Monday Morning News & Notes
Danish water challenges. COVID numbers surge in Sweden.
🍃Environment & Energy⚡️
🇮🇱🇪🇺
The energy crisis continues to bubble just under the surface. The war in Ukraine and now the ongoing bloody battles between Israel and Hamas are raising global tensions and pushing energy prices upward. Since the beginning of the conflict, Israel has shut down the Tamar gas fields over concerns Hamas might try to target Israeli energy infrastructure. That is having a ripple effect across Egypt and Jordan, which have become increasingly dependent on Israel for energy. This could also have a knock-on impact to European LNG imports both from a supply perspective and from an increase in global LNG demand creating more competition, which in turn will put upward pressure on prices.
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Parts of Denmark continue to deal with the aftereffects of the storm surge-fueled flooding from two weeks ago. In Præstø, the flood waters mixed with oil and other pollutants and that continues to cause problems. Vordingborg Municipality is contacting citizens whose homes may have been compromised by the polluted flood waters. The Kommune says this is in response to some homeowners reaching out complaining of nausea, headaches, and other symptoms. The Danish Agency for Patient Safety is advising anyone whose home was flooded and is experiencing any unusual health problems to leave their house right away. The municipality is now beginning the process of determining how extensive the floodwater pollution might be.
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Water is Denmark’s biggest climate change challenge. Huge cloudbursts dumping mammoth amounts of rain have become a more frequent occurrence across Denmark. Then there was the record-setting storm surge flooding from several weeks ago. Water, whether it falls from above or rises up from below is becoming a clear and present climate change danger in low-lying Denmark. And it hasn’t gone unnoticed. All across the country climate adaptation, specifically in dealing with water, has become a staple when studying to become an architect, building designer, or engineer.
Lillebælt University College Teacher Kim Jepsen spoke to DR:
“It is necessary, that the students know something about how buildings are protected against water both from above, from below and from the sea. In recent years, we have significantly increased teaching in climate adaptation.”
Students, depending on their discipline, are taught how to build waterproof buildings, design drainage systems, water diversion, flood mitigation, and to consider water in choosing building materials in order to build more water-resilient communities.
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In Aarhus high water levels have overflowed sewers washing contaminated flood waters across city streets and into the harbour. The polluted water increases the risk of bacterial infections for anyone who comes into contact with it.
Infectious Disease Senior Physician Lars Østergaard says this is just one example of how climate change will drive an increase in a variety of infectious diseases. Østergaard says the heating climate will eventually allow other microorganisms from warmer parts of the world to make their way to Denmark, like dengue fever for example.
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Nitrate pollution, already responsible for large dead zones in Danish inland waters, is also polluting Denmark’s groundwater and that may be costing lives. A new study from the University of Copenhagen, Aarhus University, and the National Geological Surveys for Denmark and Greenland, has found a link between nitrate levels in drinking water and the risk of colon cancer.
Nitrate in waterways and groundwater comes from fertilizers used in agricultural areas that either wash into nearby waterways or, over time, seep deep underground. The study published in the journal Science of the Total Environment concluded that the more nitrate there is in the drinking water the higher the cancer risk.
Researchers found that nitrate concentrations exceeding four milligrams per liter began to trigger a risk of cancer. According to the study on average one out of every five people in Denmark drink water with nitrate concentrations exceeding the safe limit. But in certain parts of the country nitrate concentrations are extremely high. One of those is Aalborg, where nine out of every ten people in the city drink groundwater containing large amounts of nitrate.
University of Copenhagen Associate Professor Brian H. Jacobsen:
“Aalborg is particularly affected by a high nitrate content, and it is therefore also here that the major investments must be made. But at the same time, they are also the ones who get the health benefits.”
The EU has set a safety limit of 50 milligrams of nitrate per liter. However, the study concludes that the limit needs to be lowered to less than four milligrams. But lowering nitrate levels in groundwater isn’t cheap and the costs would likely be passed on to homeowners. Conversely, researchers concluded that lowering nitrate amounts in groundwater would save 127 people from being diagnosed with colorectal cancer every year and save significant amounts of direct and indirect costs of cancer treatments resulting in a net benefit.
The study can be found HERE.
