Energy minister Claude Turmes and environment minister Carole Dieschbourg (both Déi Gréng) on Friday presented the government’s outline for Luxembourg’s national climate and energy plan.

Luxembourg will introduce a carbon tax of €20 per tonne from 2021. In concrete terms, the government says this means a car user who drives 21,000km a year will incur additional costs of €70 per year. The government also estimates that heating oil for an average apartment will cost an extra €80 per year. The tax will increase to €25 in 2022 and to €30 in 2023.

The ministers say the tax will bring in as much as an additional €150m of revenue for the state. Half of this sum will be used to support households in need (based on a principle of social equity), while the other half will be invested in global measures aimed at advancing “ecological transition”.

Turmes and Dieschbourg say the plan’s objectives, which go beyond European Commission recommendations, are threefold: to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030, to increase energy efficiency by 40 to 44%, and to ensure 25% of energy supply is met from renewable sources. The ministers say 19.6% of renewable energy is expected to be produced in Luxembourg, while the remaining and 5 to 6% would come from abroad, for example from offshore wind farms in the Benelux or the Baltic Sea, or from photovoltaic plants in southern Europe.

The ministers also outlined 12 flagship measures aimed at getting households and industry, the agriculture, transport and construction sectors, as well as waste and water management on board with the plan.
The government plan will be debated in the chamber of deputies in the week before Christmas. Luxembourg, along with all member states, have until 31 December to present their national climate and energy plan to the EU.