Nordic Sustainability Briefing: Danish CO2 storage begins, EFRAG consults on digital reporting, El Niño health risks
Today's briefing: Denmark launches EU's first commercial CO2 storage as capture shortfall squeezes 2030 target, EFRAG opens consultation on digital tags for revised ESRS and updates Voluntary Standard guidance, Forecast links strong El Niño to about 451,000 heat deaths over six months, Registration for expert review of the next IPCC climate-science report closes 25 September, Green Software Foundation launches self-certification and first AI carbon-measurement cohort, and Swedish Energy Agency invites small energy firms to its E-world 2027 pavilion.
Denmark launches EU's first commercial CO2 storage as capture shortfall squeezes 2030 target
King Frederik sent off the ship 'Carbon Destroyer 1' from Esbjerg. It will carry CO2 from Danish emitters, initially from biogas, to be stored in an old North Sea oil field. DR reports that authorities now expect 1.8 million tonnes of CO2 to be stored in 2030, against a planned 2.9 million. That leaves Denmark only just on track for its 70% reduction target. State support has also ended up at DKK 875 per tonne, against an expected DKK 666.
EFRAG opens consultation on digital tags for revised ESRS and updates Voluntary Standard guidance
On 17 September EFRAG released a draft XBRL taxonomy, the machine-readable tags for company reports, covering the revised ESRS, and opened a public consultation on it. A draft list of datapoints under the revised standards is open for 'fatal flaw' feedback until 23 October 2026. On 22 September EFRAG also published updated guidance for the Voluntary Standard (VS) for smaller companies, which becomes legally effective only once it is published in the EU's Official Journal.
Forecast links strong El Niño to about 451,000 heat deaths over six months
Researchers at the University of Chicago's Climate Impact Lab project that higher temperatures could cause around 451,000 deaths worldwide between September and February, mainly in the southern hemisphere and near the equator. The countries expected to have the most deaths are Nigeria, Indonesia, Sudan, India and Brazil. WMO's seasonal outlook says El Niño will keep strengthening, with the key ocean-temperature index forecast at about 3.6°C above normal for September–November and a peak in November–December.
Registration for expert review of the next IPCC climate-science report closes 25 September
The expert review of the first draft of the IPCC's next physical-science report (Working Group I, Seventh Assessment Report) runs from 10 August to 2 October 2026. Experts must register by 23:59 CEST on 25 September. Carbon Brief has reported that governments have repeatedly failed to agree a timeline for the full assessment cycle.
Green Software Foundation launches self-certification and first AI carbon-measurement cohort
The Green Software Foundation has launched an SCI Self-Certification programme, which lets organisations publish their own software carbon measurements as a publicly recognised disclosure. SCI (Software Carbon Intensity) is the foundation's standard for measuring software emissions. This summer Amadeus, AVEVA, Schneider Electric and Siemens joined the first group of companies applying the new SCI for AI method to their AI systems.
Swedish Energy Agency invites small energy firms to its E-world 2027 pavilion
The Swedish Energy Agency (Energimyndigheten) is organising a pavilion at the E-world energy & water trade fair in Essen, Germany, on 16–18 February 2027. Swedish SMEs with innovative energy solutions can register interest until 1 November 2026. The agency also runs an investment accelerator for growth companies planning funding rounds above SEK 30 million.