The Ministry of the Environment, Climate, and Biodiversity has developed a strategy bringing together a range of measures designed to boost the country’s resilience. The results of the public consultation carried out as part of this process were presented at Cercle Cité in Luxembourg City.
A total of 107 new proposals were submitted by 500 participants representing more than 160 organisations, administrations, and companies. Since last spring, they have been reviewing the most recent action plan, which consists of 131 measures. Most of these measures were seen as positive, but in need of some fine-tuning, according to Norri Schneider from the association Citizens for Ecological Learning and Living (CELL).
This brought together people who would not usually sit around the same table, including environmental activists and farmers, as well as NGO staff and representatives from the financial sector. Together, they concluded that several measures were missing entirely from the existing action plan, according to Schneider. Of the 107 proposals submitted to the Ministry of the Environment, 21 were retained as entirely new measures.
One of which highlights the need to step up education on climate change and adaptation options. Environment Minister Serge Wilmes stressed that this is fundamentally about understanding what the climate crisis entails and fostering a culture of adaptation from an early age, as society will have to live with these changes.
Another key issue raised by civil society was the need for closer cooperation with insurance companies, in order to better quantify the damage and consequences of future natural disasters. A further proposal that was accepted is the creation of a platform enabling dialogue between the government, ministries, and the general public. This platform would help keep the process moving by publishing information on how measures are being implemented and the stage they have reached.
31 of the proposed measures were not retained, either because they already form part of the climate adaptation action plan or are currently being implemented. A further 28 proposals already existed but were deemed in need of reinforcement, while 27 were rejected for various reasons.
In the next stage, the entire strategy will be rewritten in textual form before being submitted to the Government Council for approval. After that, the measures will continue to be implemented, adapted and improved, according to Wilmes. At the same time, new measures will be developed on an ongoing basis, Wilmes emphasised.
