Earth Overshoot Day: We have already consumed all the natural resources that the Earth can generate in a year.

From now on, and in advance of 2020, we will have to draw on the planet's reserves, resources for the future. Among the costs to be paid: deforestation, biodiversity loss, and extreme weather events.

di |
Earth Overshoot Day

From today we are in debt to the Earth. July 29, 2021 we have exhausted all the resources that our planet can offer us in a year. In 2019, “Earth Overload Day” also fell on July 29th.

Earth Overshoot Day

Just last year, due to the pandemic that had caused a reduction in our ecological footprint (the lockdown had led to a sharp drop in CO2 emissions), the date marking the moment from which we will enter a deficit had moved up by almost a month, to August 22. Unfortunately, after a year, we are back to square one. As explained by WWF"We are consuming the equivalent of 1,6 planets a year, a figure that is expected to rise to two planets by 2030, based on current trends.”

To announce the date of theEarth Overshoot Day is the Global Footprint Network, an international research organization that monitors theecological footprint of man, taking into account the exploitation of the natural resources at our disposal, and thus also calculating "the day of overcoming". In particular, the Institute has noted a 6,6% increase in the global ecological footprint compared to 2020, which is accompanied by a 0,5% decrease in global biocapacity.

WHAT IS EARTH OVERSHOOT DAY?

In practice, from now on the world population will consume more than the Earth can regenerate in the entire year, thus starting to draw on reserves. The extreme weather events that we are witnessing more and more frequently, soil erosion, deforestation, the accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and the loss of biodiversity are some of the problems caused by the overexploitation of the world's resources.

The global overconsumption demonstrated by ecological footprint calculations began in the early 1970s. About 20 years ago, Earth Overshoot Day fell in late September; 30 years ago, it fell in October.

According to estimates, the accumulated ecological debt is equivalent to 18 Earth years, and this means that to compensate for the damage caused by human overexploitation, we would need 18 years of total non-use of the resources that the Earth offers us.

OVERSHOOT DAY ITALY

To this is added the negative record ofItalyAccording to the Global Footprint Network, our country has already had its Overshoot Day last 13st MayWe Italians have already consumed all our natural resources and would need the resources of 2,7 planet Earths to make it to the end of the year.

In fact, the analyses of the Global Footprint Network show that, based on the relationship between the quantity of resources natural resources per capita and the amount consumed by each person, we consume 4,4 hectares, a figure that goes well beyond the world average of 2,8 hectares per person.

ALSO READ: Climate change and migration, millions of people forced to leave their homes

How Earth Overshoot Day is Calculated

The date of Earth Overshoot Day is obtained by dividing the amount of natural resources that Planet Earth is able to generate in that given year by the demand for resources of the global population, multiplying by 365.

In particular, according to the Global Footprint Network, there are four key factors that determine a country's demand for resources: how he builds and manages cities, how it provides energy, how its citizens feed themselves e how many inhabitants does it have?For example, by reducing car travel in all cities by 50 percent, Earth Overshoot Day would be postponed by 10 days. By halving global carbon dioxide emissions, however, Earth Overshoot Day would be moved back by a full three months.

Earth Overshoot Day 1 1

100 DAYS OF POSSIBILITY

And right on the day that marks Earth Overshoot Day, and 100 days before the United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP26, scheduled to take place in Glasgow during the month of November, the Global Footprint Network has launched the initiative “100 days of Possibility”, with the aim of promoting solutions that help combat climate change and land loss biodiversity.

Every day, on the portal dedicated to the initiative “100 days of Possibility” a concrete solution will be presented designed to move forward the date of Overshoot Day, from reducing food waste to renewable energy toecotourism.

TO KNOW MORE: In Iceland, a plaque commemorates the Okjökull glacier, which disappeared due to climate change.

#MOVETHEDATE

Nothing is completely lost yet, and it's still possible to reverse the trend. According to the Global Footprint Network, if Earth Overshoot Day were moved by five days each year, we would exploit less than one Earth per year by 2050. This goal must be achieved through responsible government management of the resources at our disposal, but also through changes in our daily habits, starting with reducing waste. Every single daily choice can have a positive impact: moving sustainably, recycling properly, reducing food waste, consuming the right amount of water and electricity. And it is precisely to raise awareness about protecting our planet that the Global Footprint Network organization is promoting the campaign Steps to #MoveTheDateThe initiative also includes the “Footprint Calculator,” which allows you to calculate your ecological footprint and your personal Overshoot Day.

SIMPLE ACTIONS TO LIVE RESPONSIBLY AND CONSCIOUSLY:

Want to see a selection of our news?

Don't Waste