On Sunday, Belgium reached its Overshoot Day. This means that if all countries in the world followed the Belgian consumption pattern, all the natural resources the planet could supply in one year would already be used up. We would then need 3.6 Earths.

Every year, Global Footprint Network calculates Earth Overshoot Day: the date on which humanity (or a country) has used up all the natural resources that the Earth can regenerate in one year. From that day on, we live ‘on credit’ from the planet.

Belgium is among the heavy consumers

This year, Overshoot Day in Qatar fell as early as February 4th. Belgium reached its Overshoot Day on April 12th. Belgium is therefore among the heavier consumers worldwide. For Honduras, it will not be until November 27th.

In Belgium, Overshoot Day falls two weeks later than last year (March 27th), which, incidentally, does not mean we have started living much more sustainably. On the contrary, Belgium is among the heavy consumers and performs comparably to the Netherlands, but worse than France and Germany.

Belgium’s high footprint is mainly due to transport and mobility, industry and energy use, food (high levels of meat and imports), home construction and energy efficiency, and the consumption & import of goods.

3.6 Earths?

If everyone worldwide maintained an average consumption pattern, we would already need 1.7 Earths. But if everyone consumed as much as in Belgium, we would need 3.6 Earths.

Overshoot Day essentially indicates that the earlier the date falls, the greater the ecological pressure. To ensure that Overshoot Day falls later, we must focus on renewable energy, be more mindful of food, and build and cultivate more sustainably, among other measures.