We are all responsible for climate change: consumers, politicians who set the framework, and also businesses, Romain Poulles declared during an interview with our colleagues from RTL Radio on Wednesday morning. On Tuesday, the Grand Duchy marked its overshoot day, i.e., the day on which the country used up all of its natural resources for the year. If the whole world lived like Luxembourg, we would need a total of seven planets to sustain this level of consumption.
-> Overshoot Day: Why does Luxembourg perform so poorly?
The president of the Higher Council for Sustainable Development explained that the blame cannot be put solely on fuel tourism, citing a study that found road traffic is only responsible for 1.6 planets. The rest is due to the consumption of Luxembourg’s residents, which is also a result of the wealth generated by fuel tourism.
A fortnight ago, Poulles said that “peeing in the shower is really not enough,” but that everyone could do a lot of small things to reduce Luxembourg’s substantial ecological footprint. But actions alone are not enough either, he said on Wednesday, we also need a new economic model and a more sustainable societal model.
While Poulles believes that growth is “inevitable,” he also feels “we can no longer deny all its negative consequences, such as the housing crisis.” According to the president of the Higher Council for Sustainable Development, political ambitions are still “largely insufficient.” This is evident in the electoral programmes that are being written, Poulles criticised.
Sustainability and social justice are closely linked and decisionmakers must ensure that the ecological transition is affordable to all. Poulles mentioned the new sustainability check that must now be conducted for every policy decision, describing it as an “essential element.” This measure has been requested for 15 years and is now finally in place. Nevertheless, “we still have to wait and see how it will work in practice”, Poulles acknowledged.
