Bettel was among those accused of not doing enough to limit the consequences of climate change, a point which has also been Youth for Climate’s key criticism of the Luxembourg government.
In an interview, Bettel argued that Luxembourg is attempting to do its part. He admitted that ‘doing enough’ is a loaded expression, explaining that the process to limit climate change is currently ongoing and is not something that can be started on one day and completed the next. He told RTL 5Minutes that people must examine the development of climate change measures and respect the efforts. He pointed out that Luxembourg has started a number of procedures to fall in line with the Paris Climate Agreement whereas other countries have failed to conform with the agreement at all.
Bettel’s works were reiterated by Minister for Energy Claude Turmes, who estimated that Luxembourg is “one of the most ambitious EU member states” when it comes to climate change policies. Luxembourg plans to reduce emissions by 40 to 44 % and rely on renewable energy for 23 to 25% of the country’s energy by 2030.
The prime minister pointed out that “Luxembourg is not among the bad students, far from it.” Instead, Luxembourg belongs to the countries moving things forward. Using a train metaphor, he argued that Luxembourg belongs to the countries forming the engine train and ideally, that train would be much more high-powered, but is currently carrying a lot of carriages, with a lot of people in the last carriage.
Bettel’s metaphor certainly refers to the United States taking a step back and Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro’s position on climate change. The prime minister also expressed a desire to be able to control the developments of somewhat reticent partners.
Of course, Bettel reacted directly to Thunberg’s immensely critical speech, saying “If I couldn’t accept criticism, I should not be in the role I am. Her criticism is shared by thousands of young Luxembourgers who are mobilising for action. I understand they’re frustrated, but I too want things to go quicker! However, we need to work collectively... We need to encourage people to get involved - cities, businesses, everyone together needs to make advances, but not in the five years from now which we know is too late.”
Part of society is mobilising itself as we speak. Young environmentalists, unions, and NGOs are coming together to pressure the government at a huge protest on Friday 27 September. Bettel ended the interview by stating:"We have a responsibility to future generations and if we don’t invoke change, once it is too late people will ask ‘Why didn’t they do more?’”
