Latest news with #AndersFoghRasmussen
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Officials reconsider energy policy put in place more than 40 years ago: 'It's ridiculous to exclude'
Denmark is taking a fresh look at nuclear power after 40 years of saying no, marking a huge shift for this renewable energy leader, the Guardian reported. The Danish government plans to study the benefits of new small nuclear reactors despite already generating over 80% of its electricity from wind, solar, and other renewables. "We can see that there is development under way with new nuclear power technologies — small, modular reactors," said Lars Aagaard, Denmark's energy and climate minister. This move comes as many European countries show renewed interest in nuclear energy alongside their existing renewable projects. Small modular reactors offer key advantages over traditional nuclear plants. Their compact designs allow them to be built in factories and assembled on-site, which may lower costs and shorten construction times. The timing aligns with increasing demand for round-the-clock clean electricity. As countries work to decarbonize transportation, heating, and industry, they need reliable power sources that work when the sun isn't shining or wind isn't blowing. Even tech giants such as Google are looking at small modular reactors to power their energy-hungry data centers with consistent, carbon-free electricity. Denmark isn't alone in this nuclear rethinking. Spain might delay shutting down its seven nuclear reactors after a massive power outage, while Germany faces pressure to reconsider its 2022 nuclear ban following Russian gas supply cuts. You can take advantage of clean energy innovations by installing solar panels, which can bring your home energy costs down to nearly zero. EnergySage provides a free service that makes it easy to compare quotes from vetted local installers and save up to $10,000 on a solar installation. "Wind and solar are good as long as you have wind and sunshine. But you have to have a non-fossil base-load and it's ridiculous to exclude nuclear power in advance," said Anders Fogh Rasmussen, a former prime minister of Denmark. "My guess is that this is a process towards lifting the ban." Should the government be allowed to restrict how much water we use? Definitely Only during major droughts No way I'm not sure Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Wall Street Journal
19-05-2025
- Politics
- Wall Street Journal
Why Democracy Is in Retreat
Copenhagen Why do the good guys keep losing? That was the question that haunted your Global View columnist last week at the Copenhagen Democracy Summit. The annual gathering was initiated in 2018 by Anders Fogh Rasmussen, the former Danish prime minister and secretary general of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The Democracy Summit, whose American associates in past years have ranged from the Carter Center to the George W. Bush Institute, represents what people once called the vital center in Western politics.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
US now less popular globally than key adversary
Global attitude toward the United States is souring, with one key adversary now more popular worldwide than the U.S., and another hot on its heels, according to new polling. The U.S. is perceived more negatively globally than China and is only a hair more popular than Russia, according to the Democracy Perception Index, a snapshot of global public opinion on democracy and geopolitics developed by the Copenhagen Democracy Summit. Surveying more than 110,000 people across 100 countries over two weeks in April, the organization found that a majority viewed the U.S. negatively. American popularity 'declined noticeably over the past year,' dropping from a net positive of 22% to a net negative of -5%. China's net approval rating is 14%, while Russia's is -9%, according to the poll. It marked the first time that more countries viewed China more favorably than the U.S., according to a report accompanying the poll's release. A year ago, the survey found that 76% of countries held a net positive view of the U.S. Today, 45% do. America remains more popular than China in the United Kingdom, India, Australia and Brazil. Yet China is more popular across much of Europe, including in American allies France and Germany, in Africa and much of South America, and in both Canada and Mexico. 'I'm not surprised that perceptions of the United States have fallen so sharply,' said former NATO Chief and Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen, in a statement accompanying the report. 'Every year, this poll confirms the same point: around the world people believe in democracy, but those fortunate to live in democracies are impatient for their governments to deliver.' President Donald Trump may also be the most globally recognized political leader, known by 85% of respondents, but he also has an 'almost universal negative perception,' the poll found. In 82% of countries, Trump has a negative approval rating, significantly lower than Russian President Vladimir Putin (61%) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (44%). Trump praises Saudi Arabia's prince suspected of ordering journalist's death Latest Trump gaffe most concerning yet: 'What a disaster' Mass. Gov. Healey announces hiring freeze for executive branch agencies Harvard amends lawsuit against Trump admin following $450 million cut 'What About Us?': Native leaders say time's up on broken promises | John L. Micek Read the original article on MassLive.
