Environment & climate change
They will continue to influence countries’ development conditions. These changes constitute threats and a major challenge for societies in their ability to meet basic human needs, promote justice, peace and security and pursue sustainable growth and development.
Environment and climate issues are therefore a key element of the overall aim of Luxembourg Development Cooperation’s general strategy, and one of the three cross-cutting issues on which its actions focus. In line with the additionality of international climate financing provided for in the government’s coalition agreement, there is more of a need than ever to strengthen and optimise the incorporation of the environment and climate change within cooperation activities.
In 2021, Luxembourg Development Cooperation represented the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs at the COP26 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Many bilateral discussions were held at COP26 with the delegations from Luxembourg’s partner countries, in order to strengthen political dialogue on environmental and climate change issues.
Luxembourg Development Cooperation has also continued its involvement in the interministerial management committee of the Climate and Energy Fund (CEF), chaired by the Ministry of the Environment, Climate and Sustainable Development, whose remit includes the multiannual planning of CEF expenditure and the drafting of opinions and, where appropriate, recommendations concerning the financing of eligible investments.
The year 2021 featured the presentation of Luxembourg Development Cooperation’s new “Environment and Climate Change” strategy. It is part of its central remit of poverty eradication, and is the result of a lengthy consultation process that fully involved development cooperation partners.
Under this strategy, Luxembourg Development Cooperation aims to frame all its activities and/or aid within sustainable, inclusive, renewable or low-carbon development dynamics that are resilient to the effects of climate and environmental change, in accordance with international environmental conventions, Agenda 2030 and the Paris Agreement goals.
By 2030, Luxembourg Development Cooperation thus specifically commits to:
- on the one hand, increasing the environmental and/or climate co-benefits of its portfolio of interventions in its priority sectors,
- on the other hand, financing a greater number of dedicated projects promoting the resilience of human and natural systems in the face of climate risks and/or environmental degradation.
- The process is closely linked to that of increasing gender equality mainstreaming – Luxembourg Development Cooperation’s other cross-cutting issue – in order to take particular account of the proven greater vulnerability of women and girls to the consequences of climate change.
The new strategy is based on key principles in four different priority themes aligned with the priorities set out in Luxembourg Development Cooperation’s general strategy:
- access to basic services that are sustainable and resilient to climate risks;
- identification of and support for the development of environmental and green value chains, which are sources of jobs and value-creators;
- sustainable management of natural resources;
- support for inclusive sectoral and territorial governance, taking into account the national commitments of partner countries on major environmental and climate issues.
Finally, the new strategy puts forward guidelines on the different implementation modalities to be employed by Luxembourg’s Development Cooperation. An operational action plan is also being put in place. This will define the key actions to be carried out by Luxembourg Development Cooperation in the medium term to ensure the strategy is properly deployed. Tools will be developed for implementing the action plan.