Denmark’s climate minister, Samira Nawa, is refusing to name a date for ending gas heating in private homes, drawing criticism from a government support party, a mayor and the district heating sector.
Nawa, the Radikale Venstre minister for climate, energy and supply, declined three times to name a concrete end date, according to reporting by DR. Before taking office she was among the sharpest critics of the missing deadline. She did not want to address the criticism in an interview with DR.
Figures from Erhvervsstyrelsen show that more than 4,400 gas boilers were installed in Denmark during 2025. That is 15 percent more than in 2023, despite the political plan for a full phaseout of gas by 2035.
Anna Bjerre, energy spokesperson for the support party Alternativet, said she is tired and frustrated by the missing deadline. As stated by Bjerre, the minister is caught in a government where several parties do not prioritize a real phaseout. Without an end date, she said, people keep investing in new gas boilers.
District heating rollout at stake
Data from the distribution company Evida show that more than 250,000 Danish households are still heated with gas in 2026. Kim Mortensen, chief executive of Dansk Fjernvarme, said it is urgent that the government announce an end date in areas where district heating is being rolled out.
The expansion of the district heating network is already lagging in several municipalities because of high construction costs and low connection rates. Per DR, residents may hesitate to sign up without a deadline, which can undermine the financial basis for laying pipes.
Save up to 2,800 DKK on Your Electricity Bill
FindElpriser helps you switch electricity providers quickly and easily.
Homeowners with a worn out gas boiler risk spending up to 50,000 kroner on a replacement. That would tie them to gas heating for the next 10 to 15 years.
Anders Storgaard, energy spokesperson for the Conservatives, said the uncertainty over whether gas will be phased out at all is poison for homeowners. As noted by Storgaard, his party agreed with Radikale Venstre and SF on the phaseout before the election.
Dragør mayor Kenneth Gøtterup, of the Conservatives, co-signed a letter to the previous government with 13 other mayors calling for an end date. He said municipalities need to know what the government wants. Dragør will not adopt a new heating plan before the government makes an announcement, according to Gøtterup.
Nawa’s party leader, Martin Lidegaard, now minister for business and competitiveness, took a clearer line earlier. In March he told Altinget that the gas grid for households should be switched off in 2035, with support for the switch to green district heating or heat pumps.
The ministry states that the parties behind the 2022 agreement on phasing out oil and gas are to revisit it during 2026.
