Already in the 1970s and 1980s, triggered by the oil crises, growing environmental concerns and nuclear accidents with devastating consequences, there was a growing movement of people who saw renewable energy - wind power, solar energy, bioenergy, geothermal energy and hydropower - as the perfect answer.

The movement started from the bottom up in many countries, and Denmark in particular played an important role. One of the most important organisations was the Nordic Folkecenter for Renewable Energy, which was founded 40 years ago. The centre disseminated information about how renewable energy worked in practice, using the technologies on the ground and educating and training hundreds and thousands of people from Denmark, all over Europe and the world.

We talk to Jane Kruse, co-founder and director of the Folkecenter, about the historical developments, but also about the importance of such bottom-up movements today. Jane has not only led the work of the Folkecenter together with her late husband Preben Maegaard, but has also been involved in various renewable energy cooperatives that have become a mainstream model in Denmark and spread throughout Europe. How can our societies be mobilised for the great energy transformation and what role does the climate movement play in this process?