ISL Delegation at the Net-Zero Government Initiative Signing Ceremony

On February 21, the United States Embassy in Luxembourg hosted a signing ceremony of the Net-Zero Government Initiative between the United States and Luxembourg, marking a vital step in their shared commitment to addressing the global challenge of climate crisis. A delegation from ISL Lower School and Upper School students attended the ceremony.

Some of our students were asked to make a short presentation on their views regarding how the United States and Luxembourg can further partner in tackling the climate crisis. 

Let's hear directly from our students who had the opportunity to share their perspectives at the ceremony. Here's a glimpse into their speeches:

Oscar

Ambassador Barrett and Minister Wilmes, thank you for inviting us to witness the signing of this historic agreement. My name is Oscar and I am in Grade 5 at the International School of Luxembourg.

I love nature and I am involved in the Nature Based Learning Programme at our school. I am glad that countries are working together to reduce carbon emissions but I want to remind you that it is not enough to reduce carbon alone.

I hope that the USA and Luxembourg will spend just as much time, money and effort to protect, preserve and increase nature.

As well as being Net-Zero, I want us to be Nature Positive.

Thank you

Alisha 

I am a Grade 9 student and my name is Alisha.

Since the climate crisis is a global and interdependent issue, we congratulate both the United States and Luxembourg for their collaboration.

As international students representing more than 60 nationalities at our school, we know the impact of interdependence and the benefits that come from diversity and collaborating across national and cultural boundaries to solve problems.

We do it every day in every class! Interdependence requires collaboration - the climate crisis cannot be dealt with independently. It cannot be dealt with by adults alone and as we have seen in recent years, the youth of the world can make an enormous impact.

Us being here today is more evidence of that.

We want to thank you for thinking of us and including us in today’s event.

Daniela

My name is Daniela, and I am in Grade 11. I am grateful for the opportunity to speak today.

Unless governments can find ways to collaborate in the way that the USA and Luxembourg intend to do in signing this agreement, I represent the generation that will experience the grave and irreversible effects of climate change.

With our world increasingly being shaped by new technology, I believe that the innovation that will target the climate crisis most effectively in the future will come from my generation and our capacity to work creatively to solve problems using these new technologies.

Our generation is more willing to explore & combine different perspectives; we collaborate more readily; and, we are always willing to challenge existing norms and beliefs - just ask our teachers or our parents!

The Net Zero Collaboration between the USA and Luxembourg is a vital step and if successful it may give my generation some more time to develop the technological solutions to address any long-lasting environmental issues.

Thank you.

Lucas

Thank you Oscar, Alisha, Daniela for sharing your excellent ideas which we hope will serve as a source for inspiration.

I am Lucas and I shall soon graduate from International School of Luxembourg with the rest of the Class of 2024. Aside from my IB Diploma Programme studies, in the last two years I played a leading role in setting up the Student Energy Vision Team.

With the help of an innovation grant from the Director, the work of that team has led the school to become a member of the Green Schools Alliance and we instigated the adoption of a tool to track, monitor and map our sustainability schoolwide.

It is now up to the younger students like Oscar, Alisha & Daniela and the rest of our group to build on the strong foundation we built and keep our school moving in the right direction.

As Alisha said, we congratulate both the United States and Luxembourg for their collaboration. In doing that, we would like to emphasise that when governments share their policies to reach net-zero emissions, it is crucial that they do so with full transparency.

By that, I mean that they must be able to see the feedback on those policies from the population and all other stakeholders - and not just the good bits but the bad bits, too. In evaluating the impact, measurements must extend beyond raw calculations of reductions in emissions and look carefully at the socio-economic impact on people. Put simply, we must not lower emissions by increasing the poverty gap.

Full transparency and consideration of socio-economic impacts of collaborations will minimise the likelihood of nations repeating each other’s mistakes and maximise the chances of them achieving their goals.

Ambassador Barrett and Minister Wilmes, we commend the USA and Luxembourg for giving youth a voice today and we wish both countries every success. We very much look forward to finding out about the progress that will be made because of this historic agreement.

Thank you.