On Thursday afternoon UK ambassador to Luxembourg Fleur Thomas hosted the launch of a local programme to promote the goals of the Cop26 summit, along with her Italian counterpart Diego Brasioli. “This is our moment to get the world back on track to address the enormous threat of climate change to build a cleaner, brighter future for us all,” Thomas said.” If we don’t collectively take action these effects will get worse, and fast. We will witness a scale of global catastrophe the likes of which we've never seen before.”

Thomas noted that the UK was the first country to put into law the aim to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. This includes the end of the sale of new petrol and diesel cars by 2030. “We are the fastest G7 country to decarbonize cars and vans,” Thomas added. It is targeting businesses to convert 100% zero-emission fleets by 2030.

Thomas praised the initiatives already taken by Luxembourg to tackle climate change, including the introduction of free public transport and its commitment to reduce emissions by 55% by 2030. “The embassy will be working alongside the Luxembourg government, the private sector, academia, and civil society stakeholders,” the ambassador said, adding that the UK and Luxembourg are “like-minded allies in tackling climate change.” Thomas also pointed to what she called the historical continuing relationship in financial services as “an opportunity to pioneer initiatives in sustainable finance.”

Both the UK and Italian embassies will be holding a series of outreach events in Luxembourg City, Remich and at the University of Luxembourg in Belval.

The UK embassy is also undertaking several initiatives to reduce emissions and plastic waste and protecting biodiversity--guests will be given homemade gifts, eco-friendly marketing materials will be used for local campaigns, and the embassy will be growing its own herbs and some seasonal vegetables and increasing organic gardening in the residency grounds.

The Italian ambassador said that ahead of the main Cop26 summit in Glasgow, Italy will host a smaller preparation event at the end of September in Milan as well as a youth event to help sensitize the younger generation. He also revealed that the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Luxembourg will organise a series of specific events on the topic of a business environment in the second half of 2021. “The pandemic has taught us that unless we act with a vision and together in cooperation, we cannot cope with such challenges.” Brasioli said. One of the challenges of industrialised countries, Brasioli argued, is “how to combine the promotion of our products and our industry with innovation and environmentally friendly technologies.”