A cry of alarm or yet another reminder of a climate emergency that has become difficult to ignore. I found it difficult to write this article, not only because I feel that we are taking a step backwards, or at least that we haven’t done enough. But on reflection, this date is a challenge to us as citizens, because if not now, when?
From 17 February, Luxembourgers will be living on credit for the rest of the year in terms of the planet’s resources. Luxembourg is second on the podium, just behind Qatar and ahead of Singapore. Nothing to be proud of.
Isn’t it time we, as citizens, took a long, hard look at ourselves? Should we face ‘failure’ and forget all the efforts we have made alongside you? Because we needed to rationalise our actions as an association supporting citizens’ initiatives, we tried to identify all the signs that we had missed, all the people that we had not reached through our actions. And we have to admit that, despite all our scenarios, in the end we don’t now who to blame. Perhaps because we are all responsible.
This year, the day on which the Earth’s resources are exceeded comes three days earlier than in 2024. Just three days, which only serve to accentuate our need to act. Three short days that place Luxembourg as the second nation where our estimated consumption of renewable resources exceeds the Earth’s capacity to regenerate them in one year. This second place can be explained by our consumption of carbon-based energy, which is much higher than that of our neighbours. Or it could be due to the country’s strong car culture. For example, in 2024 the country had 678 vehicles per 1,000 inhabitants1, for a population of almost 668,606[1], and that’s just one example among many.
What can we do now?
Transition Minett is you, it’s us. We thought you didn’t want to see yet another bad news in your actuality feed. But not to talk about it is to look the other way. Well, let’s keep on acting, trying and trying again so that in 2026 this date can be put back a few days. Let’s take action for the planet and for ourselves, through efforts that are big, small, individual or collective! We cannot hope for change without you, our citizens.
So, to the sceptics, the convinced, those who don’t have the time to get involved, those who have given up: speak up, get informed, let’s imagine a sustainable future and build it together, here and now!
Finally, because it’s important to look at what we can do better in the future, it’s also important to thank you and recognise what has had a positive impact on the Minett region and our consumption habits, whether less or better. Yes, we’ve got a long way to go before one day we’re no longer in second place in this ‘league table’, but we’ve also organised or co-organised impact events such as the gourmet walk, the AlimenTERRE Festival, Repair cafés, a visit to organic producers, second-hand markets, and YOU have developed initiatives for greener, more responsible neighbourhoods. In short, we can’t afford to be defeatist about this symbolic date. On the contrary, this is the time to redouble our efforts and to continue now, more than ever, what we have started – an ecological transition by you and for you.
To become a player in this transition, visit the citizen participation platform: participation.transition-minett.lu
*The overshoot day is calculated by dividing the planet’s biocapacity (in global hectares) by humanity’s ecological footprint (in global hectares), then multiplying by the number of days in a year, i.e. 365.
Visit the official website: overshoot.footprintnetwork.org.
Loane N. – European volunteer working with Transition Minett
[1] Source: World Bank data as of 2023
- Source: Eurostat ↩︎