Luxembourg to Launch Citizens' Climate Council at End of January

During a press conference on Wednesday 5 January 2022, Luxembourg's Prime Minister Xavier Bettel, the Minister of the Environment, Climate and Sustainable Development, Carole Dieschbourg, and the Minister for Spatial Planning, Claude Turmes, presented the citizen engagement initiative "KlimaBiergerRot" (citizens' climate council).

First announced by the Prime Minister in his State of the Nation address on 12 October 2021, the citizens' climate council is a new initiative that forms part of Luxembourg's policy related to the fight against global warming.

Using the national energy and climate plan as a starting point, the citizens' climate council will be asked to make proposals for concrete and additional actions or measures in the area of ​​climate policy. The central theme of this council will be: "Eis Propositiounen, fir datt Lëtzebuerg méi séier am Kampf géint de Klimawandel virukënnt" (our proposals to allow Luxembourg to move forward faster in the fight against climate change). The proposals will be debated in the Chamber of Deputies and are likely to influence the next version of the integrated national energy and climate plan.

It is expected that the citizens' climate council will begin its work towards the end of January and finish this work before the 2022 summer holidays. This work will be organised through information, discussion and work sessions, as well as training sessions. In total, between fifteen and eighteen sessions of varying duration are scheduled, with some set to be open to the public. Depending on the evolution of the health situation, the sessions will take place face-to-face and / or in a virtual format.

At several stages of the consultation, the citizens' climate council will be called upon to interact with a set of actors and experts belonging to or associated with Luxembourg climate governance bodies.

The first stage of this process is dedicated to recruitment. The citizens' climate council will have 100 members, including 40 substitute members. Members will be remunerated for their participation.

Members will be selected from 5 January 2022 by TNS-Ilres on the basis of criteria reflecting maximum representativeness of Luxembourg's demographic reality. Members are eligible from the age of 16 and will be chosen through a combination of three selection procedures designed to reach as many potential candidates as possible. Those interested in participating in the citizens' climate council are invited to apply via the following link: https://kbr.tns-ilres.com. They will be informed if their application has been selected as soon as possible.