Photo: Rupert Oberhauser/picture alliance, Neurath coal-fired power plant in western Germany
This was reported by the international organization Global Footprint Network, which annually calculates the so-called ecological debt day for individual countries and the world as a whole.
The date means that if all inhabitants of the Earth consumed as many resources and produced as many carbon dioxide emissions as the inhabitants of Germany, the annual biological potential of the planet would be exhausted already by the first third of the year.
According to DW, in 2025, the ecological debt day for Germany was May 3. This year, the date has moved a week later, but environmental organizations note that this is not due to an improvement in the situation, but to a change in calculation methodology and updated data.
The German Environment and Nature Conservation Union estimates that the country continues to consume too many resources due to its high dependence on fossil fuels. Among the main reasons are energy-intensive industry, the construction sector, road transportation and industrial livestock farming.
Environmentalists warn that the consequences of over-consumption are already visible. These include droughts, heavy rains and rising temperatures in cities.
Olaf Bandt, chairman of the German Union for the Environment and Nature Conservation, said the current model of consumption and economy “has no future.” He said the country is still relying on coal, oil and gas instead of an accelerated transition to renewable energy sources.
Bandt also noted that the development of solar and wind energy, the use of heat pumps and compact electric cars would help reduce dependence on fossil fuels and reduce harm to the climate.
