Denmark’s economic recovery—from the financial crisis that hit Scandinavia in 1990—over the last 2 decades is anything but a transition to a green economy. "Experts" who remark only on Danish green technology exports are failing to tell the whole story.

It is true that Denmark consumes less imported coal than it did in 1990 (Denmark has no domestic coal reserves). But 50% of Danish electricity, steam and heat supply still derives from the combustion of imported coal.

In reality, the Danish economy is currently much more dependent on fossil fuel exports than any time in Danish history. It is true that the value of Danish clean electricity and electricity generation technologies has grown substantially between 1990 and 2009. But Danish oil, gas and petroleum product exports grew much faster.  

In the 1st quarter of 2009, the value of Danish fossil fuel and fossil fuel production technology exports was 7.22 times the value of Danish electricity and electricity technology exports. And that is even though I included technologies used to convert fossil fuels to electricity in the "clean" electricity account, not the fossil fuel account, in the table below.  

Danish natural demand for gas quadrupled over the period, but domestic production of natural gas only doubled and the Danish natural gas reserves are on a rather fast decline. At the end of 2008, the value of Danish fossil fuel and fossil fuel production technology exports was 17 times what it was in 1990 and 5.6 times the value of electricity and "clean tech" exports.

After oil and gas prices crashed in 2008, the value of Danish fossil fuel-related exports was still some 7 times the value of Danish electricity and clean tech exports.

So Danes might be consuming less oil at home. But their economy and incomes are more dependent on fossil fuel exports than ever before. This is a more complete picture than is often presented, I find.

I downloaded 100% of the data in these tables from Denmark Statistics.