How vulnerable are Luxembourg’s firms to climate change, resource depletion and biodiversity losses?

Luxembourg Strategy, the foresight directorate of Luxembourg’s ministry of the Economy has launched the RISK2050 study to investigate the biophysical vulnerabilities of Luxembourg’s economy to risks from climate change, resource depletion and biodiversity losses. The University of Luxembourg has been entrusted to carry out the study and to conduct a national survey.

Increased extreme weather events such as floods and heatwaves, shortages of essential material resources, degraded water, biomass or soil resources, supply disruptions or spiking energy prices are just a few of the most obvious impacts that climate change, resource depletion and biodiversity losses can have on firms’ operations and supply chains. These consequences do not only affect a few sectors of activities but the entire economy.

How do companies established in Luxembourg assess those risks? What are the most pressing threats, and how do firms prepare to cope with them? RISK2050 raises these and other questions. In particular, the researchers from the University of Luxembourg rely on a large survey study to identify economic areas of high vulnerability and firm’s specific needs to mitigate risks. By providing a first-hand perspective on the experience and reality of businesses, both in the short and in the long term, the survey will inform further tailored policies that can help Luxembourg’s economy to adapt to a changing environment.

The survey is available in English, French and German and takes 10-15 minutes to complete. Luxembourg Strategy and the University research team invite all firms operating in Luxembourg to participate by filling out the form before Monday 31 May 2023 (accessible here: https://identials.lu/uni-lu/registration/RISK2050). All the contributions to the survey are collected in an anonymous ways for further analysis.

The RISK2050 study results will be presented at the Luxembourg Strategy Conference 2023 in late September this year: https://luxstrategie.gouvernement.lu/fr/evenements/3e-conference.html

For further information on the survey, please contact kristin.zlatanova@uni.lu