Let us go back for a moment where this journey started, in Copenhagen. After that disgraced climate summit of 2009, most governments would have probably lain low for a while. At a time of economic downturn and austerity, it was not apparent that climate investments were an “insurance policy” on the future, as the Danish government kept billing them. Even for an obsessively eco-friendly public, it was not self-evident why Denmark or Europe should take a worldwide lead on climate, when no-one else is there to follow.

Yet, the tiny kingdom hosting that tragic display at the Bella Conference Center begged to differ. Denmark had made of climate policies a hallmark of its global image; what issue could be better to brand a small nation at the top of Europe than saving the planet from deliberate self-destruction. After such a debacle, anyone would be forced to reconsider priorities. But over the past decade Denmark's climate policies have been nothing if not ambitious. Since the COP15 summit failure, Copenhagen first reached its greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets at 20 per cent in 2020, then raised them to 40 per cent for 2030. Officials have no qualms in admitting that meeting this objective required heavy public investment. But after it outpaced its own 2020 target of reaching a 30 per cent share of renewable energy, Denmark set a 55 per cent target for 2030. A broad cross-party coalition has ensured the goal of phasing out all fossil fuels production by the year 2050. In 2019, Copenhagen set out to become the first carbon neutral capital in the world by the year 2025.

Where it gets interesting is in the means necessary to support these policies. There are the familiar things, such as improving efficiency and extending financial incentives in renewables. But Denmark is also seeking ways to stimulate innovation and to make green investments attractive for companies. Together with South Korea and Mexico, in 2013 Denmark launched a Global Green Growth Forum (3GF) to marry bottom-up ideas from corporate and research actors with top-down government support. Companies such as Samsung, Siemens and General Electric joined forces with the likes of University of California, Berkeley and WWF, aided by governments that pledge to create a stable environment for green investments. Civil society, businesses and the media are part of the endeavour at all times.