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Bye bye, red meat. A majority vote in Copenhagen's Citizens' Representation has officially booted red meat off of the menu at cafeterias in all Copenhagen schools and educational institutions. Specifically, it means that there will be no more beef, veal, or lamb, which apparently leaves a larger climate footprint than say chicken. In Denmark, pork is a cultural food staple and so it remains untouchable in the removing meat conversation. Red meat will vanish from school eateries in the Danish capital beginning in the next school year.
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Mistakes were made. That is in essence what Aarhus University is saying after an investigation by the Danish newspaper Politiken and independent media and research center Danwatch. The investigation found that the meat processing company Danish Crown, which is also Europe’s largest pork producer, bought a report from the university in 2018, had researchers change sections of it to fit their narrative, and then used it for publicity. The university says that clearly researchers were too close to Danish Crown and as a whole, it was a deeply flawed process. It says that there is a ‘quality management system’ in place to ensure that nothing like that happens again.
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Four Danish electricity companies have broken the law because they have not paid out monies owed to customers who switched to another company. This is according to the Danish Supply Authority. One of the four companies, Modstrøm, has voluntarily chosen to comply with the authority and will retroactively pay out more than 130 million Danish kroner owed to its former customers. The other three, B.energy, Dansk Strøm, and Edison El, have been ordered to repay their debts but are refusing to comply.
Danish Consumer Council Director Mads Reinholdt is now advising people to avoid becoming customers of all three companies.
“We do not believe that these companies are suitable for doing business with in the future, and we would advise against all consumers entering into an agreement with them.”
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Danish shipping giant A.P. Møller-Maersk is sailing through some rough fiscal waters. Shares in the company tumbled on Friday after it published its 3rd quarter financial statements. Profits at Maersk dropped from 62 billion Danish kroner at this point last year to 3.4 billion kroner now. Maersk also announced it will be cutting 10,000 positions globally by next year.
Even then the company’s financial outlook is not pretty according to a teleconference from company executives. They painted a grim picture of global shipping woes, an overcapacity of ships, inflation, wave increases, and the cost of fuel, all putting pressure on the company’s bottom line.
🇩🇰 🇸🇪
Another offshore wind turbine project is teetering on the brink of being scrapped as Europe’s wind energy sector faces mounting woes. A proposed wind farm in the Øresund, the body of water separating Sweden and Denmark, has been put on hold by the board of HOFOR. In this case, the Danish Energy Agency issued the Aflandshage wind farm an establishment permit last year. The permit was then challenged and repealed by the Energy Complaints Board. The issue is bats. The complaints board ruled that an assessment of the impact of the wind turbines on migrating bats must be done before any permit to build the turbines is issued.
A frustrated HOFOR says it has already bent over backwards to accommodate the bat assessment including shutting down the turbines during times when bats are migrating through.
Board Chair Susanne Juhl:
“The project will be abandoned completely unless it proves possible in the near future to continue the project in another form. Until then, the bat census, which is a requirement to obtain a new establishment permit and which has been ongoing since August 2023, will continue.”
The wind farm, if built, would generate enough electricity to power an estimated 300,000 homes.
🇫🇮
The green energy transition is in full swing in Finland. While overall electricity consumption dropped by 6.2% in 2022, over half of the entire country’s energy demands were supplied by renewable energy sources. Chief among them was wind energy, which supplied 31% of the total energy consumed in Finland last year, a 41% year-over-year increase. Hydropower covered another 36% of electricity use. While just 11% came from fossil fuels or peat sources.
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The Finnish Institute for Health says climate change will increase the health challenges people face and health agencies need to plan ahead with that in mind. The institute says climate change is increasing the length and intensity of heat waves in Finland, for example. It says extreme heat increases the mortality risk among vulnerable seniors, especially for those in care. The health agency says increasing instances of extreme cloudbursts can also impact waterways and increase the chances of waterborne epidemics.
Research and Development Director Jaana Halonen:
"We must prepare for the health effects of climate change and reduce the risks. We should especially make use of solutions that benefit both people's health and well-being and climate change mitigation at the same time.”
The institute makes a number of suggestions to counteract climate change-driven health risks like creating cooling spaces during heat waves, transitioning to a plant-based diet, staying active, and moving away from using fossil fuels.
