Is Europe living within the limits of our planet?: an assessment of Europe's environmental footprints in relation to planetary boundaries

The diagnosis is clear. Planet Earth faces pressures from human development that are unprecedented in scale and urgency. The planetary boundaries framework confronts us with limits to the amount of such pressures, beyond which we risk potentially irreversible consequences for human development. Critically in this context, and to quote former UN Secretary-General Ban-Ki Moon, echoed by young people around the world, we do not have a 'planet B'. This study considers the planetary boundaries framework at the European level and shows that Europe is indeed exceeding its limits. Interestingly, the largest shares of many countries' environmental footprints occur abroad. This is particularly the case for small open economies such as Switzerland. Taking such indirect environmental pressures into account is an indispensable complement to traditional domestic‑oriented policies. These findings call for urgent action beyond the steps currently being taken. Achieving the Sustainable Development Goals will be impossible without respecting planetary boundaries. It is up to national and European bodies to incorporate the realities of planetary limits into their work. The EEA and Switzerland have been instrumental in operationalising the planetary boundaries concept in this context.