The grand duchy last year adopted a climate law enshrining the goal to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030 and for the country to become climate neutral by mid-century. However, the law does not include any obligations for different industries on how to get there.

“In the absence of concrete data on the commitments and reduction of each of the sectors taken in isolation, it will be impossible to achieve the goals set,” the Mouvement Ecologique said in a statement published on 15 June.

The government had dropped specific targets from the climate law for sectors including industry, transport or agriculture, saying these would be set by so-called grand ducal regulations. These do not have to be voted into law by parliament.

But six months on, these rules are yet to be delivered--a fact the Mouvement Ecologique attributes to a lack of consensus within the government.

“The Mouvement Ecologique recognises that the ministries of energy and the environment, among others, have taken measures to fight climate change,” it said, adding, however, that Luxembourg will fail to meet its targets unless measurable goals are set for different sectors.

This is all the more needed, it said, as the law foresees annual reviews of whether sectors are on track to meet their climate targets and also the option for fast movers to help offset the emissions of sectors slower to adapt.

The not-for-profit urged the government to deliver the grand-ducal regulations setting targets before the summer break and said it is in the process of checking whether the government is violating its own laws by failing to do so. “On the basis of this analysis, legal action is foreseen, if necessary,” it said.

Emissions struggles

It wouldn’t be the first time that the NGO has battled the government in court, having previously filed a complaint about being banned from accessing a memorandum of understanding with internet giant Google about the construction of a data centre in Bissen. But even though lawmakers were eventually given access to the document, it was not made public.

The OECD in a November 2020 report had warned Luxembourg must “redouble its efforts” to meet its climate targets, saying that “the coming years will be critical.”

CO2 emissions in Luxembourg increased by 2% in 2019, while they fell by 4% across the EU, according to Eurostat data. The country was on track to miss its emissions targets for 2020 before the coronavirus pandemic sent the country in lockdown.

Luxembourg last year made public transport free and is subsidising the purchase of electric vehicles and bicycles as well as slapping a CO2 tax on petrol products. Transport accounts for more than half of annual emissions.

Luxembourg’s climate law also foresees the creation of a climate policy monitoring body--another outstanding project, the Mouvement Ecologique said in its statement.

A sustainable finance strategy, launched by the government in February, received similar criticism over a lack of ambition from climate activists. Greenpeace warned that it “does not contain any clear targets, measures or timelines to bring the entire financial sector in line with climate-protection goals.”