The Guardian
14-05-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Denmark rethinking 40-year nuclear power ban amid Europe-wide shift
Denmark is reconsidering its 40-year ban on nuclear power in a major policy shift for the renewables-heavy country. The Danish government will analyse the potential benefits of a new generation of nuclear power technologies after banning traditional nuclear reactors in 1985, its energy minister said. The Scandinavian country is one of Europe's most renewables-rich energy markets and home to Ørsted, the world's biggest offshore wind company. More than 80% of its electricity is generated from renewables, including wind, biofuels and solar, according to the International Energy Agency. But Denmark may begin investing in modular nuclear reactors too, Lars Aagaard, the energy and climate minister, suggested. Aagaard told the Danish newspaper Politiken: 'We can see that there is a development under way with new nuclear power technologies – small, modular reactors. But it's not enough that they have potential. We also need to know what it means for Danish society if we are to enable these technologies.' The country's decision to reconsider nuclear power has emerged as interest in new nuclear reactor designs has picked up across Europe, alongside plans to extend the lifespan of the continent's existing reactors. Denmark's former prime minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen told the Financial Times on Wednesday he supported lifting the 'ridiculous' ban on nuclear power. 'Wind and solar are good as long as you have wind and sunshine. But you have to have a non-fossil base-load and it's ridiculous to exclude nuclear power in advance. My guess is that this is a process [from the government] towards lifting the ban,' he said. Renewed European interest in nuclear power is in part because of an expected increase in demand for low-carbon electricity to decarbonise transport, industry and home heating in the decades ahead. The developers of small modular reactor designs, which can be built in factories and assembled on site, have promised lower costs and shorter construction times than traditional large-scale reactors. Nuclear power has also won the backing of tech companies, including Google, which are interested in using small modular nuclear reactors to supply their energy-hungry datacentres with consistent 24/7 electricity. Spain, widely considered anti-nuclear, is understood to be reconsidering plans to shut down its seven nuclear reactors in the next decade after a major power outage across the Iberian peninsula last month. In Germany, which banned nuclear power in 2022, the debate over whether to restart its reactors has been reignited after the halt in Russian gas imports that year underlined its heavy reliance on gas power plants. Meanwhile, the UK, France and Belgium have agreed to extend the life of existing nuclear reactors to help meet the growing demand for low-carbon electricity to decarbonise their economies. France hopes to build another six reactors to rejuvenate its ageing fleet, and late last year connected the Flamanville 3 nuclear reactor to its grid, the first addition to its nuclear power network in 25 years. The UK is building the Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant in Somerset and expects to set out plans to develop small modular reactors in the coming months, alongside deciding whether to invest in the embattled Sizewell C nuclear project. In Denmark, Ørsted, the wind company, has struggled in the face of high inflation, supply-chain disruption and higher interest rates, forcing it to cut jobs and delay or cancel projects. Last week it cancelled one of the UK's largest offshore windfarms, Hornsea 4, off the Yorkshire coast, saying soaring costs meant it no longer made economic sense.
Russia Today
13-05-2025
- Politics
- Russia Today
Ex-NATO chief warns Trump to stay away from Greenland
US President Donald Trump should drop his plans to take control of Greenland as its residents do not want to become Americans, former NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen has said. Trump has been talking about making Greenland, which is an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark, part of the US since winning a second term in the White House in November. He has offered to buy the resource-rich Arctic territory from Copenhagen, but also warned that he could go as far as using force to bring it under Washington's sovereignty. 'I do not say I am going to do it, but I do not rule out anything,' the US president said of a possible military scenario in an interview with NBC's Meet the Press earlier this month. 'We need Greenland very badly. Greenland is a very small amount of people [around 57,000], which we will take care of, and we will cherish them, and all of that. But we need that for international security,' he claimed. Rasmussen, who previously served as Danish prime minister, told Politico on Monday that it is 'shameless that an American president can threaten an ally. Denmark is one of the closest and most reliable allies of the US.' The former NATO boss, who oversaw the military bloc's disastrous intervention in Libya, destroying the country's economy, unleashing immigrant flows across North Africa and slave auctions in Tripoli, stressed that he is 'concerned' by Trump's rhetoric regarding Greenland. He noted that the US already has a right to keep military bases on the island as part of a 1951 treaty. 'The fact is that Greenland is part of NATO. If the US is dissatisfied with the defense of Greenland... we would appreciate a strengthened defense cooperation with the US,' Rasmussen stressed. However, he insisted that Greenland 'is part of Denmark and Greenlanders do not want to become Americans.' Last week, the Danish Foreign Ministry summoned the acting US ambassador to the country, Jennifer Hall Godfrey, over a report in the Wall Street Journal that Trump had ordered US spy agencies to ramp up their intelligence-gathering efforts in Greenland. Danish Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen said the meeting was aimed at conveying to Washington that Copenhagen treats the claims 'very seriously.' Greenland's prime minister, Jens-Frederik Nielsen, described the alleged spying activities by the US as 'completely unacceptable, disrespectful… and entirely abnormal.'
