In conversation with RTL Radio on Wednesday, Galles, who also chairs the Chamber’s Environment Committee, said he left the 30th UN Climate Conference (COP30) disappointed. He said expectations had been high, not least because Brazil’s president had promised a “conference of transformation” and because the event was taking place in a country directly affected by climate change.
But according to Galles, Brazil ultimately played “a mixed role”, combining strong rhetoric with too little follow-through. He argued that geopolitical tensions and national economic interests continue to shape climate negotiations far more than scientific urgency. Several countries, he noted, openly defend fossil fuels as essential to their industries, leaving global compromise extremely difficult.
He acknowledged that the world is not on track to limit global warming to 1.5°C. With current pledges, global temperatures are heading towards at least 2.3°C, he warned, adding that while the EU, and Luxembourg within it, is performing relatively well, global efforts fall far short and need reinforcing. Good climate policy, Galles stressed, must balance environmental protection with economic and social considerations. He said he believes Luxembourg largely manages this balance, even if more can always be done.
Galles emphasised that politicians have a duty to consider future generations and to preserve a liveable world for young people, even when decisions are uncomfortable.
The conversation then turned to Luxembourg City’s schools. From 2026, literacy teaching in public primary schools will also be offered in French, which has traditionally been taught in German. Luxembourg City is in an unusual situation, with almost half of its primary-age children enrolled not in local public schools but in private or European schools.
Galles said the city expects some pupils to attend the public system once French literacy becomes the norm, particularly as public schooling is free, contrary to many private options. However, he said that the municipality does not anticipate a dramatic influx, as many families still prefer schooling with strong English-language components, which the French-literacy model does not offer.
He acknowledged that smaller school buildings pose logistical challenges, especially regarding room allocation. He explained that the city is working with after-school services, such as maisons relais and foyers scolaires, to coordinate the use of space and has drawn up a long-term development plan to expand schools and child-care facilities in line with demographic projections.
Childcare availability remains a structural problem. While headline figures suggest hundreds of pending requests, Galles explained that the city applies clear priorities: families with no alternative childcare, and those in difficult social circumstances, are placed first. Once requests are filtered this way, the number of urgent unresolved cases is closer to 100, which he described as a recurring annual figure. Nevertheless, he admitted that the situation reinforces the need for continued expansion of both infrastructure and staff recruitment.
On the sensitive issue of constitutionalising abortion rights, Galles, who studied theology and previously served as a priest, said he has spent considerable time consulting experts, including philosophers and the association Family Planning. While he personally believes human dignity begins at conception, he also recognises that women must retain the freedom to decide whether to continue a pregnancy and that no one takes such decisions lightly.
He supports strengthening women’s rights within the Constitution but disagrees with the specific wording chosen. Ideally, he said, the Constitution would explicitly enshrine both the right to life and the right to self-determination, and also guarantee access to contraception and sexual education. Because he believes the current proposal is incomplete, he intends to abstain in the final vote.
