":480,"medium-height":320,"medium_large":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/peterbirchsoerensenweb05-768x512.jpg","medium_large-width":768,"medium_large-height":512,"large":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/peterbirchsoerensenweb05.jpg","large-width":1250,"large-height":833,"1536x1536":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/peterbirchsoerensenweb05.jpg","1536x1536-width":1250,"1536x1536-height":833,"2048x2048":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/peterbirchsoerensenweb05.jpg","2048x2048-width":1250,"2048x2048-height":833,"featured-soft":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/peterbirchsoerensenweb05-290x193.jpg","featured-soft-width":290,"featured-soft-height":193,"featured-hard":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/peterbirchsoerensenweb05-290x180.jpg","featured-hard-width":290,"featured-hard-height":180,"narrow":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/peterbirchsoerensenweb05-700x466.jpg","narrow-width":700,"narrow-height":466,"extended":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/peterbirchsoerensenweb05-990x660.jpg","extended-width":990,"extended-height":660}},"style":"screen","text_placement":"metadata-below","image_link_url":"","image_link_title":"","caption_prefix":"","enable_alternative_caption":false,"alternative_caption":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"ArticleEnd"},{"acf_fc_layout":"Newsletter","lang_select":"Dansk","identifier":"Newsletter","headline":"Receive a weekly newsletter in your inbox","button_text":"Tilmeld nu","class":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"OtherStories","headline":"","hand_picked_posts":true,"references":[{"reference":{"ID":75239,"post_author":"68","post_date":"2018-10-01 09:50:37","post_date_gmt":"2018-10-01 07:50:37","post_content":"Economists have a bad reputation. Firstly, they deal with a market economy, which for many people is seen as uncontrollable. Secondly, they often base their theory on assumptions that are far away from the real world, like [secrettext face=\"homo oeconomicus\" text=\"the idea that humans are rational individuals that pursue their own interests. The presumption underlies much of economic theory.\"]. This is something that Nobel Prize winner and professor of economics Jean Tirole wants to change.\r\n\r\n\u201cJean Tirole wants to show that economists and the economic sciences are not as dogmatic and narrow-minded as some people make out. He himself is an excellent example of this,\" says Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen, a professor at the Department of Economics at UCPH and chairman of the Danish Council on Climate Change about Tirole\u2019s latest book [secretimage face=\"\u2018Economics for the Common Good\u2019\" imageid=\"74950\"]. On Friday, 5th October, Tirole will present the book to an open <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/events\/2368386543394992\/\">event<\/a> at UCPH which you yourself are also invited to.\r\n<h3>The free market has never won over people\u2019s hearts<\/h3>\r\nIn 2014, Jean Tirole received the Nobel Prize in economics for his theoretical work on how markets are regulated most effectively. Almost overnight, Tirole became a familiar face in his home country France. Suddenly, he started getting stopped on the street by strangers, and had to answer questions on a variety of topics outside his own area of expertise.\r\n<blockquote>For many, the pursuit of the common good, the guiding principle behind significant public\r\nintervention, has been sacrificed on the altar of this new economic order.\r\n<p class=\"quotee\">Jean Tirole, French economist and Nobel Prize winner<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\nThis is how 'Economics for the Common Good' came about. In an attempt to reflect over the economists\u2019 role in the public debate and to ensure the benefit of society. And the government plays a major role in it,\" Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen explains.\r\n\r\n\u201cTirole says that we do not have to choose between the government or the market to regulate the economy. The two things are interdependent. You need to have a strong state to determine the rules for trade on the market, so that it works effectively.\"\r\n\r\nJean Tirole points out that many people are frustrated by the loss of political control that has taken place in many countries as a result of the privatisation, globalisation and outsourcing that has taken place in recent decades. He understands that the free market did not win our hearts. Because, as he stated in the introduction to 'Economics for the Common Good':\r\n\r\n\"Even so, the market economy has achieved only a partial victory, because it has won neither hearts nor minds. For many, the pursuit\r\nof the common good, the guiding principle behind significant public intervention, has been sacrificed on the altar of this new economic\r\norder.\u201d\n<!-- end of module 1 -->\n<h3>The climate is the common good<\/h3>\r\nThe climate crisis at the top of the list of the biggest challenges of our time. Some economists call it a problem sent from hell, the biggest market failure ever. As Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen puts it:\r\n\r\n\u201cSolving the climate crisis requires of us that we, to an unusual degree, are able to take others into account. We need to take the welfare of everyone else in the world into account. And we need to take the welfare of all future generations into account also.\r\n<blockquote>I have made the decision that I am an optimist. Optimist in the sense that I believe that it is possible. And it doesn't have to cost a fortune.\r\n<p class=\"quotee\">Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\nHow do we safeguard the climate and the common good? We create institutions that can combine individual interests with global interests. Jean Tirole stresses, like many others, that the solution to the climate crisis must necessarily be a global one. Because if you look upon it from an economic point of view, there are enough challenges to deal with. One of them is the so-called carbon leakage problem:\r\n\r\n\"If one country carries out a more ambitious climate policy than the rest of the world and makes it very expensive to emit CO2 from its own territory, then it simply causes a relocation of energy-intensive and CO2-intensive production to other countries where there is no tough regulations,\u201d says Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen.