Decarbonation and sustainable industries in the wide sense were a major theme during a Paperjam+Delano Business Club roundtable featuring Luxembourg MPs on Tuesday evening. There were favourable comments about green steel and photovoltaic projects, among other attractive undertakings. Despite significant effort by the public sector, research and development is seen as a sector that should get more attention to improve the competitive edge of the country. Interestingly, when asked what companies the politicians would like to see operating in Luxembourg, some would welcome the establishment of research departments of companies such as Blue Origin or Tesla in Luxembourg.
Given that finance is never far away from any discussion in Luxembourg, sustainable finance has been part of several debate including a favourable rate for the “taxe d’abonnement” (the tax investment funds pay based on assets under management) for the “ESG compliant” funds. Separately, the establishment of a “Banque solidaire et écologique,” which would be a bank with a wider population reach that truly support sustainable investments, was suggested by a panellist.
To achieve these goals, Delano understood that the politicians broadly favour a greater flexibility of working time and a stronger support for the digitalisation of the small and mid-sized companies. Finally, artificial intelligence is seen as playing an important role in many industries such as in the health and information and communications technology (ICT) sectors.