Luxembourg's Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Sustainable Development has announced the official launch of the new "Climate Pact 2.0".

On Wednesday 9 June 2021, the Chamber of Deputies (Luxembourg's parliament) unanimously voted for the bill creating a Climate Pact 2.0 with the municipalities. The Climate Pact 2.0 thus takes over from the first edition of the Climate Pact, which was a success, with all Luxembourg municipalities having adhered to it.

Through this second edition, the Environment Ministry will continue to encourage municipalities to strengthen their exemplary role in climate policy, reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to efforts in terms of adaptation to climate change to promote efficient management of resources and thus stimulate sustainable local and regional investments.

Three specific areas have been strengthened in particular:

  • Better quantification of results by optimising data and better monitoring on the basis of indicators. New data specific to each municipality will be centralised in collaboration with the SIGI intermunicipal union. 
    The Climate Pact 2.0 is thus based both on the qualitative approach of the European Energy Award (eea) as well as on a quantitative approach at several levels, particularly in the form of monitoring of energy consumption at municipal level as well as in the form of quantitative indicators. The municipality can be granted a certification which depends on the degree of realisation of the eea catalogue of measures. Four certification levels now exist (40%, 50%, 65% and 75% of the maximum achievable score), the certification category of 65% having been added. These certifications, valid for a period of three years, are issued by the Environment Ministry. An additional distinction is given by the Association European Energy Award AISBL (with regard to category certification 75%). The degree of completion of the catalog of eea measures is verified by an auditor, at the request of the municipality.
  • Continuous improvement of the operational framework of the municipalities, which will have new monitoring tools and will be able to benefit from enhanced cooperation with partner organizations such as SIGI, CELL, Ëmweltberodung Lëtzebuerg, IMS and Klima-Bündnis Lëtzebuerg.
    The climate advisers who provide support to municipalities will now be supported by specialist experts in order to support municipalities even more effectively in certain specific areas. The volume of state-funded counselling hours available to the municipality has been increased by 50% compared to the previous version of the pact.
    In addition, the governance of the Climate Pact 2.0 is strengthened internally by entrusting the monitoring of the eea programme during the implementation of the general policy of the municipality directly to a member of the college of mayors and aldermen, by strengthening the role of the council. The climate team by virtue of its composition and by setting contractual obligations that make the climate pact more visible both to the political, administrative and economic worlds and to residents of the municipality.
  • Revalorisation of citizen participation, which is how the new climate pact strengthens support for municipalities to motivate their inhabitants as well as companies located in their territory to participate more actively in the objectives of the Climate Pact.

Complementary to the future Nature Pact, which aims to strengthen the partnership between the state and the municipalities in the protection of nature, the Climate Pact 2.0 will contribute to the implementation of the integrated national energy and climate plan and will be one of the cornerstones of government action anchored in the third national plan for sustainable development.

More than half of the country's municipalities have already signed the related contract and have chosen or are in the process of choosing the climate advisor (internal or external) who will accompany them.

Myenergy, the national structure for the promotion of a sustainable energy transition, will continue to ensure the coordination and day-to-day management of the climate pact on behalf of the Environment Ministry.

Further information on the Climate Pact 2.0 is available on the new website www.pacteclimat.lu.