"Exercise and a healthy diet also help with symptoms. One specific remedy for mental health challenges in dark times is also bright light therapy.”
🇱🇻 🇩🇪
Latvian Foreign Affairs Minister Krišjānis Kariņš met with German Minister of Foreign Affairs Annalena Baerbock in Berlin late last week. Among the issues on the table for discussion was increasing German investment in Latvia especially on the renewable energy front. Kariņš said of particular interest was getting German help in building out offshore wind turbines in the Baltic Sea.
🇪🇺
While inflation eases in Europe, prices for some foods are doing the exact opposite. If you have been shopping for olive oil lately you may have done a double take looking at the price.
In October, Oil World, which has been publishing market analysis since 1958 and is largely considered the industry bible, made this note on olive oil in its publication.
“The supply tightness in olive oil is now getting even more dramatic. We consider it likely that olive oil prices will soon reach or exceed $10,000 per tonne on the world market.”
That certainly seems to be playing true on market shelves. According to the European Union’s statistics agency EuroStat the price of olive oil in September of 2023 was 75% higher than it was in January of 2021.
The world’s most widely grown tuber crop, the potato, is also having a moment. Potato prices are on a staggering rise and prices were 53% higher in September than they were in 2021.
Prices for other staples like eggs and butter across the EU remain higher than in January or 2021 but seem to have peaked and are now decreasing. Egg prices are 37% higher while the cost of butter is up 27%.
🦠COVID🦠
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Respiratory infection activity was at “expected levels” across Europe in the week ending October 22, according to the latest update from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. However, the agency notes that COVID infections are driving most of the activity right now. That continues to mean that older Europeans remain in harm’s way and are suffering the bulk of infections, which are in turn driving increasing hospitalizations and deaths in some European countries.
Across the EU and greater European Economic Area, eight counties reported rising infection numbers. Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, and Sweden are seeing coronavirus cases rising across all age groups. The Czech Republic and Slovakia are only seeing increases among vulnerable seniors. Bulgaria and Poland are seeing COVID numbers rise but just among those under the age of 65.
The ECDC says that hospital and ICU admissions have been steadily increasing across eight countries albeit with admission levels remaining lower than they were a year ago. Among those seeing increasing hospitalizations is Estonia while Greece continues to have the highest infection-related hospital admissions rate in Europe.
Bulgaria was the only country in Europe to see its overall COVID death rate increase. However. Lithuania saw fatalities rise among seniors over 65 while Croatia reported increasing coronavirus deaths among its oldest population, those over 80.
Just 18 countries met the ridiculously low threshold of submitting at least 10 sequenced positive test results. Based on that incredibly narrow window XXB.1.5 remains dominant in Europe. But that is pretty much pure guesswork at this point.
🇩🇰
With COVID wastewater surveillance showing a “very strong increase’ in coronavirus activity across Denmark suspicions are growing that a new variant may be driving the infection wave.
Statens Serum Institute says the wastewater results, an increase in infection-related hospitalizations, and a rising positivity percentage, all indicate that the coronavirus infection spread is growing.
The institute says XBB variants are very active in Denmark but they have also seen the BA.2.86 strain begin to take off. After sitting at around 6% of what few positive tests are still being sequenced the new variant has increased its infection share to 13% in the last three weeks.
SSI Senior Researcher Morten Rasmussen spoke to TV2:
“This means that it is the variant that has increased the most in proportion, while the other variants have started to flatten out. It now seems that it has taken hold and that it may eventually become the dominant variant. It is too early to say whether it is a variant that can increase the nationwide infection to a peak in the neighborhood of what we have previously seen in the pandemic.”
But BA.2.86 isn’t alone. It has already spit a number of sub-variants like JN.1 or JQ.2 and with a lack of testing and sequencing our knowledge base on ever-evolving coronavirus strains is severely limited.
“Because it is so different from the other varieties, I thought it would either die out or have had a sharp increase well before now. But we do not have the same testing numbers as before, so it may be that the variant is already the most dominant in the population.”
