Hundreds of climate activists will march Monday on Denmark’s largest oil refinery in Kalundborg, demanding an end to new oil licenses and opposing plans to store carbon dioxide underground near the town.
The demonstration marks the first time protesters have directly targeted Kalundborg Refinery, a sprawling industrial facility that processes 5.5 million barrels of crude oil annually. According to organizers from Den Grønne Ungdomsbevægelse, the refinery accounts for 15 percent of Denmark’s annual energy supply and represents a stark example of the country’s continued dependence on fossil fuels.
The protest is part of Bryd Kæden, a campaign that spent recent weeks in Jutland targeting the pesticide manufacturer Cheminova. Now they’re bringing hundreds of activists from across Europe to West Zealand. Alternativet MP Elise Sydendal and author Carsten Jensen will speak, along with local residents concerned about the refinery’s environmental footprint.
The Carbon Storage Problem
What’s pulling local residents into this fight is not just climate ideology. It’s fear about what might end up beneath their homes.
According to the organizers, Kalundborg Refinery’s sustainability strategy involves capturing 200,000 tons of CO2 annually and storing it underground near Havnsø. This is called CCS, or carbon capture and storage. The technology is meant to reduce emissions without shutting down the refinery itself.
But Miljøforeningen Havnsø-Føllenslev, a local environmental group joining the demonstration, says the plan creates unacceptable risks. Kim Ejler from the group warns that residents living above a CO2 depot would face centuries of potential poisoning and environmental disaster if the stored gas leaks into homes or nature. International experiences with CCS have raised concerns about health risks, taxpayer costs, and questionable climate benefits.
A Tiny Fraction of Total Emissions
Astrid Theresa Blom from Den Grønne Ungdomsbevægelse points out that the 200,000 tons only covers emissions from the refining process itself. The figure ignores the vastly larger carbon footprint from burning the refined products afterward. She calls it a tiny fraction of the refinery’s total climate impact.
This gets at the core of activist skepticism about CCS technology. It’s not that carbon capture doesn’t work technically. It’s that it allows fossil fuel operations to continue while claiming climate progress. The activists argue that Denmark should reduce emissions at the source, not bury them and hope for the best.
Kalundborg Refinery is owned by the Swiss conglomerate Klesch Group, which also operates a refinery in Germany. I’ve seen this dynamic before in Denmark. When key industrial decisions rest with foreign shareholders, local voices often struggle to be heard. The refinery is a major employer in the region, which makes any talk of phasing out fossil operations politically fraught.
Five Concrete Demands
The demonstrators are bringing a clear list of demands to Monday’s march. They want an immediate ban on new oil licenses on Danish territory. They’re calling for urgent reduction of fossil emissions and a concrete plan to phase out the sector. Crucially, they want a job guarantee for workers who lose employment during the transition, including those at Kalundborg Refinery.
They also demand that CCS be used only as an absolute last resort, never as an excuse to continue avoidable emissions. And they oppose CO2 storage under land areas and protected marine zones. It’s a platform that combines climate urgency with social protection, an attempt to answer the perennial question of what happens to workers when heavy industry shuts down.
A Broader Campaign Strategy
This isn’t a spontaneous local protest. Bryd Kæden has been building momentum for weeks, with recent actions blocking heavy transport at Cheminova and staging concerts and speeches outside industrial sites. The Kalundborg demonstration fits into a deliberate pattern of targeting companies activists see as central to Denmark’s fossil and chemical infrastructure.
I’ve watched Danish climate politics evolve over the years. There’s genuine pride in wind energy and green ambition. But there’s also real cognitive dissonance when it comes to oil refineries, CCS projects, and the pace of transition. Denmark wants to be a climate leader while keeping its industrial base intact. That tension is what protesters will be highlighting Monday.
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Whether the demonstration draws a few dozen or several hundred will say something about how deeply this issue resonates beyond activist circles. Local participation matters more than European solidarity here. If Havnsø residents turn out in force, it signals that carbon storage could become a serious political liability for the refinery and its backers.
For now, Kalundborg Refinery has not publicly responded to the planned demonstration or the criticism of its sustainability strategy. That silence may not last much longer.
Sources and References
Ritzau: Stor demonstration i Kalundborg på mandag: Folketingspolitiker holder tale foran Danmarks største olieraffinaderi
The Danish Dream: Denmark on the Verge of Achieving Ambitious Climate Target
The Danish Dream: Denmark’s Climate Divide Grows as Wealthiest Pollute More
The Danish Dream: Denmark’s New Strategy for Offshore Wind Energy
