Credit: Jessica Theis

During the official ceremony to celebrate the 20 years of existence of PRO-SUD, which was held at the Ariston in Esch-sur-Alzette on Friday 21 April 2023, the committee members of this union signed a declaration of intent regarding decarbonisation.

The members of the committee of the PRO-SUD union of municipalities for the promotion and development of the southern region agreed to carry out joint and coordinated efforts at the level of the Minett UNESCO Biosphere to implement a complete decarbonisation of the entire region.

The member municipalities of PRO-SUD thus declared their intention to work together to define a "climate neutral" regional approach. The eleven municipalities of the south region (Bettembourg, Differdange, Dudelange, Esch-sur-Alzette, Käerjeng, Kayl, Mondercange, Pétange, Rumelange, Sanem and Schifflange) have agreed to work with all the relevant actors (private and public), relying on the tools, programmes and initiatives already launched, while improving the quality of life of citizens.

"To achieve the energy transition, we cannot act alone, without support. Most of the carbon emissions (40%) come from mobility problems, but you cannot solve this type of problem by being a municipality. It is at least a regional problem, if not [a] national and cross-border [one]", stated Georges Mischo, President of PRO-SUD, during the ceremony.

Luxembourg's Minister for Energy and Spatial Planning, Claude Turmes, stressed that "close and concerted cooperation between the different levels of governance, in the sense of multilevel and multisectoral territorial governance, constitutes the guarantee of a effective integrated implementation of the objectives of the government's climate and energy policy and the objectives of sustainable spatial planning."