"Much more ambitious and unconventional measures than those proposed by the NECP are needed to meet the commitments to a climate-neutral future," says Fedil. (Photo: Shutterstock)

"Much more ambitious and unconventional measures than those proposed by the NECP are needed to meet the commitments to a climate-neutral future," says Fedil. (Photo: Shutterstock)

Industry federation Fedil on Wednesday presented nine proposals to speed up the green transition in response to targets set by the government, calling for more support.

Fedil during a press conference on 29 September said it "agrees on the need to tackle climate change" and reiterated that "all stakeholders are ready to contribute to putting industrial emissions reductions on track for 2030.”

But at the same time, the group said it has many objections to the sectoral greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction targets . "A number of commercial and technological obstacles are likely to jeopardise the national vision of decarbonisation and require a framework of measures and actions that will be decisive in achieving the objective," the industry lobby said.

Climate plan not suited

The group said a national energy and climate plan (NECP) is not suited to ensuring that Luxembourg will meet its Paris Agreement commitments. "Much more ambitious and unconventional measures than those proposed by the NECP--with a well thought-out legal framework and attractive support instruments--are needed to meet the commitments to a climate-neutral future", says Fedil. All EU members had to draw up an NECP.

The state should focus on raising the awareness of stakeholders, predictability of costs, financial incentives and attractive taxation, without preventing “the implementation of new industrial projects, which are conducive to economic growth and competitiveness,” Fedil said,

Luxembourg’s climate law--which integrated the climate plan into the legislative framework in December 2020--provided for specific objectives for five sectors (energy, manufacturing industry and construction; transport; residential and tertiary buildings; agriculture and forestry; and waste and wastewater treatment) in order to achieve the objective of a 55% reduction in GHG emissions by 2030 compared with 2005 levels.

Nine proposals

To address these issues, Fedil has developed a catalogue of nine proposals:

1. Make the CO2 tax progressive for industrial companies;

2. Establish a voluntary agreement system for CO2 reductions;

3. Introduce extraordinary state aid for the electrification of heat;

4. Make electricity the energy of choice for industry, with attractive electricity prices for industrial companies;

5. Introduce super tax deductions for investment in low carbon plant and machinery equipment;

6. Boost energy efficiency by introducing tradable energy efficiency certificates;

7. Promote the transition to renewable process heat technologies and ensure a supply of biomass, biofuels and biogas at predictable prices;

8. Maintain technological neutrality by allowing carbon capture technologies to decarbonise processes with incompressible emissions and develop local carbon use applications;

9. Implement specific measures for the construction sector, such as promoting high-rise buildings; improving electricity supply on building sites and promoting biofuels; decentralising and increasing inert waste disposal sites, and allowing emission reductions from transport to be attributed to construction activity.

This story was first published on . It has been translated and edited for Delano.