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>
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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":74938,"post_author":"68","post_date":"2018-09-27 09:50:37","post_date_gmt":"2018-09-27 07:50:37","post_content":"\u00d8konomer har f\u00e5et et d\u00e5rligt rygte. For det f\u00f8rste besk\u00e6ftiger de sig med en markeds\u00f8konomi, som for mange er blevet ukontrollerbar. For det andet \u00a0baserer deres teori sig ofte p\u00e5 antagelser, der ligger fjernt fra den virkelige verden, s\u00e5som [secrettext face=\"<em>homo oeconomicus<\/em>\" text=\"id\u00e9en om, at mennesker er rationelle individer, som f\u00f8lger deres egeninteresser. Antagelsen ligger til grund for meget \u00f8konomisk teori\"].\u00a0Det vil nobelprismodtager og professor i \u00f8konomi Jean Tirole lave om.\r\n\r\n\u00bbJean Tirole vil gerne vise, at \u00f8konomer og den \u00f8konomiske videnskab ikke er s\u00e5 dogmatisk og en\u00f8jet, som nogen vil g\u00f8re den til. Det er han selv et fremragende eksempel p\u00e5.\u00ab\r\n\r\nDet siger Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen, som er professor p\u00e5 \u00d8konomisk Institut og formand for Klimar\u00e5det, om Tiroles nyeste bog [secretimage face=\"\u2018Economics for the Common Good\u2019\" imageid=\"74950\"]. Fredag den 5. oktober pr\u00e6senterer Tirole bogen til et <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/events\/2368386543394992\/\">\u00e5bent arrangement<\/a> p\u00e5 KU, som ogs\u00e5 du er inviteret til.\r\n<h3>Det frie marked har aldrig vundet hjerter<\/h3>\r\nI 2014 modtog Jean Tirole Nobelprisen i \u00f8konomi for sit teoretiske arbejde om, hvordan markederne reguleres mest effektivt. Fra den ene dag til den anden blev Tirole et kendt ansigt i sit hjemland Frankrig. Pludselig blev han stoppet p\u00e5 gaden af fremmede mennesker og skulle svare p\u00e5 sp\u00f8rgsm\u00e5l om et v\u00e6ld af samfundsemner, der l\u00e5 uden for hans egen ekspertiseomr\u00e5de.\r\n<blockquote>Mange f\u00f8ler, at den str\u00e6ben efter det f\u00e6lles bedste, som b\u00f8r v\u00e6re det styrende princip bag statslige indgreb, er blevet ofret p\u00e5 den nye \u00f8konomiske verdensordens alter\r\n<p class=\"quotee\">Jean Tirole, fransk \u00f8konom og nobelprismodtager<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\nS\u00e5dan blev \u2018Economics for the Common Good\u2019 til. I et fors\u00f8g p\u00e5 at reflektere over \u00f8konomernes rolle i samfundsdebatten og i at sikre samfundets bedste. Og staten spiller en stor rolle i det, fort\u00e6ller Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen:\r\n\r\n\u00bbTirole siger, at vi ikke skal v\u00e6lge imellem stat eller marked til at regulere \u00f8konomien. De to ting er hinandens foruds\u00e6tninger. Man er n\u00f8dt til at have en st\u00e6rk stat, der kan fastl\u00e6gge spillereglerne for handler p\u00e5 markedet, s\u00e5 det fungerer effektivt.\u00ab\r\n\r\nJean Tirole peger p\u00e5, at mange er frustrerede over det tab af politisk kontrol, der er sket i mange lande som f\u00f8lge af privatisering, globalisering og udlicitering i de seneste \u00e5rtier. Han har forst\u00e5else for, at det frie marked ikke har vundet vores hjerter, \u00a0for som der st\u00e5r i indledningen til \u2018Economics for the Common Good\u2019:\r\n\r\n\u00bbAlligevel har markeds\u00f8konomien kun opn\u00e5et en delvis sejr, da den hverken har vundet hjerter eller sind. Mange f\u00f8ler, at den str\u00e6ben efter det f\u00e6lles bedste, som b\u00f8r v\u00e6re det styrende princip bag statslige indgreb, er blevet ofret p\u00e5 den nye \u00f8konomiske verdensordens alter.