Votum Klima Demonstrates Luxembourg's Earth Overshoot

On Tuesday 30 July 2024, the Votum Klima platform organised a symbolic racing event on the athletics track at Geesseknäppchen in Luxembourg City.

This action took place two days before Earth Overshoot Day - a symbolic date indicating that the world's population has already collectively exhausted what the planet takes a year to produce.

Every year since 1970, according to statistics released by Earth Overshoot Day and quoted by the Luxembourgish government, mankind has globally consumed more biocapacity than the planet is capable of generating in that year. This estimated overshoot, which was by just six days (25 December) in 1970, has become progressively more extreme over the course of the past 54 years and it is estimated that in 2024, the annual supportable bio-consumption will already be achieved on 1 August, some five months before the end of the year, and the earliest yet.

Votum Klima is a Luxembourgish consortium of non-governmental organisations uniting behind common environmental concerns. To highlight the importance that they attribute to Earth Overshoot, and particularly to underline Luxembourg's continuing record as the worst performing country in the EU (this year's national Overshoot Day was estimated at 20 February, the second worst in the world only behind Qatar), two of the group's main players, Greenpeace and CELL (Citizens for Ecological Learning and Living), organised a "symbolic marathon" between Luxembourg and Planet Earth.

The event took place at the running track at Geesseknäppchen, where, under hot conditions, "Planet Earth" and the Red Lion of Luxembourg, symbolically weighed down with the accoutrements of consumerism and the support of the Luxembourgish "fans", lined up at the start line.

As they made their way slowly down the track, the Red Lion faltered and fell at the 20 February marker representing Luxembourg's overshoot date, and Planet Earth rolled on before finally reaching the same fate on 1 August, five months before the 31 December finish line.

The symbolic event was compèred jointly by Magali Paulus of CELL and Fréderic Meys of Greenpeace, who provided commentary and talked about the importance of societal action to reverse the overshoot trend.

After the event, Chronicle.lu caught up with Ms Paulus and asked her some specific questions.

Chronicle.lu: What are the main actions that Votum Klima would recommend to individual householders in Luxembourg to reduce their contribution to global overconsumption?

Votum Klima: Votum Klima focuses on systemic solutions, rather than putting the role of individual householders in Luxembourg. As overconsumption is a systemic problem, we don't want to recommend a set of specific actions to individual householders. Sustainability is not like a to do list at the end of which the problem simply disappears. Nonetheless, if we had to choose, we would always suggest people to question their habits and be aware of how much we have come to take for granted, even if it should not be. We should all ask ourselves where our food comes from, how we commute to work, and travel for leisure, or why throwing something away and buying the same thing new are often cheaper than repairing or reusing items. Society and the economy need to shift profoundly. Votum Klima contributes to that shift by questioning the way companies are governed, and Luxembourg is governed.

Chronicle.lu: Is there a particular message that Votum Klima wishes to close with?

Votum Klima: In order for Luxembourg to at some point reach a balance between our ways of living and the planet's limits, much needs to change. Political and economic decision makers need to take concrete action that tackles the climate, environmental and biodiversity crisis at the root of the issue. This will require them to stop hiding behind the illusion of magical technical solutions and actively promote behavioural change that ensures a fair and sustainable world for all.