Luxembourg Calls for Greater Climate Coherence at EU Environment Council

Luxembourg's Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Biodiversity has reported that Minister Serge Wilmes expressed his "deep disappointment" at a lack of agreement at the recent European Union (EU) Environment Council.

Following the extraordinary meeting of the EU Environment Council held in Brussels on Thursday 18 September 2025, Luxembourg's Minister of the Environment, Climate and Biodiversity, Serge Wilmes, expressed his disappointment at the lack of agreement to supplement the European Climate Law with a target of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 90% by 2040, as well as to immediately finalise the EU's Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) for 2035 under the Paris Agreement.

The ministry noted that, despite the Danish Presidency's sustained efforts, the Member States limited themselves to a policy debate on the proposed amendment to the European Climate Law, as well as a declaration of intent to submit the European Union's NDC in time for COP30, to be held in Belém, Brazil, in November 2025. Luxembourg's government said it "regrets this missed opportunity to strengthen the European Union's climate credibility".

"This is a monumental waste of time and credibility that I deeply deplore. By postponing crucial decisions, we are disappointing our fellow citizens, harming our businesses and losing the trust of our partners outside the European Union," stated Minister Wilmes.

Luxembourg reaffirmed that the 2035 NDC "must imperatively result from an agreement on the Climate Law and the 2040 target included therein, and must be consistent with the objective of limiting global warming to 1.5°C, the Paris Agreement and the latest scientific recommendations". Minister Wilmes also insisted on maintaining a minimum ambition of -90% by 2040, in line with other major emitters such as the United Kingdom.

Moreover, he stressed the need to "accelerate the decarbonisation of our energy systems to reduce our energy dependence and create opportunities for our industries and citizens in an increasingly competitive world. Our shared responsibility is to ensure that our strategic directions are focused on the future and do not chain us to the past".

Luxembourg expressed its readiness to support the text of the Climate Law as put forward by the Danish Presidency of the Council, including limited flexibility of 3% via international credits subject to strict qualitative criteria, and called for the swift adoption of the amendment to the Climate Law and the NDC before COP30.

Minister Wilmes also reiterated that "Europe, a region of the world that is warming twice as fast as the average, must act in the common interest to preserve and even strengthen its competitiveness, its energy security and its leading role in climate diplomacy."