The ambitious target was announced on Friday by Green party energy minister Claude Turmes and Green party environment minister Carole Dieschbourg, while presenting the government’s draft climate law, which was approved the same day. The pair said the ultimate goal was to reach zero net emissions for Luxembourg by 2050 at the latest.

“Our climate policy is governed by the principles of climate justice, progress, non-use of nuclear energy and social equity,” Turmes said on Friday.

The draft law includes compulsory sectoral climate change objectives for five sectors, giving them greater responsibility to help reduce emissions.  

The sectors concerned are:

• Energy industries and manufacturing, construction;
• Transport;
• Residential and tertiary buildings;
• Agriculture and forestry;
• Waste and wastewater treatment.

The five sectors will be expected to present their results in an annual climate report.

3 governance bodies

The draft law further sets out the creation of three climate governance bodies to work with civil society and scientists in assessing and proposing additional measures.

The three bodies are:

• the inter-ministerial coordination committee for climate action: in charge of inter-ministerial coordination of climate policy;
• the platform for climate action: multi-level dialogue on climate and energy involving all relevant stakeholders;
• the climate observatory: an independent body focusing on the scientific, ethical and societal aspects of climate policy.

The draft law will reform the “climate and energy fund” in the areas of food, eligible investments and governance, making it possible to finance measures including those to adapt to climate change in forest, for example.

And the reform would update provisions under the greenhouse gas emissions trading scheme, increasing penalties, among other things.