Interview: Seniors for Climate Luxembourg Discuss Their Activities in Grand Duchy

Seniors for Climate Luxembourg are a non-profit association of senior citizens based in the Grand Duchy whose mission is to raise awareness of the impacts of climate change.

Initially established by Greenpeace Luxembourg in 2022, the now self-managed group aims to represent the concerns and interests older citizens have in relation to the climate crisis and its impact on Luxembourg. The group is also a member of European Grandparents for Climate, helping to coordinate the activities of various corresponding national organisations.

Speaking to Chronicle.lu, Simon Norcross, a member of the group, gave insight into what sets Seniors for Climate Luxembourg apart from other climate activists, what they do to tackle issues such as climate change misinformation, how their messaging has evolved as the climate crisis develops, and what their thoughts are in relation to what impact Luxembourg’s institutions have on the climate crisis.

Chronicle.lu: How do Seniors for Climate tailor their message to differ from the campaigning of other climate groups? What do you feel your organisation can communicate that others perhaps cannot?

Simon Norcross: Our messaging is broadly in line with that of other organisations that aim to raise awareness about climate change. We have though decided to put some degree of focus on its health impacts. We are also trying to play our part in convincing the inhabitants of Luxembourg that they, and we, are also already concerned and affected by the impacts of climate change. On the other hand, the fact that we are seniors may well give us more credibility with our target audiences because we have experience and perspective that younger people do not in general possess. We can play a role of memory and reminder. That is why we are working, for example, on an exhibition to show what Luxembourg looked like before global warming started to happen. Part of our current and future activity is to communicate about the exhibition and the fact that we are actively collecting and looking for material for it - photos, films, objects, books, etc.

Chronicle.lu: As misinformation on climate change continues to grow across social media, how do Seniors for Climate work to combat this when the platforms used to campaign and communicate your messaging are those which continue to reduce investment into moderating this type of misinformation?

Simon Norcross: Our approach is to try to collect as much reliable, local statistical information as possible. We have collected data from the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology (LIST), Findel [Luxembourg] Airport, the wine industry, and medical organisations to support our messages with objective information.

Chronicle.lu: As climate-related catastrophes become daily news worldwide, have you seen a shift in support for campaigning for positive climate action?

Simon Norcross: Unfortunately, not yet to any great extent. Although it is true that in general people are more and more aware of the problem, sadly not very many are willing to get seriously involved with climate-related organisations and perhaps even less to adopt major lifestyle changes. Our group counts about 40 people (and we are approaching 200 followers on Facebook), but in order to be more effective we need our members to be willing to commit themselves to regular, active involvement in projects that can bring about real change.

Chronicle.lu: With the recent announcement that the much vaunted 1.5 degree threshold has now been breached, are you seeing/feeling a greater sense of urgency or witnessing an increase in resignation as a new reality unfolds, and do you foresee climate activism and protests becoming more controversial as the climate crisis escalates? 

Simon Norcross: The measures implemented to date do not remotely match up to the urgency and seriousness of the problem. The energy transition and decarbonisation must be taken further. Luxembourg still has many changes to make. We have for example been involved with Greenpeace Luxembourg with respect to pension funds and other major investors which continue to invest in carbon-based sources of energy. We do not wish to encourage illegal actions but support those carried out by, for example, Greenpeace, avoiding violence but with sufficient impact to be noticed by the wider public. Some environmental activists have recently paid dearly for their commitment, for example, environmental, conservation and animal rights activist Paul Watson, the opponents of the A-69 motorway in France, and the  British activists who have received custodial punishments for activities such as blocking roads.

Chronicle.lu: With Luxembourg’s overshoot day fast approaching (in 2024 the date was designated as 20 February), how does this affect the message Seniors for Climate Luxembourg tries to communicate about the impact of our consumption upon climate change, and what would you encourage the Luxembourg government to do to address this?

Simon Norcross: We support concepts such as "consume less, consume better". The Luxembourg government supports some very good initiatives aligned with this approach, for example, the “Lët'z Refashion” shop which brings together local circular fashion organisations (and where we hold most of our regular Seniors for Climate meetings). We also support initiatives such as free public transport and financial support to encourage the installation of solar panels. In the end though, Luxembourg is a rich country with a significant “superconsumer” population. There is certainly a widespread and significant degree of awareness of climate-related concerns but changing people’s mentalities and behaviours is still not easy! We also have a close relationship with Findel+, a small organisation that campaigns about issues including both the increasing number of flights and pollution.

Chronicle.lu: In a country where financial investment is critical to the economy, with many funds invested in companies which do not actively promote positive climate action, how do we (as a society) promote divestment from these mechanisms whilst avoiding greenwashing and not negatively impacting Luxembourg’s underlying economy?

Simon Norcross: We would point to the efforts of the “Klimaseniorinnen” and their success at the European Court of Justice. Following that, we sent a letter to the Luxembourg Minister of the Environment asking what legal measures Luxembourg plans to implement. More locally, some of our members took part in a Greenpeace demonstration against the main Luxembourg pension fund. Concretely, we do not have the specific expertise and, realistically, we are not powerful enough or numerous enough to carry out our own actions on these subjects but we are very willing to take part in demonstrations or petitions organised by other associations.

For more information on Climate for Seniors Luxembourg, and for details on how to join the group, they can be contacted via email: seniorsforclimatelux@gmail.com or via their Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/p/Seniors-for-Climate-Luxembourg-100093180451555