\u00ab\n<!-- end of module 1 -->\n<h3>Klimaet er det f\u00e6lles bedste<\/h3>\r\nKlimakrisen st\u00e5r \u00f8verst p\u00e5 listen over de st\u00f8rste udfordringer i vores tid. Nogle \u00f8konomer kalder det et problem sendt fra helvede, andre den st\u00f8rste markedsfejl nogensinde. Det fort\u00e6ller Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen:\r\n\r\n\u00bbL\u00f8sning af klimakrisen kr\u00e6ver, at vi i en helt us\u00e6dvanlig grad er i stand til at t\u00e6nke p\u00e5 andre end os selv. Vi skal b\u00e5de inddrage velf\u00e6rden for alle andre i verden, og s\u00e5 skal vi inddrage velf\u00e6rden for alle fremtidige generationer.\u00ab\r\n<blockquote>Jeg har vedtaget med mig selv, at jeg er optimist. Optimist i den forstand, at jeg tror, at det kan lade sig g\u00f8re. Og det beh\u00f8ver ikke at koste kassen\r\n<p class=\"quotee\">Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\nHvordan sikrer vi klimaet og det f\u00e6lles bedste? Vi skaber institutioner, som kan forene individuelle interesser med globale interesser. Jean Tirole understreger ligesom mange andre, at l\u00f8sningen p\u00e5 klimakrisen n\u00f8dvendigvis m\u00e5 v\u00e6re global. For kigger man med \u00f8konomiske \u00f8jne p\u00e5 problemet, s\u00e5 er der nok udfordringer at tage fat i. Et af dem er det s\u00e5kaldte CO2-l\u00e6kage-problem:\r\n\r\n\u00bbHvis et enkelt land f\u00f8rer en meget mere ambiti\u00f8s klimapolitik end omverdenen og g\u00f8r det meget dyrt at udlede CO2 fra landets eget territorium, s\u00e5 risikerer man en udflytning af energitung og CO2-intensiv produktion til andre lande, hvor der ikke er en skarp regulering\u00ab, fort\u00e6ller Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen.\r\n\r\nEt enkelt land kan alts\u00e5 have gode intentioner med deres klimapolitik. Men det betyder ikke n\u00f8dvendigvis altid, at klimaet f\u00e5r det bedre. I nogle tilf\u00e6lde p\u00e5f\u00f8rer landet bare sig selv omkostninger. Derfor skal s\u00e5 mange som muligt blive enige om bindende m\u00e5l for at reducere CO2-udledningen. If\u00f8lge Tirole b\u00f8r en l\u00f8sning inkludere en global afgift p\u00e5 CO2 eller et kvotemarked for CO2.\r\n<h3>Kan vi sikre det f\u00e6lles bedste uden Trump?<\/h3>\r\nProblemet er bare, at vi har pr\u00f8vet det f\u00f8r. I \u00e5revis har regeringsledere snakket om at opstramme klimapolitikken p\u00e5 globalt plan. Parisaftalen var et skridt i den rigtige retning, men hvor st\u00e5r verden, efter Trump trak USA ud af aftalen sidste \u00e5r?\r\n<div class=\"factbox\">\r\n<p class=\"factbox-header feature-color\">Hvem er Jean Tirole?<\/p>\r\n<strong>Professor i \u00f8konomi<\/strong> p\u00e5 Toulouse School of Economics (TSE) i Frankrig\r\n\r\nFik <strong>Nobelprisen i \u00f8konomi i 2014<\/strong> for sit banebrydende bidrag til \u00f8konomisk teori om markedsbrist og offentlig politik\r\n\r\nSkal den 4. oktober deltage i en international workshop med nogle af verdens f\u00f8rende eksperter i klima\u00f8konomi\r\n\r\nDeltager desuden i et <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/events\/2368386543394992\/\">\u00e5bent arrangement <\/a>om sine nye bog \u2018Economics for the Common Good\u2019 den <strong>5. oktober kl. 16 p\u00e5 CSS i lokale 34<\/strong>.