Annual greenhouse gas emissions allowances for the period up to 31 December 2030 for the relevant sectors; Credit: MECDD

Luxembourg's Minister for the Environment, Climate and Sustainable Development has presented the sectoral cimate targets for the period 2021-2030.

On 16 July 2021, Luxembourg's Government Council adopted a draft Grand Ducal regulation determining the annual greenhouse gas emissions allowances for the period up to 31 December 2030 for the sectors (see below) referred to in article 5 of the amended law of 15 December 2020 relating to the climate.

In addition to the objective of climate neutrality by 2050 at the latest, the aforementioned amended law had adopted an objective of reducing greenhouse gas emissions at national level by 55% by 2030 compared to the 2005 level. This target concerns all the emissions allocated to Luxembourg under EU Regulation 2018/842. Only emissions covered by the European Union (EU) greenhouse gas emission allowance trading system (around 20 large industrial facilities as well as aviation) are excluded.

The aforementioned law also retains that emission reduction objectives are to be set, by means of a Grand Ducal regulation, for the following five sectors:

  1. energy and manufacturing industries, construction; 
  2. transport;
  3. residential and tertiary buildings;
  4. agriculture and forestry;
  5. waste and sewage treatment.

The delimitation of these five sectors is precisely defined in the annex to the amended law of 15 December 2020. The latter further specifies the three principles according to which the annual emission allowances are determined, namely:

  1. they decrease regularly and continuously according to the mechanism referred to in Article 4 of the aforementioned EU Regulation;
  2. account is taken of the reduction potential of the various sectors;
  3. they are determined according to the social, economic and budgetary impact.

The reduction potential of the various sectors, after having been the subject of detailed analyses, are reflected in the "target scenario" of the integrated national energy and climate plan, adopted by the Government Council in May 2020. The impact of the planned policies and measures on the national economy, employment, the social climate, as well as on the environment and health had also been analysed within the framework of the national energy and climate plan.

The climate law still determines the interannual flexibilities for the same sector as well as the flexibilities between sectors. It is thus specified that when the emissions in a sector exceed or do not reach the quantity of emissions available over a period of one year, the difference is carried over to the quantity of emissions available from the same sector for the following year. There is also flexibility between sectors: provided that the national emission reduction targets are met and to the extent that the emissions accounted for by a sector do not reach the quantity of emissions available for this sector, the difference may be credited to another sector whose recorded emissions exceed the available emissions.

Based on the provisions of the amended law of 15 December 2020 relating to the climate, as well as data from the national energy and climate plan, the Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Sustainable Development, in close consultation with the interministerial coordination committee for climate action, drew up the table of annual emissions allocations for the five sectors included in the draft Grand Ducal regulation.

In order to verify compliance with sectoral objectives, the Environment Ministry will publish annually a provisional report on emissions followed by a final report

All sectors will thus be called upon to contribute to the transition to a low-emission society.