Net Zero Déifferdeng 2030

Come and help us imagine the city of tomorrow — a closer, greener and more liveable city for everyone.

📅 Date: Saturday, 13 December 2025
🕔 Time: 9:00 – 12:00
📍 Venue: Buvette at Niederkorn sports hall

The City of Differdange continues its cycle of participatory workshops within the framework of the European Net Zero Cities mission and dedicates this new session to the theme of the 15-Minute City — a concept developed by Professor Carlos Moreno (University Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne).

This urban model invites us to rethink planning and mobility habits so that everyone can access essential services — work, school, shops, leisure, and nature — within 15 minutes on foot or by bike.

The workshop on 13 December will be a chance to co-create concrete solutions for a safer, smoother and more sustainable mobility in Differdange.

The goal is to engage residents, shop owners, associations and municipal services in building a local mobility system that improves quality of life while reducing emissions from daily travel.

Through interactive discussions and visual tools, participants will be invited to identify everyday obstacles, share their experiences, and develop proposals to promote walking, cycling, public transport, and car-sharing.

Interactive maps will allow participants to visualise journeys reachable within 15 minutes and discuss practical solutions concerning traffic, parking, urban logistics, mobility hubs, and innovations such as gamification or the digitalisation of transport data.

The workshop is open to everyone. Children are welcome. Drinks and snacks will be provided.

The workshop will be held in French. Simultaneous translations into English and Portuguese will be available on request.

Registration: netzero2030@differdange.lu

(please indicate first and last name, number of accompanying persons, and any translation needs).

The first citizen workshop of the autumn, dedicated to the topic of waste, brought together many residents around a shared goal: developing local, concrete and realistic solutions to reduce waste and improve recycling practices in Differdange.

As an officially recognised Mission City within the European Net Zero Cities programme, Differdange continues to advance towards climate neutrality. In this context, the workshop focused on two key objectives:

• reducing total waste volumes by 40%,
• achieving a recycling rate of 65%.

Participants worked in rotation across four thematic tables:

• Foodsharing Point (strengthening, partnerships, visibility),
• Local Deposit-Return System (reusable containers, logistics, return points),
• Communication (better information, citizen engagement, school-based actions),
• Recycling Centre (signage, reuse, visitor experience, educational pathways).

The workshop generated many actionable ideas, including:

• expanding and better supporting the existing Foodsharing Point,
• developing a harmonised local deposit-return system accessible city-wide,
• improving signage and the overall citizen experience at the recycling centre,
• strengthening multilingual communication and highlighting good recycling practices.

The contributions collected will inform the next steps of the Waste Action Plan within the city’s climate mission.

The full workshop report can be downloaded her:

Full workshop report

On Saturday, 26 April 2025, the City of Differdange organised a citizens’ workshop on the theme of energy at Creative Hub 1535°, entitled ‘Energy? No clue? No problem!’.

This event is part of the NetZeroDéifferdeng2030 initiative, which has the ambitious goal of making our city climate neutral by 2030.

Several dozen citizens gathered to discuss the challenges and opportunities of the energy transition. After a welcome speech by Alderman Tom Ulveling, participants learned about the city’s energy objectives, presented by Mr. Beni from the energy department. The morning continued with an interactive survey to better understand the public’s expectations and concerns.

Participants then attended several thematic presentations:

• Paul Kauthen from the Energy Revolt cooperative shared his experience on energy communities.
• Martina di Gallo from R2M Solutions presented the European DECAFF project, which aims to raise awareness among citizens about the benefits of collective energy production.
• Lars Linster from Schroeder & Associés explained in detail the subsidies available for energy renovation.

Following these presentations, participants split into practical sub-workshops focusing on four themes: creating energy communities, energy renovation, sustainable heating solutions, and eco-friendly actions to reduce energy consumption.

The discussions were rich and dynamic, highlighting both citizens’ interest in concrete solutions and their willingness to get involved in the energy transition. Initial feedback indicates a high level of satisfaction with both the quality of the information provided and the interactive approach.

The City of Differdange would like to warmly thank all participants and speakers for their commitment. This fifth workshop in the series marks an important step in the collective construction of a more sustainable and resilient city. “Even if achieving climate neutrality by 2030 may seem utopian, it is by daring to dream that we are building the future we want for Differdange,” concluded Alderwoman Zenia Charlé.

For upcoming workshops, visit www.netzero2030.lu!

Full workshop report

Differdange has committed itself to the European Net Zero Cities mission, with the aim of becoming a climate-neutral city by 2030.

First Alderman Tom Ulveling said in his opening speech: “This objective is not just a challenge, but an urgent necessity to respond to the climate change that is affecting our planet and our daily lives. We can see the harmful effects all around us: the floods in Differdange alone, the fatal floods of the Ahrtal in Germany, some 200 km from our doorstep, or the recent disaster in Valencia, Spain, to name but a few.”

It is absolutely necessary to adapt our approach to the current changes, and the city of Differdange is taking the lead. With this in mind, the city welcomed some thirty citizenson 16 November to discuss waste management, and how to approach this issue in order to meet the objectives of reducing the mass of waste by 40% and increasing the recycling rate to 65% by 2030.

The city is pleased and proud that it was able to bring together key players in waste management for this occasion: participants learned about smart consumption by Mr Müller of the Oekozenter, responsible for the Oeko Top-Ten. Next, we heard from Mr Notermanns and Mr Erpelding about the opportunities and challenges for SIACH in their wastewater treatment. Ms Stracks from SuperDrecksKëscht then talked about municipal waste and littering, take-away and consumer waste. And to close off the round of presentations, Mr Schroeder from Positive Impakt’s talk focused on the logic of circular economy.

