Credit: © Cour grand-ducale / Sophie Margue

His Royal Highness the Grand Duke of Luxembourg was among some 40 Heads of State and Government who attended the opening of COP25 held on Monday in Madrid, Spain.

In his address, the Grand Duke, accompanied on this occasion by Luxembourg's Minister of the Environment Carole Dieschbourg, presented the position of the government and his country, while emphasising the solidarity between Spain and Chile, the initial organiser of the COP25.

The Grand Duke insisted on the final provisions for the implementation of the Paris Agreement: "An important element remains on the table: the famous article on carbon markets, the application of which must be done in compliance with the environmental integrity, transparency and rigorous emission accounting. I am confident that the latest differences of opinion will be overcome so that, at the end of this conference, we have a fully operational Paris Agreement".

In addition, the Grand Duke returned in detail to the long-term vision of Luxembourg and its efforts to achieve neutrality of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 at the latest, before recalling Luxembourg's commitment to electromobility: "[W]e will have, from March 2020, free public transport to act decisively on a change in behavior of our fellow citizens, because the climate challenge concerns us all".

The Grand Duke concluded: "Solidarity with those who are most vulnerable to the consequences of global warming is a key element of the Paris Agreement. It is for this reason that my country will provide, over the next five years, an envelope of €200 million to assist developing countries, a doubling compared to the previous period. Luxembourg also participated in October 2019 in the replenishment of the Green Climate Fund, doubling our annual contributions as well. These means will of course remain additional to official development aid, to which Luxembourg will continue to devote 1% of its gross national income".

COP25, the 25th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, is taking place in Madrid from 2 -13 December 2019; the theme is "Time for Action".