\r\n\r\n<em>Du kan l\u00e6se indledningen og mere om \u2018Economics for the Common Good\u2019 p\u00e5 <a href=\"http:\/\/assets.press.princeton.edu\/chapters\/i10919.pdf\">forlagets hjemmeside\u00a0<\/a><\/em>\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\nDet bliver ikke nemt, siger Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen: \u00bbDet er klart, at Trump-administrationen er et stort problem. Men vi kan h\u00e5be p\u00e5, at Trump bare bliver en parentes i historien og gl\u00e6de os over, at store dele af USA og resten af verden ikke f\u00f8lger hans linje\u00ab\r\n\r\nEU har et f\u00e6lles kvotemarked p\u00e5 CO2, og det samme g\u00e6lder i b\u00e5de i Kina, Sydkorea og blandt en r\u00e6kke delstater og byer i USA. De markeder kan man m\u00e5ske en dag sl\u00e5 sammen. Men for at f\u00e5 s\u00e5 mange lande med som muligt, skal en opstramning af regelv\u00e6rket ske inden for rammerne af Parisaftalen, mener Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen.\r\n\r\nM\u00e5let i Parisaftalen er godt nok. Men de enkelte lande skal byde ind med meget mere, hvis m\u00e5let skal n\u00e5es. En id\u00e9 kunne v\u00e6re at s\u00e6tte en minimumspris p\u00e5 CO2, s\u00e5 alle lande ville blive tvunget til at h\u00e6ve deres CO2-priser. Dermed ville man undg\u00e5 'frihjulsk\u00f8rsel', hvor nogle lande kan s\u00e6nke deres CO2-pris for at opn\u00e5 en konkurrencem\u00e6ssig fordel. Jean Tirole foresl\u00e5r ogs\u00e5 at indf\u00f8re handelssanktioner overfor lande, som ikke vil v\u00e6re med i klimaaftaler og dermed ud\u00f8ver [secrettext face=\"dumping\" text=\"At opn\u00e5 en uretm\u00e6ssig konkurrencefordel over andre lande. Her ved ikke at lade varepriser afspejle den sande omkostning ved produktionen, som inkluderer skader p\u00e5 klimaet ved at udlede CO2\"].\r\n<h3>\u00bbJeg har vedtaget med mig selv, at jeg er optimist\u00ab<\/h3>\r\nJean Tirole er forholdsvis optimistisk p\u00e5 klimaets vegne. Vi har de politiske - og \u00f8konomiske - redskaber til at skabe en bedre verden. Men det kr\u00e6ver ogs\u00e5 et engagement fra borgerne if\u00f8lge Tirole. Det nytter ikke, at de bare sl\u00e5r politikerne i hovedet. De skal selv underst\u00f8tte forandring og de politikere, som g\u00f8r det.\r\n\r\nPeter Birch S\u00f8rensen mener ogs\u00e5, at vi kan l\u00f8se klimakrisen: \u00bbJeg har vedtaget med mig selv, at jeg er optimist. Optimist i den forstand, at jeg tror, at det kan lade sig g\u00f8re. Og det beh\u00f8ver ikke at koste kassen.\u00ab\r\n\r\nLigesom Jean Tirole tror han ogs\u00e5 p\u00e5, at \u00f8konomer kan spille en rolle i at sikre det f\u00e6lles bedste og l\u00f8se klimaproblemet. Og derfor h\u00e5ber han p\u00e5, at folk vil lytte til Tirole:\r\n\r\n\u00bbJeg h\u00e5ber selvf\u00f8lgelig, at dem, som er kritiske over for \u00f8konomer og \u00f8konomisk teori, eller som har fulgt med i de seneste \u00e5rs debat om \u00f8konomernes rolle i samfundet, vil m\u00f8de op og h\u00f8re, hvad Jean Tirole har at sige.\u00ab\n<!-- end of module 2 -->\n","post_title":"\u00d8konomer kan ogs\u00e5 v\u00e6re bange","post_excerpt":"\u00d8konomer kan og b\u00f8r arbejde for det f\u00e6lles bedste, mener nobelprismodtager Jean Tirole, der g\u00e6ster KU i oktober for blandt andet at tale klimakrise. Professor Peter Birch S\u00f8rensen gl\u00e6der sig.","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","post_password":"","post_name":"nobelprismodtager-vil-redde-klimaet-og-oekonomernes-rygte","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2018-09-27 09:50:37","post_modified_gmt":"2018-09-27 07:50:37","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/?p=74938\/","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":1037,"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":854,"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}]}}