Assessment and Identification of Requests for Technology and Innovation Needs within the Danish DK2020 Climate Action Plans

This paper identifies requests for technology and innovation needs in the climate adaptation work detailed in the Danish climate action plans, known as the Danish DK2020 Plans, which were conducted by Danish municipalities from the year 2020 and onward, gradually including all municipalities. This paper assesses the evaluation reports conducted, including the evaluation of the first 20 DK2020 municipal pilot climate plans, an evaluation report placing the adaptation work across all 98 Danish municipalities, as well as an evaluation report conducted with emphasis on Region Southern Denmark solely. No studies have so far merged and assessed the findings of the evaluation reports of the climate adaptation work described within the Danish DK2020 municipal climate action plans. This study thus provides valuable insights into the specific requests for technology and innovation needs being expressed by Danish municipalities as future focus areas in climate adaptation work.

It is concluded that the DK2020 municipal climate action plans currently emphasize 'hard' technology and lack integrated planning across sectors and municipalities, hence providing limited multifunctional outputs. Future initiatives should prioritize innovation and multifunctionality, also addressing underemphasized risks such as heat, drought, and near-surface groundwater. Nature Based Solutions (NBS), while promising, are underutilized due to reliance on voluntary participation and land competition; financial incentives are also crucial. Urban NBS implementation should integrate city development and physical planning more effectively through concepts like Sponge City and Blue-Green Infrastructure (BGI), which enhance urban resilience by absorbing and reusing rainwater. Only one-fourth of the DK2020 municipal climate plans request the need for NBS, illustrating a need for broader adoption and strategic integration of such novel approaches. Stronger integration with other sectors, such as the energy sector, could also benefit climate adaptation initiatives, as well as less prioritized climate adaptation activities, and provide multiple benefits. This could, for example, be the utilization of near-surface groundwater for renewable energy production through the supply of district heating and production of PtX through the water-demanding electrolysis process