\r\n\r\nAn individual country can have good intentions with their climate policy. But this does not necessarily mean that the climate will improve. In some cases, the country simply inflicts costs on itself. So as many countries as possible need to agree on binding targets for reducing CO2 emissions. According to Tirole, one solution would include a global tax on CO2 or a quota market for CO2.\r\n<h3>Can we ensure the common good without Trump?<\/h3>\r\nThe problem is that we've done it before. For years, the heads of government have talked about making tougher climate policies at a global level. The Paris agreement was a step in the right direction, but where is the world after Trump pulled the United States out of the agreement last year?\r\n\r\nIt won't be easy, says Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen: \"It is clear that the Trump administration is a major problem. But we can hope that Trump will only be a parenthesis in history, and be pleased about the fact that large parts of the United States and the rest of the world do not follow his line\u201d.\r\n<div class=\"factbox\">\r\n<p class=\"factbox-header feature-color\">Who is Jean Tirole?<\/p>\r\n<strong>Professor in Economics<\/strong> at the Toulouse School of Economics (TSE) in France\r\n\r\nWon the <strong>Nobel Prize in Economics in 2014<\/strong> for his ground-breaking contribution to economic theory on market failure and public policy\r\n\r\nOn 4th October he will participate in an international workshop with some of the world's leading experts in climate economics.\r\n\r\nHe will also participate in an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/events\/2368386543394992\/\">open event<\/a> about his new book 'Economics for the Common Good' on <strong>5th October at 16.00<\/strong> at CSS in room 34.\r\n\r\n<em>You can read the introduction and more about 'Economics for the Common Good' on the <a href=\"http:\/\/assets.press.princeton.edu\/chapters\/i10919.pdf\">publisher's website<\/a>.<\/em>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\nThe EU has a common CO2 quota market, and the same applies to both China, South Korea and among a number of states and cities in the United States. These markets may one day merge together. But in order to get as many countries in as possible, we need a tightening of regulations within the framework of the Paris agreement, says Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen.\r\n\r\nThe overall targets of the Paris agreement are good. But the individual countries need to offer to do much more, if these targets are to be achieved. An idea could be to set a minimum price on CO2, so that all countries would be forced to raise their CO2 prices. This would avoid the problem of 'coasting', where some countries can reduce their CO2 price in order to gain a competitive advantage. Jean Tirole also proposes introducing trade sanctions against countries which are not part of climate agreements and that thereby practices [secrettext face=\"dumping\" text=\"Achieving an unfair competitive advantage towards other countries. Here prices of products do not reflect the real production costs, which include climate damage by emitting CO2\"].\r\n<h3>\u201cI have made the decision that I am an optimist.\u201d<\/h3>\r\nJean Tirole is relatively optimistic on behalf of the climate. We have the political - and economic - tools to create a better world. But it also requires commitment from citizens, according to Tirole. It is no use just lashing out at politicians. They have to support change and the politicians who make the changes.\r\n\r\nPeter Birch S\u00f8rensen also believes that we can solve the climate crisis: \u201cI have made the decision that I am an optimist.\u201d Optimist in the sense that I believe that it is possible. And it doesn't have to cost a fortune.\u201d\r\n\r\nLike Jean Tirole, he also believes out that economists can play a role in ensuring the common good and solving the climate problem. And he therefore hopes that people will listen to Tirole:\r\n\r\n\"I hope of course that those who are critical of economists and economic theory, or who have followed the debate in recent years about economists' role in society, will come along and hear what Jean Tirole has to say.\"\n<!-- end of module 2 -->\n","post_title":"Economists can be scared too","post_excerpt":"Economists can and should work for the common good. This is according to Nobel Prize winner Jean Tirole, who will visit UCPH in October to discuss the climate crisis. Professor Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen is looking forward to it.","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"economists-can-be-scared-too","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2018-10-01 11:04:20","post_modified_gmt":"2018-10-01 09:04:20","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/nobelprismodtager-vil-redde-klimaet-og-oekonomernes-rygte\/","menu_order":0,"post_type":"post","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}}],"category":false,"theme":false,"number_of_posts":"4","style":"default"}]},"taxonomyData":{"category":[{"term_id":48,"name":"Politics","slug":"politics","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":48,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":1035,"filter":"raw"}],"post_tag":[],"post_format":[],"expression":[{"term_id":14,"name":"Portrait Article","slug":"portrait_article","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":14,"taxonomy":"expression","description":"","parent":0,"count":798,"filter":"raw"}],"translation_priority":[]},"featured_media_url":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/peterbirchsoerensenweb06.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83592","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=83592"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83592\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":83597,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83592\/revisions\/83597"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/83435"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83592"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=83592"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=83592"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}