Luxembourg

About

Since becoming a partner of the Climate & Clean Air Coalition (CCAC) in 2017, Luxembourg has endorsed the Coalition’s initiatives to reduce short-lived climate pollutant (SLCP) emission from heavy-duty vehicles, municipal solid waste, cooling and refrigeration, and household energy. Luxembourg has supported the CCAC’s national policy and planning projects, and, to date, has contributed USD 84,830 to the Trust Fund. Luxembourg has pledged a contribution of EUR 75,000 covering the five years of 2023-2027 to continue supporting the CCAC programs, activities, and projects.

During COP26, Luxembourg joined the Global Methane Pledge (GMP), strengthening its commitment to contribute to a collective effort to reduce global methane emissions.

During the CCAC Climate and Clean Air Ministerial held on November 9th, 2021, Xavier Bettel, the Prime Minister of Luxembourg, said, "From Pole to Pole we see human-induced climate change affecting our planet and our lives. Science tells us: unless there are immediate and large-scale reductions in ALL greenhouse gas emissions, including short-lived pollutants such as methane, limiting global warming to close to 1.5º will be beyond reach. We urge ambitious and efficient action by the public, private, and all other sectors of society to make this a decade of action. You can count on Luxembourg's continued full commitment to climate action."

In December 2020, Luxembourg published its first “Climate Law” that establishes the obligation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the Grand Duchy by 55%  by 2030, transposes the objective of climate neutrality at the latest for 2050 on a national scale, and establishes the legal framework necessary for the implementation of the Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan (NECP) for 2021-2030.

Luxembourg’s NECP sets a target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030 (relative to 2005), while Luxembourg’s National Air Pollution Control Programme (NAPCP) aims, among other things, to reduce fine particle pollution (PM2.5) by 40% by 2030 (relative to 2005). To achieve these targets, Luxembourg has identified measures across a variety of sectors including transport, household energy, agriculture and waste. 

For the transport sector, the central objectives of the NECP are to reduce traffic through the massive expansion of public transport and to achieve a 49% share of electromobility by 2030. Luxembourg has increased infrastructure for the charging of electric vehicles and, under the Strategy for Sustainable Mobility (Modu 2.0), has made all public transport free. 

In October 2021, the Government adopted its long-term strategy “Towards climate neutrality in 2050” which identifies the guidelines as well as the main fields of action and strategic measures for a successful transition to climate neutrality in 2050. In 2020, Luxembourg introduced ‘Null Offall Lëtzeburg’: The Waste Prevention Strategy which aims to significantly reduce the amount of waste produced and end the practice of landfilling municipal household waste by 2030. Reducing food waste is a key component of the strategy; measures include: an awareness raising ‘Antigaspi’ (anti-food waste) campaign; requirements for actors from industry to create food waste prevention plans; and the establishment of a Food Council. The Waste Prevention Strategy also aims to increase the recovery of nutrients from bio-waste with measures including: separate collection of bio-waste; developing value chains for compost, with better promotion and distribution; and promoting the recovery from anaerobic digestion. 

Through its Development Cooperation, Luxembourg is committed to the eradication of extreme poverty and the promotion of economic, social and environmental sustainability through work to integrate environmental concerns and climate policy. This includes support to technology transfer, finance, and targeted interventions in partner countries. In 2019, Luxembourg provided support to projects including waste management in Senegal and sustainable agricultural development in Benin. 

Read below for more highlights of Luxembourg’s work.

Other activities

Air Quality 

• In 2018, Luxembourg’s government launched the “Meng Loft” App as part of its National Air Pollution Control Programme. The app allows users to be informed in real time levels of air pollution, making it possible to adapt their behaviour in response. Within the scope of the App, a new alert system was launched during the summer of 2020 allowing direct notification alerts about phenomena linked to air quality: ozone pollution and air quality index (AQI).

Agriculture

• The Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan for 2021-2030 highlights measures under the NEC Directive including: promoting environmentally friendly techniques for spreading manure; a ban on splash plates from 2025; and a ban on new open slurry containers. The plan emphasizes further promotion of biogas as an energy sources and the drafting of a strategy to reduce methane emissions, also foreseen by the national coalition agreement.

Cooling 

• On 16 November 2017, Luxembourg ratified the Kigali Amendment of the Montreal Protocol, committing to phase down HFCs. 
• Starting in 2016, operating permits for larger cooling installations (i.e. air conditioning systems of supermarkets) are required. In the application process the Environment Agency can recommend that lower greenhouse warming potential coolants to be used instead.
• The European regulation n° 517/2014 regarding fluorinated greenhouse gases (currently being revised at the EU level) has been fully implemented in national law. The law specifies the leakage inspection modalities of stationary air conditioning and cooling equipment, stationary heat pumps and organic Rankine cycles, depending on their HFC cooling liquid charges and/or their CO2 equivalents, respectively. The law requires the periodic inspection of air conditioning systems with an installed capacity over 12 kW, independently of the cooling liquid type. Every inspection is performed under the supervision of the Luxembourg Environment Agency. The latter puts booklets at the disposal of the inspectors with a listing of all essential parameters to be controlled during inspections.
• The Environment Agency, together with the Ministry of Education, Children and Youth, has put into place a technical training course on refrigeration technology. The first students received their diplomas in April 2021.

Household Energy 

• Luxembourg’s 2020 Covid Stimulus programme, Neistart Lëtzeburg, in association with the PRIMe Houseprogramme,  increases subsidies for solar thermal systems, heat pumps, wood-fired boilers and heat network connections by 25%, with an additional bonus when replacing a fossil fuel boiler with a wood boiler or a geothermal heat pump, or when connecting to a heat network. In early 2022, the PRIMe House programme was extended and reoriented for further promotion of sustainability, rational use of energy and renewable energies in the housing sector.

Oil and Gas

• The Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan for 2021-2030 has the central objective for the gas sector of no further development of national gas infrastructure, either at transmission or distribution level. 

Transport 

• In 2018, the Strategy for Sustainable Mobility (Modu 2.0) was introduced. Under Modu 2.0 there is considerable investment in transport infrastructure, including: the construction of new railway lines and stations; 600 km of planned cycle paths; expansion of the park+ride and bus networks; as well as the creation of a multi-modal app.
• In 2017, the Budget Law (climate tax on liquid fuels and tax rebate on low-carbon cars) was passed. This includes an increase in fuel price, as well as sustainable mobility rebate.  

Waste 
 

• The 2018 National Waste and Resource Management Plan includes measures and guidelines for the implementation of the Amended Waste Management Act 2012. The plan set a target of less than 10% of municipal waste going to landfill by 2022.
• Luxemburg has decided to minimize the quantities of residential waste dumped into landfills as much as possible, hence reducing methane generation. To prevent methane from escaping directly into the atmosphere, methane recovering systems have been installed at major landfill sites. The recovered methane is mainly used for electricity production.
• In 2017, Luxembourg put into place a national and seasonal collection grid for green cuttings to improve the valorisation of readily available biomass. This policy originated from a ban on open-air incineration of waste and green cuttings first introduced in 1994 and updated in 2012.