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The SSI is also reminding people that there is an ongoing whooping cough epidemic and we are also seeing the first signs of an arriving RS virus wave. It adds that cases of atypical pneumonia are also on the rise. So much like last winter it might not be the case of any one concerning infection wave but rather multiple waves from different viruses happening more or less at the same time.
🇸🇪
The Swedish Public Health Agency is warning that the COVID infection wave rolling across the country has yet to reach its peak. It says in the week ending October 29, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases, extremely underreported, increased by 55% compared to the week before. There were 1,992 confirmed COVID cases in week 43, which is higher than the average number of infections in the three previous weeks.
Of the 1,992 confirmed infections, more than 15% were among vulnerable seniors in care. Infections among seniors in care in week 43 also jumped by 59% week to week.
The positivity percentage is very high in Sweden and getting higher by the week. Between weeks 42 and 43 it jumped from 23% to 28% while the number of tests that were administered increased by 16%.
Sweden is also seeing a concerning increase in COVID deaths. The public health agency says there is a bit of lag in reporting coronavirus fatalities but in the last three weeks, 169 more lives were lost to the virus (51 fatalities in week 41 and 49 and 69 in each of the two following weeks). In the three weeks prior to that, there was an average of 32 COVID deaths per week. The agency says excess mortality, the number of deaths higher than the average, in week 41 was ‘significantly elevated” in Eastern Central Sweden and Småland with the islands.
On the variant front, EG.5 appears to be the dominant strain in Sweden based on a very limited amount of testing and genome sequencing. But cases involving the HK.3 and HV.1 strains are also on the rise. BA.2.86 has also increased its prevalence but not by much.
🇫🇮
Figures from the World Health Organization show that Finland has registered the largest number of COVID deaths in the last 12 months per one million citizens in all of Europe.
Helsinki University Hospital Director of Diagnostics Lasse Lehtonen told Finnish media outlet IIta-Sanomat that the way the WHO collects coronavirus death statistics from each country is “rough and simple.” Lehtonen says the WHO includes every death within 30 days of a positive COVID test result as a coronavirus death while the Finnish Institute for Health tracks the statistic by basing it on each person’s cause of death on their death certificate.
In the last 12 months, more than 3,000 people have died from a COVID infection in Finland. With 10,286 total to date coronavirus deaths, Finland is second only to Sweden (25,141 deaths) among the Nordic countries for infection-related deaths.
🇸🇬 🦠
The head of Singapore’s National Centre for Infectious Diseases says establishing a long-term vaccine strategy to deal with COVID is extremely challenging. Executive Director Vernon Lee told attendees at the first-ever Asia-Pacific Immunization Summit that because the coronavirus is constantly mutating it creates so many unknowns. Lee said that you can’t have a long-term vaccination strategy for a virus that is unstable, constantly evolving, has an unknown seasonal pattern, and how it interacts with other respiratory germs largely remains a mystery.
“As of a couple of months ago, we see that many doses of vaccines had been administered to our population of less than six million people, and more than 90% of the entire population completed their primary series and 80% have completed what we call minimum protection with at least one additional dose.”
However, he added that new coronavirus variants constantly popping out of the woodwork, which makes it incredibly hard to make any long-term strategies.
“So what does this mean for our seasonal co-infections? Do we need an annual vaccine and what is the longevity of this protection?”
🌍 💉
Work on the next generation of mRNA vaccines continues. Both Moderna and Pfizer/BioNTech are working on a two-in-one inoculation providing protection against both COVID and influenza with one injection.
Moderna moved its vaccine candidate into phase three clinical trials on October 24. While Pfizer announced on October 26 that its vaccine combo is headed for final stage trials in the coming months.
Once trials are complete the two companies can begin the process to get regulatory approval for the use of the new two-for-one vaccine from the various global health authorities.
🦠 🇺🇸
Researchers at the University College London and Dartmouth College have concluded in a study published in PLOS One that by the end of 2022, 14% of Americans had suffered from long-COVID. Of those, fully half told researchers they were still struggling with chronic symptoms long after recovering from infection.
The study found that women are more likely than men to have long-COVID. Numbers were also higher among those with lower levels of education. Looking at it by state the study says the highest long-COVID levels were in West Virginia (18% of the population) and the lowest was in Hawaii (11%). It also found that people with long-COVID experienced more anxiety, depression, and difficulties with their memory although being vaccinated seemed to mitigate these impacts.