Following the presentations, participants worked in small groups on specific topics. Zenia Charlé, alderwoman in charge of ecology for the City of Differdange, thanked the participants for their work and availability and expressed her delight at the results of this productive morning.

Read the full workshop report

Differdange moves towards sustainable mobility as part of the 100 Net Zero Cities mission

The 8th of June 2024 marked a significant milestone for Differdange in its journey towards sustainable mobility and a greener city. The “Together for net-zero mobility” workshop, held in the heart of our city, brought together citizens, experts and decision-makers for an active exploration of the challenges and opportunities in urban mobility.

This event, the third in a series of four, is an integral part of our commitment to Europe’s 100 Net Zero Cities mission. This ambitious initiative of the European Commission aims to accelerate the transition of European cities to carbon neutrality by 2030, in preparation for the European goal of carbon neutrality by 2050.

Through the streets of Differdange, from Place du Marché to Opkorn crossroads, from Rue Woiwer to Rue de Longwy, participants were able to identify key areas requiring interventions to enhance mobility and shared their ideas on possible improvements. Every comment and proposal gathered that day will be evaluated and where appropriate incorporated into our action plan for the Climate City Contract, a detailed document to be presented to the European Union in September 2024.

Investing in sustainable mobility is not just a response to global climate challenges, but an opportunity to enhance the quality of life within our community. The costs of proactive action are significant, but they are far outweighed by the costs of inaction, which could leave our citizens vulnerable to extreme climate change in the future.

We are proud of our role as a pilot city in this European mission, and we invite all our citizens to join us in this effort. Your commitment is essential to shaping a Differdange that not only meets, but exceeds sustainability criteria, ensuring a viable future for all.

Join us in this vital effort. Get involved and make your voice heard. Together, we’re building not just a city, but a future where sustainability is not an ideal, but a reality.

Read the full workshop report

An impulse for the future

On 20 April 2024, the City of Differdange took an important step in its sustainability efforts by organizing the workshop “Together for a Net Zero Energy!” at the 1535° Creative Hub.
This event, the second of a total of four, is part of the preparation of Differdange’s action plan to become a pilot city in the European mission of 100 Net Zero Cities.

In the presence of First Alderman Tom Ulveling and Alderman Fred Bertinelli, the workshop brought together citizens, experts and key players in the energy transition. The morning was very informative, with presentations on decarbonization by SudEnergie, the development of a smart grid by Creos, and the Zesumme renovéieren project by Klima-Agence in collaboration with the city.

In addition to the technical discussions, the event provided a platform for citizens to share their expectations, ideas and wishes regarding energy production and saving. They were also able to express their opinions on municipal and state subsidies and thus contribute to improving the city’s action plan.
In order to make the workshop accessible to all, the city provided childcare for the participants’ children, who built a working wind turbine with the Anima team and explored books on energy topics.

Alderman Ulveling was visibly pleased and emphasized the importance of this initiative: “The active participation of our citizens and the quality of their contributions show that our municipality is strongly committed to a sustainable future. CO2 neutrality by 2030 may sound utopian, but it is these utopias that make a future worth living possible.

A successful first step towards CO2 neutrality

In December 2023, the city of Differdange took an important step towards the realization of its ambitious project “Net Zero Déifferdeng 2030”. The first workshop in the ‘Sustainable living in Differdange’ series at the Aalt Stadhaus was a resounding success and a decisive turning point on our joint journey towards sustainability.

The Municipal Council of Differdange signs the Climate City Contract (CCC) and will be the only city in Luxembourg to join the European Union’s 100 Net-Zero Cities.

The city of Differdange is committed to achieving the EU mission of “100 smart and climate-neutral cities by 2030” to combat climate change, promote a sustainable future and increase the attractiveness of the region with regard to circular economy. The city will engage in technical and scientific exchange with other cities by sharing knowledge and developing innovative solutions. The NetZeroCities label gives Differdange access to globally recognized experts in the field as well as funding opportunities. Differdange aims to achieve a net-zero target by 2030 by increasing the energy efficiency of buildings, supporting renewable energy, promoting sustainable mobility and reducing waste. The city has demonstrated its commitment to climate action through initiatives such as the Climate Pact, Climaborough, Climate Alliance and FUSILLI, to name a few.

The Climate City Contract (CCC), signed by the Municipal Council on 29 March 2023, outlines the city’s commitments to climate action and builds a partnership with citizens to work towards a carbon-neutral and climate-resilient future.

The city has identified five systemic, strategic priorities necessary to achieve its goal, including increasing the efficiency of stationary energy supply through renovations, self-sufficiency in energy generation, reducing individual mileage, waste reduction and offsetting the tons of CO2 generated by the municipality largely within the city limits.

The city recognizes the need for a just transition and the project implementation process is based on principles such as co-creation, innovation and multi-stakeholder and citizen engagement. This approach ensures that the city’s efforts towards carbon neutrality are systemic, demand-driven and take into account the needs and perspectives of all stakeholders.

Policy makers are aware that it is much cheaper to invest in solutions now than to wait and have to pay for what has been missed. The responsibility to be the last generation to make the right decisions lies with them. Although all members of society are equal when it comes to climate change, the responsibility of current decision-makers towards future generations is enormous.