On Wednesday, the US Ambassador Tom Barrett and the Minister for Environnement Serge Wilmes signed the historic "Global Net Zero Government Initiative" agreement.

This agreement was first presented by the USA at COP27 in 2022, where they pledged to lead by example to become emission free by 2050. The signing ceremony took place at the US Embassy on Wednesday, where more than 40 dedicated students were invited to participate.

Students from St. George's International School boldly declared "There is no planet B," resonating their message loud and clear to the ambassador and minister. Their voices were united with students from the International School of Luxembourg and Robert Schuman High School as they collaboratively presented their ideas and visions. Among them, 16-year-old Julien Lemmer emphasised that promising solution proposals are already on the table.

"There are young people, young researchers who are introducing environmentally friendly and sustainable technologies. The solutions exist; now, we just need to engage with them and implement them."

For 16-year-old Julie Muller, the first step to reach these objectives is to push for awareness-raising in schools:

"Awareness-raising in very important, many students may not be aware of the consequences of climate change and the impacts of inaction."

Minister Wilmes emphasised that international cooperation and shared commitments are essential in this international fight.

"To accomplish all the necessary efforts, the involvement of the USA, China, and the European Union is needed. If these major players take collective responsibility, a significant stride forward can be made. We need to work together."

It is fantastic to see the engagement of young people and the concrete steps they are taking in school, underlining again it's essential role as a space for positive change.

"School is a place where children are firstly exposed to such a topic. They talk about it, awareness is created and a natural way of living differently is encouraged."

The objective of the agreement with the USA is for governments to lead by a positive example. This principle is also underscored in the coalition agreement of the black-green coalition (CSV-Green), as emphasised by Minister Wilmes.

Among various initiatives, it is aimed to ensure, as much as possible, that by 2030 all public buildings are equipped with photovoltaic systems and undergo energy-efficient renovations. Additionally, the integration of 100% electric vehicles remains a key target.