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Two and a half planets needed if we lived like Greeks

If all people in the world lived and consumed like the average Greek, we would need the natural resources of 2.5 planets to survive. Greece is close to the European average (2.6 planets), according to "Living Planet 2014 ', the 10th edition of the WWF international report on the state of health of the Earth.

The ever increasing demands of humanity in natural resources and increasing carbon emissions exert enormous pressures on biodiversity of our planet and threatens our future safety, health and welfare. This is revealed in "Living Planet 2014" drawn up every two years by the environmental organization WWF in collaboration with the Zoological Society of London and the Global Footprint Network.

The "ecological footprint", one of the health indicators of our planet that has been established by this report corresponds with the demands of our natural resources, shows that all 27 countries - members of the European Union live over the limits of natural resources earth and rely excessively on natural resources of other countries.

In particular, if all people in the world would adopt the lifestyle of Europeans, then humanity would need 2.6 planets to support the needs for natural resources.

How many planets would be needed if all humanity lived like:

Country

Planets

Austria

3.1

Belgium

4.3

Bulgaria

1.7

Croatia

1.9

Cyprus

2.4

Czech Republic

2.8

Denmark

4.3

Estonia

2.8

Finland

3.1

France

2.7

Germany

2.6

Greece

2.5

Hungary

1.6

Ireland

3.2

Italy

2.6

Latvia

2.2

Lithuania

2.4

Malta

2.5

Netherlands

3.6

Poland

2.4

Portugal

2.6

Romania

1.4

Slovakia

2.1

Slovenia

2.6

Spain

2.3

Sweden

3.7

United Kingdom

2.6

"The ecological footprint of Europe is large. Our economic activities contribute to the loss of biodiversity and habitats within and outside European borders, undermining the natural capital that ensures our food, the air we breathe and the stable climate we need," says Tony Long, Director of the European Affairs Office of WWF.

"Behind the economic crisis experienced by the country, another less known but equally devastating environmental crisis is unfolding. In Greece, we continue to live at the expense of our natural capital and over borrowing will have a larger negative impact over time. Let the economic crisis be the cause, at least, for in a depth revision of our growth," said Dimitris Karavellas, Director of WWF Greece.

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