Serge Wilmes, Luxembourg's Minister of the Environment, Climate and Biodiversity;
Credit: © SIP / Claude Piscitelli
Luxembourg's Minister of the Environment, Climate and Biodiversity, Serge Wilmes, has described the COP28 deal to transition away from fossil fuels as "a historic step forward".
On Wednesday 13 December 2023, the 28th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP28), held in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, concluded with an agreement to transition away from fossil fuels and to continue to try to limit global warming to 1.5 °C.
Together with the other delegations of the 195 signatory countries of the Paris Agreement, the Luxembourg delegation, chaired by the Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Biodiversity, adopted an agreement (Global Stocktake) which brings the world together around what the ministry described as clear language regarding the exit from fossil fuels, global objectives for reducing CO2 emissions, the transition to renewable energies, adaptation to climate change and financing issues in the most exposed countries.
The ministry added that it was in particular "thanks to the determination and unity" of the European Union delegation, led by the Spanish Presidency of the Council of the EU and by the European Commission, as well as close coordination with its allies, that this "historic" agreement was possible.
Minister Wilmes emphasised: "This is a historic step forward. This is the first time that the international community has recognised the premises of the Paris climate agreement in the exact terms: warming of 1.5 degrees and carbon neutrality by 2050!"
In addition to the concrete references to the exit from fossil fuels, the tripling of renewable energies and the doubling of energy efficiency, one of the most notable advances in the text, according to the ministry, concerns the follow-up to the first global assessment under the Paris Agreement.
This includes a 43% reduction in global emissions by 2030, a 60% reduction by 2040 and carbon neutrality by 2050.
In line with these now formalised objectives, the need to finance the transition, including the new quantified overall objective, has been confirmed, added the ministry. Member States agreed on the modalities for setting the new target at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan. Furthermore, the new Loss and Damage Fund was operationalised at COP28, and has received nearly €700 million in donations since the start of the conference.
The UAE President of COP28, Dr Sultan Al Jaber spoke in his concluding speech of a "historic UAE consensus", noting that the success of any agreement lies in its implementation.
Alongside the negotiation process for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Luxembourg delegation met several of its international partners within the framework of bilateral exchanges. It also offered its support to young Luxembourg participants and followed a sustained speaker programme at the representative pavilion shared between the Benelux countries and the European Investment Bank (EIB).
