Dan Jørgensen takes up role as Europe’s new commissioner for energy

Dan Jørgensen, Denmark’s Minister for Development Cooperation and Global Climate Policy, has been approved as Europe’s new commissioner for energy and housing, effective 1 December.

Jørgensen, a political science graduate and European and Danish parliamentarian for the past 20 years, now forms part of Europe’s new College of Commissioners for the current parliamentary term 2024-2029.

Over his career he has held a range of portfolios but is no stranger to the energy sector, having served previously as Denmark’s minister for climate, energy and utilities.

Jørgensen as Europe’s new energy commissioner faces a number of challenges and tasks, of which the top one is to bring down the price of energy for households and businesses.

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This will require investment in clean energy and the replacement of Russian LNG imports.

Underlying his role is meeting the goals of the European Green Deal and other energy legislation.

Specific duties set out in his mission letter include updating and simplifying the governance of the energy union, proposing an initiative to boost the rollout of renewable energy and energy storage, proposing an industrial electrification action plan supported with a clean energy investment strategy and looking at the framework for grids.

Other areas of focus highlighted are the adoption of a roadmap for digitalisation and AI in the energy sector, the development and deployment of small modular reactors and the uptake of carbon capture, utilisation and storage.

A citizens’ energy package also is proposed to increase citizen participation in the energy transition.

Alongside energy Jørgensen also is given responsibility for housing as a new addition to the portfolio, with a top task the delivery of a ‘European affordable housing plan’, including a strategy for housing construction and attracting more private and public investment to the sector.

With a focus on energy efficiency, the portfolio also is intended to support a just transition and the reduction of energy poverty.

College of Commissioners

Announcing the new College of Commissioners, Commission president Ursula von der Leyen described it as “the right team for this moment in Europe’s history”.

“I want to stress that word ‘team’. We will be a team with European citizens – listening and learning more from the daily realities people face. And we will also be a team with [the parliament] and with the member states. We know that your confidence will need to be continuously earnt. Not just for today’s vote but for the whole five years.”

In this spirit, other members of the new College with whom Jørgensen is expected to particularly closely interact include:

• Teresa Ribera Rodríguez, Executive VP for Clean, Just and Competitive Transition
• Henna Virkkunen, Executive VP for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy
• Stéphane Séjourné, Executive VP for Prosperity and Industrial Strategy,
• Roxana Mînzatu, Executive VP for People, Skills and Preparedness,
• Maroš Šefčovič, Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, Interinstitutional Relations and Transparency
• Wopke Hoekstra, Commissioner for Climate, Net Zero and Clean Growth,
• Jessika Roswall, Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience and a Competitive Circular Economy
• Ekaterina Zaharieva, Commissioner for Startups, Research and Innovation
• Apostolos Tzitzikostas, Commissioner for Sustainable Transport and Tourism.

Von der Leyen also announced the first major initiative of the new Commission to be a Competitiveness Compass to frame its work for the rest of the term and built on the three pillars of the Draghi competitiveness report – closing the innovation gap with the US and China, a joint plan for decarbonisation and competitiveness, and increasing security and reducing dependencies.

Originally published on Enlit World.