Luxembourg country profile - SDGs and the environment

• transition towards an inclusive and carbon-neutral economy (SDG 8);
• sustainable mobility, to ensure positive impact on the environment, air quality and GHG emissions (SDGs 3, 11, 13);
• sustainable land use for the preservation of nature and the protection of natural resources and biodiversity (SDG 15);
• prevention of the loss and deterioration of natural habitats, the expansion of urban areas, and the drainage and conversion of wetlands and water courses (SDGs 15, 11, 6, 14);
• tackling the global challenge of climate change (SDG 13). 

Luxembourg created a High Council of Sustainable Development (HCSD) to coordinate national policy on sustainable development and civil society involvement for SDG action. One of the HCSD’s tasks is to act as a platform for new partnerships for sustainable development (UNECE, 2016). Luxembourg’s main tools for achieving sustainable development are its National Plan for Sustainable Development (PNDD) and the Report on the Implementation of Sustainable Development (RNDD).

Luxembourg prioritises SDGs 3, 6, 8, 11, 13, 14 and 15 with an environmental dimension.

The current PNDD was adopted by the government in 2010 and was followed by the adoption of the RNDD in 2015. The HCSD has evaluated the latest PNDD and RNDD in terms of their coherence with the 2030 Agenda (UNECE, 2016). 

Luxembourg has several sustainable development platforms for stakeholder participation, such as www.mengaktioun.lu. It also cooperates with the ‘Cercle de Coopération’, a group of NGOs working on sustainable development (UN DESA, 2017).

In 2018, in the context of preparations for its third PNDD, Luxembourg undertook a stocktaking exercise and gap analysis for the development of its national SDG indicators. 

Luxembourg submitted a VNR to the UN in 2017.

An expert working group was set up under the supervision of an Interdepartmental Commission for Sustainable Development for the selection of the national SDG indicators. The group’s work has led to the initial selection of 130 national SDG indicators. As a next step, it will conduct a technical evaluation of the indicators to develop the final list of Luxembourg’s national SDG indicators (Government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, 2017).