Co-author Professor Alex Bryson:
“Little is known about long-COVID and its impact on health and wellbeing, but there is a growing body of evidence that many people experience persistent and concerning symptoms. Here, we have found that long-COVID continues to affect millions of people in the US, with some groups much more affected than others. Those who have ever had long-COVID remain more likely to report low mood, challenges in carrying out daily tasks, and challenges with memory, concentration, and understanding, compared to people who have never had long-COVID.”
The study can be found HERE.
🇺🇦/ 🇷🇺 War
🇸🇪/ 🇹🇷
Turkey continues to slow-walk the vote to ratify, or not, Sweden’s NATO application. Mercurial Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told reporters on Saturday that the Turkish parliament will deliberate whether to ratify Sweden’s NATO ascension protocols. However, Erdoğan added that Turkey’s new budget has parliamentary priority.
“The budget debate will take some time at the Parliament but we will do everything to ease the ratification process. We will do everything we can do as long as our counterparts positively approach us.”
Erdoğan has many times promised to support Sweden’s NATO application and has even officially agreed to not one but two deals with Sweden to do so. On every occasion, he has quickly pulled an about face making more and more ludicrous demands for Turkey’s support.
The Turkish President submitted the bill to hold a ratification vote to parliament late last month. The bill must now be approved by Turkey’s foreign affairs committee in order to hold a ratification vote before the full general assembly.
Turkey and Hungary remain the only two of NATO’s 31 member nations who have yet to ratify Sweden’s NATO application. For its part, Sweden needs unanimous support in order to join the military alliance.
🇩🇰 🇺🇦
Denmark has sent Ukraine a winter aid package. The ‘reconstruction package’ is worth about 300 million Danish kroner (about $58 million Cdn) and will help pay for purchasing 20 boilers for the Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv among other things. Danish Minister for Development Cooperation and Climate Policy Dan Jørgensen says the donation will help about 200,000 Ukrainians keep warm during the cold winter. Denmark has taken responsibility for leading the reconstruction efforts in Mykolaiv.
🇱🇹/ 🇷🇺
Lithuania’s Foreign Affairs Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis isn’t beating around the bush when he speaks about the Russian invasion of Ukraine and anyone who is suggesting a peace agreement is a viable option to end the conflict.
“For Russia, "peace agreement" only means "time to rearm". We are dangerously close to missing the opportunity to end centuries of the Kremlin's imperial aggression and secure the future of multiple continents. Our children will curse us in the trenches we are digging for them.”
🇪🇺🇺🇦
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen made a surprise trip to Ukraine over the weekend. She met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to discuss Ukraine’s path to becoming a member of the European Union. The 27 EU member countries are expected to make a decision at a summit next month on whether to allow Ukraine to begin formal negotiations to join the EU. Ukraine needs unanimous support to proceed to that step.
Von der Leyen said while in Kyiv that the European Union will soon table a 12th round of sanctions against Russia. She says it will include new import and export bans, new initiatives to tighten the price cap on Russian oil, and further measures to enforce existing sanctions and punish those caught violating them.
The EU has struggled for months to put the next sanctions package together as Hungary has been blocking every effort to finalize the next round of sanctions.
🇺🇸 🇺🇦
The United States has sent another big weapons package to Ukraine. This latest donation is worth about $425 million USD. It includes artillery and other weapons systems, grenades, and laser-guided anti-drone ammunition.
Odds & Ends
🇩🇰
I had to include this in the newsletter because of the sheer Danish-ness of it. With Christmas around the corner it is julefrokost (Christmas party) season in Denmark. In Copenhagen, the By & Havn organization, which is responsible for developing Ørestad and the Port of Copenhagen, is launching an awareness campaign to prevent drunk julefrokost attendees from falling into the harbour. It says over the last four julefrokost seasons there have been 27 emergency responses to the port because someone fell in. In an ad campaign, it warns about the dangers of being drunk and walking along the waterfront.
The municipality has also hired people to be ‘Night Hosts’ who walk around to ensure people leaving Christmas parties drunk get home safely and keep their distance from the harbour.
