Party: Danish Green Party (Alternativet)
Candidate for: Local council: Kobenhavn Municipality
Søren Scott’s Journey
Søren Scott comes from the United States and has Danish heritage. His journey started when he moved to Denmark 14 years ago to pursue his bachelor’s degree. Now he is living here as an Assistant Professor at the University of Copenhagen. He works in electrocatalysis research, teaches about the green energy transition, and is entering the municipal elections with the Danish Green Party (Alternativet). For readers who aren’t familiar with electrocatalysis, it is the branch of chemistry that deals with green hydrogen, electrofuels, artificial photosynthesis, and power-to-X; in other words, many of the green technologies we have been hearing about.
Søren Scott has an American father and a Danish mother. After living in the US, he travelled to Denmark to study for his bachelor’s degree at age 20, where he could barely speak Danish, and even his own name didn’t seem to fit. “In the U.S., they called me Soren, but in Denmark it’s Søren,” he laughs. “I wasn’t Danish enough to be called Søren, and the Danes didn’t want to say Soren. So people started calling me Scott, my last name, and it stuck.”. Now, at 34, with his academic background and experiences living in California, London, China, and Denmark, he has a vision of what kind of Copenhagen he wants to help shape, with a main focus on environment, climate, and sustainability.
Having a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry, a master’s degree in Chemical Engineering, and a PhD in Physics with research specifically on electrocatalysis, his motivation is crystal clear: prioritise climate policies and focus on the environment. He shared his motivation, explaining, “While I was in China after high school, teaching English during a gap year, the air pollution was so bad that some days you could barely breathe. That’s when I realized I wanted to dedicate myself to environmental solutions.” After research stays in Berkeley and London, he returned to Denmark to work as an Assistant Professor at the University of Copenhagen, and now he has joined the elections with Alternativet.
Entering politics
The way Scott got interested in politics was through the green transition and the economics behind it. He delved into the Green Party’s discussions and meetings and felt that he could make some changes as well. With his highly theoretical background and engineering perspective, he started to realize that some problems and solutions in sustainability affect everyone. “We need engineers in City Hall to make sure that the green transition everyone talks about actually happens, without greenwashing.”. For readers who are unfamiliar with the term greenwashing, an example of it would be the following:
He explained that over the past few decades, CO2 emissions in Denmark have gone down significantly. However, if one checks the statistics, most of the reduction in CO2 emissions was due to the replacement of coal with wood and other biomass in power plants. Since biomass is officially categorized as renewable energy, under EU regulations, it is not counted toward CO2 emissions, but scientists working with the environment know that burning wood for energy is unsustainable and can be just as bad for the climate as using coal. “That’s the loophole. Burning wood instead of coal sounds greener, but as far as climate change is concerned, it’s almost just as bad. Instead of a plan to just reach net zero on paper, I want the city to have a plan to reach no-bullshit net zero, which involves replacing wood in the energy system with wind and solar, batteries, heat pumps and thermal storage. We need transparent, technical leadership to fix that.”
Scott’s campaign
Now, changing perspectives, Scott also reminds us that sustainability doesn’t only involve fighting climate change – Alternativet’s politics is guided by three types of sustainability: environmental, social, and economic. For example, he is particularly interested in the housing crisis in Copenhagen and constantly attends town hall debates and events to talk directly with both Danes and internationals. Although most other parties are trying to solve these issues by building more houses, he believes that making co-living easier is a better, more sustainable solution. “We need to get more out of the square meters we already have.” Coliving is one of the most stable living arrangements. For example, with the constant circulation in coliving spaces, if someone has to move out, the house doesn’t have to be changed, and a new housemate can come in, and the collective can continue. He also highlights that coliving is a more environmentally friendly choice, as shared kitchens, heating, and spaces reduce energy consumption while building communities that bond people together and even provide a social network for new Copenhageners.
He points out that with today’s regulations, if you have a housing subsidy based on your income and you rent your room to another person, it will be taken away. This discourages people from renting out their free rooms, leading to wasted square meters in unused spaces. Furthermore, suppose you do rent a room, there are lots of rules about its registration as well. The current regulations are very restrictive regarding how many people can be registered at an address, and because of this, an unwanted black market has even developed around registration. He believes that one should never lose money by making it possible for others to afford a room.
Although these things cannot all be done directly from the city council, some can, and he says that the Copenhagen City Council can influence laws at the national level by putting pressure on the government. Scott does not want a housing policy that takes more land from nature or destroys the unique, quirky, creative spaces of the city that some find ugly but others say give the city its soul. In other words, he says he wants to keep Copenhagen weird, borrowing a slogan that’s been used in several cities in his native USA. Building more student houses and co-living areas in suburban outer Copenhagen, especially near public transit stations, represents responsible long-term urban planning, while making it easier to share spaces has a more immediate effect.
Final thoughts
Scott reminds us that 20% of Copenhagen’s population is international, so this international community contributes a lot to society. Green markets, the music scene, art, culture, and richness all come from diversity, but many of them eventually leave because they don’t feel included in Danish society. The municipality should therefore get better at integrating them. Although they can receive free Danish education, if no Dane speaks to them, they cannot improve either. Scott believes that the municipality can create awareness around this by encouraging Danes to talk patiently with internationals in Danish. One way might be to integrate more language cafes at the municipality’s many cultural centers.
There are lots of things to be done, and Scott is ready to be part of making it happen. His main message is clear: “Put an engineer in City Hall and keep Copenhagen weird.”
Follow Scott’s Facebook campaign page: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1223791834
Follow Scott’s website campaign page: https://sorenbscott.eu/
Follow Scott’s LinkedIn campaign page: https://www.linkedin.com/in/soren-bertelsen-scott-10726430/
Follow Scott’s Instagram campaign page: https://www.instagram.com/sorenbscott/
