What the Grand Duchy is attending at COP26
While Luxembourg has set its roadmap for climate protection, it also intends to put pressure on the partners gathered for the 26th Climate Change Conference which has just started, this November 1 in Scotland.
Environment
While Luxembourg has set its roadmap for climate protection, it also intends to put pressure on the partners gathered for the 26th Climate Change Conference which has just started, this November 1 in Scotland.
(pj with Marc SCHLAMMES) The scenario of a world climate conference always follows the same course. Opening by the heads of state and government, numerous talks at the level of officials, plethora of civil society gatherings, before the ministers agree on a final document. Pending this conclusion, on November 12, the COP26 began on Monday 1st.
In the eyes of the Luxembourg Minister for the Environment and Climate, this Glasgow meeting is “immensely important”. After the cancellation of the conference in 2020, due to the covid crisis, it is high time to resume direct contact between the negotiating partners. For Carole Dieschbourg (Déi Gréng), this COP26 must end with a commitment by states to do everything possible to contain global warming to 1.5 ° C by 2025. Just as the international meeting must complete the commitments of the Paris Agreement, in particular on the mobilization of each country in terms of “climate cooperation”.
The worst-case scenario was to relive a failure similar to that of COP15. In Copenhagen, hope had turned into a fiasco. Some pointing to goals that are too high for a possible rallying of the main states. “But we are no longer in 2009, when the impact of climate change affects only certain regions of the globe, here and there. In the meantime, the climate crisis is hitting all over the world, including in Europe. Everyone is aware of the urgency to act, ”hopes the minister.
Of course, Luxembourg will have a say in the debates. A voice that will carry on its scale, but that there is no question of silencing. The Grand Duchy wishes to make its contribution in two areas in particular. François Bausch (Déi Gréng) will present the concept of mobility as applied in the country, including in particular free public transport. And Carole Dieschbourg to recall in passing that Luxembourg grants the highest rate of public investment to develop rail and bus.
The Minister of Finance, Pierre Gramegna (DP), will focus his remarks on the need for green finance, pointing to the role of the financial center in supporting more climate-friendly initiatives. Without forgetting to underline the cooperative role of the country. “Car, with Sweden, we are among the most generous countries in terms of per capita support for actions abroad,” recalls the Minister of the Environment.
A sorry environmentalist noted that the international community has not reached the objective of mobilizing 100 billion euros per year to support the poorest countries to act in terms of climate protection.
And Carole Dieschbourg sounded the alarm on this point: “Ultimately, climate protection is a question of security, stability and peace”. Luxembourg has already set its level of intervention: it will support international efforts to protect the climate to the tune of 200 million euros from 2021 to 2025.
It is customary for parliamentarians to also participate in the various COPs. This time, MPs Paul Galles (CSV) and Carlo Back (Déi Gréng) will therefore be traveling. For Paul Galles, the return of an international face-to-face meeting on such a major subject is essential for the success of an agreement. The direct exchange, gestures, expressions and emotions of the negotiating partners are all signals that will help build a better common position, for the opposition MP. An elected representative confident in the conclusion of the Glasgow meeting: the latest IPCC report having reminded international leaders of the need to act.
Paul Galles believes in an awareness of the climate emergency by the actors of the economy, and therefore in results.
Photo: Guy Jallay
For Paul Galles, it is also interesting to note that the view that the costs of inaction are higher than those of immediate action is gaining ground in the business community.
For the Christian-social, it is also essential that the industrialized countries fulfill the financial obligations which they contracted in Paris. “We must also avoid that climatic limitations are only set for countries that have just moved from developing country status to that of emerging economies.”
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