Interview: Minister Wilmes Discusses Environmental Priorities, COP28, Overshoot Day

Chronicle.lu recently had the opportunity to speak with Luxembourg's Minister of the Environment, Climate and Biodiversity and Minister for the Civil Service, Serge Wilmes, about his main priorities, his experience at the COP28 United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference in Dubai and Luxembourg's "Overshoot Day".

Serge Wilmes had previously served as first alderman of the City of Luxembourg (2017-2023) before being sworn in as a government minister on 17 November 2023.

Chronicle.lu: What are your top priorities, particularly in 2024, as Luxembourg’s Minister of the Environment, Climate and Biodiversity (and Minister for the Civil Service)?

Minister Serge Wilmes: I’m still at the very beginning of my tenure, but what I can say is that the financial incentives of the "Klimabonus Wunnen" aid scheme will be adapted taking into account where appropriate social selectivity criteria.
In the same vein, we will also examine the possibility of introducing a prefinancing scheme for the subsidies to further alleviate the financial burden on households. We will of course do this together with our colleagues from other ministerial departments.
In terms of transport and mobility, we will continue to develop and promote electromobility (vehicles and charging infrastructure) through the "Klimabonus Mobilitéit" programme, following a strategy of social selectivity.
Another priority this year will be the conception of a "Social Climate Plan" which will formulate an approach to energy transition prioritising social justice.
Further on, enhancing our resilience to climate change will be a major topic: the finalisation of the update of the Climate Adaptation Strategy will provide concrete measures for adapting to the harmful effects of climate deregulation, such as renaturation of watercourses or protection against flooding.
Finally, I would like to point out the importance of the future National Forestry Plan. The course for this plan will be set in the coming months, starting with the identification of priorities in this field.

Chronicle.lu: Not long after being sworn in to the new government, you were off to represent Luxembourg at COP28 in Dubai. What were the highlights and perhaps lessons you have taken away from this experience?

Minister Serge Wilmes: For a start, attending COP28 in Dubai was an opportunity to quickly understand the importance of the international level in climate and environmental politics. Global problems like climate change can only be solved through multilateralism and compromise: it takes an immense diplomatic effort to reach consensus among almost 200 countries on a single text. I found these dynamics very inspiring.
The role of the European Union in negotiations was - in Dubai, and will be in future COPs - absolutely key in maintaining high ambition and pushing to transition away from fossil fuels. I am truly grateful for being able to take actively part in these engagements.
Climate policy is not only linked to a global crisis, but also in the centre of a global race for clean and net-zero industries. It is important that this is understood and that Luxembourg does not fall behind.

Chronicle.lu: What are your thoughts on the "historic" agreement reached regarding fossil fuels? And where does Luxembourg fit in? In other words, how will Luxembourg contribute to global efforts to fight climate change?

Minister Serge Wilmes: I believe that the main message of this COP28 is clear: the international community has unanimously decided to "transition out" of the fossil fuel era, and to do so at the pace that current scientific knowledge obliges us to. The speed of the exit may differ from country to country, but the course is clear. COP21 with the conclusion of the Paris Agreement (December 2015) was a historic moment, COP28 is no less so as it operationalises the main objective of the Paris Agreement, which is to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius compared to the pre-industrial era.
Regarding Luxembourg's contribution to this global engagement, the energy and climate objectives of the European Union and its Member States for 2030 - including the Luxembourg objectives as reflected in the draft of the "Plan national intégré en matière d’énergie et de climat" (PNEC) - are in line with the ambition set in Dubai. However, European climate law (Regulation (EU) 2021/1119) requires the European Commission to present a legislative proposal for an EU climate target for 2040 within six months of the first global assessment under the Paris Agreement. At the same time, the Commission will publish the EU's indicative forecast budget for greenhouse gas emissions for the period 2030-2050. As a result, Luxembourg will have to step up its decarbonisation efforts beyond 2030, on the way to climate neutrality by 2050 at the latest.

Chronicle.lu: Luxembourg often emerges as one of the countries around the world with the earliest "Overshoot Day" (last year it was on 14 February). In your opinion, what are the main reasons for this poor performance? What are some concrete measures your ministry is taking to reduce Luxembourg's ecological footprint?

Minister Serge Wilmes: The Overshoot Day is calculated by the Global Footprint Network and measures each country’s natural resource use in comparison to its biocapacity or supply of natural resources. It is a reminder that we are living beyond our planetary boundaries.
There are several reasons why our country has such a large ecological footprint: we do have a high standard of living on average, and a correspondingly high level of consumption, in addition to many large export-oriented industries. 
The Luxembourg Council for Sustainable Development provides an overview of our country’s ecological footprint on www.ourfootprint.lu. Accordingly, the four largest categories include fuel tourism (24%), food (19%), industry (15%) and energy consumption by households (12%). More than three quarters of our ecological footprint is due to greenhouse gas emissions. The remaining quarter includes the resources or land needed for built area, and our consumption of food and forest products.
Again, the PNEC is the main instrument to lower our carbon footprint. It sets out the policies and measures for achieving our climate and energy objectives for 2030 across six sectors: buildings, transport, industry, agriculture and forestry, waste and wastewater treatment, and LULUCF (land use, land-use change and forestry).
Next to the PNEC, we emphasise reducing packaging waste, food waste and waste in general in Luxembourg's Circular Economy Strategy to bring down our ecological footprint.
Lowering our ecological footprint can only be achieved together, with the government, industry and citizens acting in concert. I’m convinced that continuing on this path towards sustainability means that we can ensure a bright future for the next generations and for Luxembourg.