Value
 not Volume Creation

In 2023, Luxembourg Stratégie produced the Doughnut (2000-2020) of Luxembourg. The Doughnut (Raworth, 2012, 2017) offers an image of sustainability that can guide efforts to maintain ecosystem services and social foundations. By assessing an economy’s ability to respect the ‘planetary’ boundaries of its territory and the well-being of its population, it also serves as a measure of resilience. The further an economy moves away from a fair and safe development space (indicated by the green ring between ecological overshoots and social undershoots), the less resilient the economy. It appears that Luxembourg, as most OECD countries, fully assumes its capacity to ensure solid social foundations for its population, but also that this feat is achieved by crossing several biophysical boundaries (GHG emissions, biodiversity, nitrogen and phosphorus, material consumption).

Infrastructure resilience is essential in navigating the polycrisis. They buy us time. They pay forward to future generations. The decisions and investments made today determine tomorrow’s savings (or spending) and resilience (or vulnerabilities). What critical infrastructure is required to revitalize today’s economy and bring future generations back within planetary boundaries?

This study explores  five  Scenarios for NextGen Infrastructure that offer lifeline services to society.

A planetary boundaries and social needs adjusted carbon and nature economy,  focused on climate industry, services, infrastructure and tech (low and high), which deliver climate mitigation and adaptation public goods and business opportunities alike, by leveraging massive investments into technical, infrastructural, natural and behavioural solutions.

“Vision ECO2050 is an excellent example of strategic foresight, with its analysis leading to innovative policymaking ideas that will I’m sure prove their merit beyond Luxembourg’s borders. It represents a valuable addition to the ongoing foresight work being done across Europe, giving policymakers at all levels inspiration as we seek a credible path towards green growth and enhanced wellbeing.”

Maroš Šefčovič, Vice-Président de la Commission européenne (2023)

Resilience refers to the ability not only to withstand and cope with challenges but also to transform in a sustainable, fair, and democratic manner. (European Commission, Strategic Foresight Report, 2020)

Based on an extensive research study on the concept, we produced a video to illustrate the concept of resilience  – as a fishbone – and link it to the one of the Doughnut of social and planetary boundaries.

To preserve the land and soil, thisforesight work envisions a Luxembourg with no-net land take, restoring and upgrading the old buildings rather than constructing new ones, transfert of building rights, cross-border planning and ressources management within the Greater Region.

Other spatial innovations proposed:

• Mapping and prevention of spatial risk
• Adaptation of the territory to climate change and biodiversity loss
• The ecological transition, a means to foster the crossborder spatial integration.
• Forest transition and land regeneration
• Farming for the Future: Land sanctuary for food production and water cycling
• Natural carbon sink enhancement
• Dense, vertical, energy producing economic zones

Update of the 2020 Cabo Verde Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to the UNFCCC for compliance with the Paris Agreement and UNFCCC rules and procedures. The NDC is an indispensible action plan for Cabo Verde reaching its objective of a decarbonise economy by 2050.

The originality of this NDC is that mitigation and adaptation carry equal weight. This is to reflect the low historical and per capita emissions of Cabo Verde, as well as its particular vulnerability to climate change effects as a SIDS – Small Island Developing State.

The proposed mitigation measures include building a pumped hydro-storage (PHS) facility, shifting to responsible tourism and circular economy and fostering natural sink functions of ecosystems. The financing of the PHS is now secured.

The adaptation measures stand ou t for their synergies with poverty alleviation and sustainable livelihoods and comprise water replenishment, regenerative fishing, extending and enforcing marine protected areas, confronting climate-related physical and health risks.

This guide presents traditional, passive, robust and bioclimatic techniques to manage heat in the Sahel, enhancing occupants wellbeing in fresh and acoustically comfortable buildings, while at the same time creating local jobs and reducing maintenance costs and energy dependencies.

In application of the principles of development effectiveness, ownership and aid harmonisation, the report aims to guide the donor community and the Cabo Verde-Luxembourg cooperation programme in their support for the renewable energy transition of the archipelago. The mapping of the renewable energies sub-sector has highlighted the formidable RE potential, the rapid development underway and planned and the multiplicity of stakeholders. The progress already made in advancing renewable energies in the mix is significant. The ambitions and the number of initiatives and projects launched in the energy sector, and the timetable envisaged for the energy transition, are impressive.

However the capacities and funding acquired are insufficient. Strengthening the energy governance, beneficial to the entire chain and all the players in the energy transition, and mobilising funds are the priorities.

This assessment reveals an opportunity to support Cabo Verde’s determination to make a success of its ambitious institutional and sectoral reforms. It is essential to support the country-driven and country-owned energy transition in the interests of the well-being and development of its citizens.

Amid the 9 planetary boundaries conceptualised in 2009, the limit of absorbing nitrogen from synthetic fertiliser in the environment was one of the first ones to becalculated, and breached. The industrial fixation of nitrogen (extracting nitrogen from the atmosphere to produce fertiliser) is disrupting the life-supporting nutrient cycles beyond the safe level.

This research study applies the planetary nitrogen boundary method to Luxembourg.

Luxembourg, a net nitrogen polluter, could improve its vital food and fertiliser self-sufficiency, as well as water quality, energy balance, biodiversity and human health, through a. o. :

• phasing out fossil fuels in transport,
• substituting imported fertiliser by locally produced organic fertiliser (biogas residues),
• reducing citizens’ high animal protein consumption, or
• recovering nitrogen from human effluents.

More research is needed to calculate the economic and sanitary public finance gains from reducing nitrogen pollution.

In 2011, Pascale Junker was instrumental in initiating and conceiving a pioneer Green Public Procurement procedure for the acquisition of buildings on behalf of the Luxembourg Development Cooperation. The aim of this “green” procedure was to facilitate the acquisition of infrastructures with reduced energy, material and resources needs as well as low construction-embedded emissions and which result in low operating and maintenance costs over the lifetime of the building. Framed within General Environmental Recommendations for Sustainable Constructions, the procedure consists of a full set of competitive tender documents, including Clean Construction Site Specifications and Terms of References  for an Architectural Programmer. The contract is awarded based on environmental compliance with criteria such as the quality of the environmental approach and/or of the draft architectural design proposal.