🇳🇴
A major cheese competition was held in Trondheim, Norway over the weekend. A cheese called Nidelven Blå from Norway was named the world’s best cheese. While it won the other 4,499 cheeses that participated didn’t just lose they also all got thrown out after the competition.
Cheese lover and contest judge Pascale Baidonnel wrote on his Facebook that while he loves the competition he cannot stand the resulting food waste. He estimates that somewhere between six to eight tonnes of high-quality cheese is tossed out due to the strict rules put in place by the Norwegian Food Agency.
“I spoke about this with organizers from France, Spain and Brazil and they had each other found worthy ways to use the leftovers after similar large competitions. Norway is now clearly a far too rich country that it has such an extremely bureaucratic system that demands such huge food waste. This is a scandal. Many of the remains as you can see in the pictures had only a small hole in a cheese cage. Some were not unpacked at all. I'm ashamed of Norway.”
🇩🇰Week Ahead Round Up🇩🇰
Monday, November 6:
Think Tank Europe’s annual conference takes place in Copenhagen. The conference is attended by the European Union’s movers and shakers. The keynote speaker is Danish Foreign Affairs Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen.
It takes place at Industriens Hus on HC Andersen’s Boulevard 18 and begins at 10 a.m.
You can find more information HERE.
Tuesday, November 7:
For football fans, the Danish Men’s National Team will make an appearance at a press conference to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the sports clothing brand Hummel.
The event takes place at 2 p.m. at the Design Museum Denmark on Bredgade 68 in Copenhagen.
Wednesday, November 8:
Fans of the Royal Family will get a double dose at the Danish Architecture Centre on Wednesday. Denmark‘s Crown Prince Frederick and Princess Mary will visit the BLOX building. They will be joined by Spain’s King Felipe and Queen Letizia. The royals will hear how architecture and design contribute to sustainable cities.
The visit takes place at 11 a.m.
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A special exhibition called ‘Joaquin Sorolla - Light in Motion’ opens at the Glytoteket in Copenhagen. This is the first solo exhibition featuring the works of the Spanish artist ever to be held in a Scandinavian country. The opening also happens to be on the 100th anniversary of the painter’s death.
The exhibit runs until March 3rd.
The event will also be attended by the King and Queen of Spain along with the Danish Royal family.
It takes place at Ny Carlsberg Glyptoteket on Dantes Plads 7 at 8 p.m.
Find out more information HERE.
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Another one for footie fans. The Danish Championship FC København team will play against Manchester United in a group-stage match of the Champions League.
The game starts at 8 p.m. at Parken Arena in Copenhagen.
Tickets are sold out.
Thursday, November 9:
Denmark’s Jewish community will hold a torchlight procession to mark the 85th anniversary of the Kristallnacht, or Night of the Broken Glass, where the Nazis carried out a pogrom against Jews across Nazi Germany. The name comes from the broken glass strewn across the streets in the aftermath of mobs attacking Jewish businesses, buildings, and synagogues.
Friday, November 10
The annual Christmas parade takes place in Aarhus on Friday afternoon. The festivities get underway at 4 p.m. where you can find all sorts of food and hot drinks in the area around DOKK 1. The parade begins at 6 p.m. with Santa driving through the streets of Aarhus accompanied by his elves, orchestras, and a number of beautiful cars.
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Also in Aarhus this Friday the official lighting of the Christmas lights canopy over the Strøget will be held. The light display will hang overhead for an 850-meter section of the city’s pedestrian shopping street. Santa will be on hand to help flip the switch at 6:30 p.m. The seasonal light display will remain on until December 26.
Saturday, November 11:
The largest Christmas market in Fyn opens on Saturday at Egeskov Slot (Castle). The market features a whopping 110 market stalls offering everything from Christmas crafts to delicious eats and finely brewed beer. The castle and surrounding grounds will be decked out for the season with lots of food, drink, and fun to be had.
There will also be various entertainment throughout the day along with Christmas carols and even a children’s treasure hunt.
The Christmas market opens at 10 a.m. and goes to 4:30 p.m. on both Saturday and Sunday.
There is a 110 Danish kroner entrance fee for adults while kids get in for 60 dkk.
Find out more information and each day’s itinerary HERE.