FAMED DANISH LEADER TO DISCUSS THE GROWING ECONOMIC FORCE OF SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES AT NOON BROWNBAG

Seattle – Monday, June 2, Svend Auken will discuss the growing financial benefits of green jobs and green technology. When Auken was in Seattle in 2005, 900 people spent their Friday evening at Meany Hall listening in wonder and amazement. Denmark's former Minister of Energy and Environment, Auken is generally credited with turning Denmark from being almost totally dependent on foreign oil, to being an exporter of sustainable energy within a 30 year period. And ... the economy grew! Green jobs are now a major contributor to the economy, and renewable energy products and service are their #1 export. Some may recall Bill Clinton's comment in Seattle last fall ... about the remarkable little country called Denmark.

Svend is also now on the committee to determine the EU's position on climate change and renewable energy. Here is an opportunity to interact with a truly remarkable man.

As Danish Minister of Energy and the Environment, Aukens created the policies that turned Denmark from a staggering economy almost completely dependent on foreign oil to a prosperous energy exporter. The policies, based on subsidized guaranteed purchase prices for alternative energy production, also provided the conditions that led a modest farm equipment company called Vestas to become the largest wind turbine manufacturer in the world, and the prime export engine of the Danish economy. Aukens also led in Denmark passing one of the world's first carbon taxes in 1992, which the result that their per capita Co2 emissions dropped 15% between 1990 and 2005 despite major economic growth. There may not be anyone else in the world with an equivalent knowledge and experience in how to shift complex economies toward sustainability.

Please feel free to bring your lunch, an inquiring mind and lots of questions. Svend is at his best fielding questions from the audience. Please forward this message to others ... to help get the word out!

Brownbag Details:

Monday, June 2, 2008
Noon - 1:30 p.m.
Bertha Landes Room, City Hall
600 4th Avenue (entrance on 5th Avenue)