May 10 marks the day in 2019 when humanity would have exhausted all the resources that the Earth could produce in a year if everyone lived like residents of the European Union, according to a new report by WWF and the Global Footprint Network published on Thursday 9 May.
In other words, "If everybody in the world lived like the average EU resident, we would have used up nature’s budget for the year by the 10 May, and would need 2.8 planets ", the two NGOs expressed in alarm. This is well above the world average that sits around 1.7 Earths.
The report shows that the EU uses nearly 20% of the world's biocapacity, i.e. its capacity to produce a continuous supply of renewable resources and to absorb the waste resulting from their consumption, while it represents only 7% of the world population.
Another result of the study is the disparities between Member States. "Luxembourg is the first country in the EU to reach its Overshoot Day just 46 days into the year, whereas Romania comes last, using up the available resources for the entire year in 192 days", the NGOs explain.
They stressed that solutions to reduce the EU's ecological footprint are within reach, and called on EU leaders to take action.
"Urgent action is needed, and EU leaders must set us on a path towards a sustainable future for Europe", said Ester Asin, Director of WWF's European Policy Office, while some environmental organisations deplored the lack of climate ambition displayed by Heads of State and Government at the Sibiu Summit (see other news).
Last year, the real Overshoot Day, calculated on the basis of the world population and not only EU residents, occurred on 1st August.
To read the report: https://bit.ly/2DVjOPZ. (Original version in French by Damien Genicot - intern)