Earth Overshoot Day marks the date when humanity's demand for ecological resources and services in a given year exceeds what Earth can regenerate in that year.

The results are far from flattering for Luxembourg: Earth Overshoot Day in the Grand Duchy falls on this Sunday. Only Qatar is a worse offender than Luxembourg - its Overshoot Day fell on 11 February.

Earth Overshoot Day is calculated by the Global Footprint Network. To determine the date of Earth Overshoot Day for each year, Global Footprint Network calculates the number of days of that year that Earth’s biocapacity suffices to provide for humanity’s Ecological Footprint. The remainder of the year corresponds to global overshoot.

RTL

The undesirably high ranking is primarily due to Luxembourg's enormously high carbon footprint. Politicians generally agree that the carbon footprint is mainly caused by the booming sales of fuel products. The question of how to tackle the issue remains a topic of debate. The coalition government is planning on batting the high carbon footprint by raising excise duties on fuel and by introducing a carbon dioxide tax - a decision which sparked controversy in Luxembourg in past weeks. Opposition party CSV meanwhile argued it would be better to reduce transit traffic of foreign trucks.