On Monday, Luxembourg became the first European country to hit its Overshoot Day, the date on which humanity has exhausted the resources that the planet can renew in one year. On a global scale, the grand duchy is second only to Qatar. “Transport, meat consumption and energy consumption all contribute to making Luxembourg's ecological footprint one of the highest on the planet”, the activist group Greenpeace Luxembourg pointed out. "If the whole of humanity consumed as we do in Luxembourg, we would need more than seven planets to meet our needs", stated Xavier Turquin, director of Greenpeace Luxembourg. On a global scale, the day on which we will exceed our Kyoto target in 2025 is expected to come in August.

To define this date, the Global Footprint Network applies a calculation method that consists of dividing the planet's biocapacity (i.e. the quantity of ecological resources that a country can generate) by its ecological footprint, and multiplying by 365, the number of days in the year.

From year to year, the date of this day of overshoot varies little, by just a few days: since 2020, it has oscillated between 14 and 20 February. "The fact that it occurs so early in the year is an alarming sign of the increasing pressure we are exerting on the planet,” said Greenpeace. “It highlights an unsustainable pattern of consumption, particularly in rich countries like Luxembourg where lifestyles and industrial practices contribute disproportionately to this situation.”

But this is not a foregone conclusion, according to the Global Footprint Network, which believes that concrete measures could at least make it possible to postpone this date. "It is essential to rethink our economic model and promote sustainable solutions such as renewable energies, the circular economy and more responsible lifestyles. In short, this event is a wake-up call on the urgent need to rethink our way of life and take strong measures to live in harmony with the planet.”

Half as much meat can save 5-10 days

According to Greenpeace, it is "difficult to quantify the exact effect of each action because of the many variables involved, such as social behaviour, public policies and regional specificities". But the NGO does set out a number of key measures that could help postpone Overshoot Day.

One example is "reducing global consumption of meat, particularly red meat, and animal products by 50% in favour of a more plant-based diet. The estimated impact is five to ten days", noted Greenpeace. According to Global Footprint Network, if everyone "halved food waste, reduced the carbon footprint of their diet and consumed the global average of calories, we would move the date by 38 days".

More than meat consumption, "the consumption of material goods also contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. Imported products, which require long-distance transport, also play a major role in the global footprint", Greenpeace said.

Another example would be "the transition to 100% renewable energy production to replace coal, gas and oil. Ambitious actions in this energy transition could push back the overshoot day by 14 to 20 days", Greenpeace noted. In Luxembourg, "the use of fossil fuels for electricity production and heating generates a large proportion of CO2 emissions. Although efforts are being made to promote renewable energies, the energy mix is still largely dominated by fossil fuels.” In terms of energy consumption, "reducing the carbon content of humanity's ecological footprint by 50% would make it possible to turn back the clock by 93 days".

On its website, Global Footprint Network gives other examples of concrete solutions: "If we reduce the use of vehicles worldwide by 50% and replace a third of the kilometres travelled by car with public transport and the rest by walking and cycling, we can put back the [Overshoot Date] by 12 days". This is a major issue for Luxembourg, which Greenpeace said has "one of the highest per capita car ownership rates in Europe, and the massive use of private cars (particularly internal combustion engines) generates significant CO2 emissions.”

The trap of the measure

However, "we must not fall into the trap of measuring", warned the NGO, because "the solutions lie in a holistic approach and systemic change, starting with what is effective and has no cost: not destroying, i.e. protecting (oceans, forests, wetlands, ecosystems, etc.) and restoring regulating ecosystems by moving to regenerative models (which repair more than they destroy), particularly in agriculture".

The pitfall of measurement was illustrated in 2023, when the Global Footprint Network set Overshoot Day for 14 February. This date was called into question by the High Council for Sustainable Development (CSDD), a government advisory body, which said that "certain calculation factors, combined with the country's specific characteristics, such as fuel exports", had not been sufficiently taken into account. It then asked the Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology to carry out a more in-depth analysis adapted to Luxembourg. In its new, nuanced calculation, just eight days later than the day initially defined.

Greenpeace pointed to another factor contributing to this early Overshoot Day: the financial sector. "Investments made by Luxembourg's financial institutions in unsustainable projects or polluting companies can increase the country's carbon footprint".

Campaign to raise awareness

Greenpeace and Médecins Sans Frontières launched a joint campaign on Monday to raise awareness and call on the government to take action. "We are calling on the national and international authorities to take more ambitious measures that are equal to the challenges, to honour their present and future commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and to guarantee equitable access to healthcare, particularly for the populations most exposed to climate risks", the NGOs stated.

This is a major challenge, because the climate crisis will undoubtedly go hand in hand with a health crisis. MSF Luxembourg stated: "In many of the countries where our teams operate, the effects of the climate crisis are already very real and are having a considerable impact on health, as well as on the organisation of access to healthcare, food resources and livelihoods. These situations may seem remote, but Europe is the fastest-warming continent in the world, and the (European Climate Risk Assessment) report has already identified 36 climate risks that threaten our energy and food security, our ecosystems, our infrastructures, our water resources, our financial systems and people's health. Many of these risks have already reached critical levels and could become catastrophic if urgent and decisive measures are not taken.”

The MSF section has an operational research unit, LuxOR, in which the issue of climate change is one of the major lines of research, in order to better prepare for climate-related health crises. In particular, the NGO identified four urgent actions to be implemented in the country: strengthening support for adaptation efforts, increasing mitigation efforts, measuring the adaptation deficit and contributing to dialogue on losses and damage.

Without waiting for the public authorities, individual citizens can also change their habits: reduce their meat consumption, give preference to local food, use sustainable means of transport and encourage soft mobility, and make efforts to reduce energy consumption at home. "These individual gestures are just a drop in the ocean; it's all about rethinking our system. Without profound changes to our economy, our society and our modes of management and governance, the ecological transition will not succeed", believes Greenpeace, which nevertheless reminds us that "the first and most effective step is to take an individual carbon footprint measurement.” The Global Footprint Network website offers .

Read the original French-language version of this news report here / lire en français