Lydie Polfer has responded to her critics

The Mayor of Luxembourg, Lydie Polfer, has officially denied claims that she is opposed to increasing green spaces in the capital. Her earlier comments, made during a heatwave, were interpreted by the public as a refusal to plant trees and create shaded areas in the city’s stone-paved squares. According to the mayor, her remarks related exclusively to the Place de Paris and were linked to the need to preserve open spaces for large-scale public events.

To back up its position, the capital’s administration is preparing to present a comprehensive greening strategy, the development of which was commissioned from a specialist firm two years ago. To date, the city authorities have already implemented a significant part of the announced environmental plan: of the 30,000 trees planned for planting in the city, 14,000 have been planted. At the same time, Polfer emphasised that Luxembourg has been awarded a gold certificate under the European Climate Pact, which attests to the municipality’s high environmental standards.

Despite the reported successes, opposition representatives have expressed serious concerns about the pace of the project’s implementation. Christa Brömmel, a city councillor for the déi gréng party, has criticised the authorities for unduly delaying measures to adapt to climate change. She noted that the strategy had been discussed as far back as March, yet practical action has been delayed, with the result that residents have already suffered from the first heatwave of the summer. As an example of ineffective planning, Brömmel cited the recent redevelopment of Rue Notre-Dame, where only a few trees in planters were installed as a climate adaptation measure. In her view, such measures are wholly inadequate and are not integrated into infrastructure projects at the initial stages.

As well as adapting to current weather conditions, the opposition is insisting on the need for further investment in climate protection. Party representatives are calling for changes to building regulations to remove restrictions on the installation of heat pumps for residents, which should help to significantly reduce carbon dioxide emissions.