ECO2050 Strategic Vision Aims for More Resilient, Competitive Economy

Luxembourg Strategy, the strategic foresight department of Luxembourg’s Ministry of the Economy, has announced it held its third annual public conference on the theme of “The ECO2050 Strategic Vision: Forward-looking aid for economic diversification” at the Grand Auditoire of the Maison du Savoir in Esch-Belval.

The morning focused on the socio-economic and biophysical framework in which the diversification of Luxembourg's economy should continue by 2050. The public had the opportunity to discover the intermediate results of two ongoing studies initiated by Luxembourg. “Strategy: the RISK2050 study” analysed the vulnerability of the Luxembourg economy to biophysical risks and the “SOC2050 study” examined the desirability of the societal transition towards greater resilience.

A round table of experts explained the critical issues of combining technological, behavioural and natural solutions. Gilles de Margerie, General Commissioner of France Stratégie, gave a presentation on the professions of the future, Helena Freitas, professor of Ecology at the University of Coimbra, spoke about biodiversity and Hans van der Loo, president of the Institute for Integrated Economic Research, IIER, held a speech about energy.

The afternoon offered several demonstrations of economic diversification opportunities arising from the ECO2050 Strategic Vision. Several national and international experts shared their innovative ideas directly linked to the ten building blocks of Luxembourg's Vision ECO2050 Strategy to diversify the Luxembourg economy by 2050.

The day concluded with a round table bringing together Franz Fayot, Luxembourg’s Minister of the Economy, Claude Turmes, the Minister for Energy and Spatial Planning, Claudine Lorang, Vice-President of the High Council for Sustainable Development, and Tom Oswald, General Coordinator at Luxembourg’s Ministry of Labour, Employment and the Social and Solidarity Economy. The exchange focused on the complementarities between the various current national prospective initiatives in order to achieve a more resilient, inclusive and competitive economy.

According to the ministry, the event showed that foresight is not a simple extrapolation of the past and that both uncertainties and physical laws challenge the idea that a “return to normal” is possible or desirable.

The conference attracted a large audience with around 150 people present during the day on site and a further 370 people connected online to attend the simultaneous broadcast on Luxembourg’s Ministry of the Economy’s YouTube channel.

The Luxembourg Strategy 2023 conference and the Vision ECO2050 final report are two aspects of Luxembourg Strategy's commitment as a government administration fulfilling a mission of strategic economic foresight in the service of the long-term general interest. The Vision ECO2050 final report is available in paper and digital versions. It constitutes assistance for economic actors who develop or update their particular strategies.

View the ECO2050 Vision Final Report is available at this link and the YouTube video recording of the conference is available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UrEWF3qKz0.