Earth Overshoot Day: The day on which our Earth is congested
Planet Earth can only reproduce a limited amount of resources each year. But humanity's ecological footprint is increasing from year to year. That is why Earth Overshoot Day was created — an annual day of action that marks the date on which humanity's demand for ecological resources and services exceeds what the Earth can regenerate this year. But how is Earth Overshoot Day actually determined and what can we do so that this day doesn't always come earlier?
What is Earth Overshoot Day?
The Earth Overshoot Day is calculated by dividing the planet's biocapacity (the amount of ecological resources the earth can generate in this year) by humanity's ecological footprint (humanity's needs this year) and multiplied by 365, the number of days in a year. The ecological footprint measures the amount of land and resources needed to sustain human activities. These include factors such as carbon emissions, food production, energy consumption, and extraction of natural resources. By comparing this footprint with Earth's biocapacity, i.e. the planet's ability to regenerate resources and absorb waste, it is possible to determine when humanity exceeds its ecological limits. In other words, it represents the date on which humanity used up a year's worth of ecological resources and services.
This is an estimate calculated by the Global Footprint Network, an international research organization. A distinction is made between global and national “budgets.”
This year's global Earth Congestion Day will fall on July 27, calculated that Global Footprint Network. In addition to the international deadline, there are national Overshoot Days for many countries. Germany is usually a few weeks ahead of the global date, as a particularly large number of resources are consumed here. This year, Germany already slipped on its imaginary environmental account May 4, 2023 In the red.
An action day with history
The aim of the day of action, which was celebrated for the first time on May 15, 1961, is to make people aware of the limitations and finite nature of natural resources and the earth and to show how the date can be pushed into the future. Because since 1961, Earth Overshoot Day has come earlier and earlier in the year. While it was still in December 1970, it has been in July since 2018. Our planet is therefore “exhausted” after just seven months - earlier than ever before. Earth Overshoot Day moved forward by one day again in 2023.
That is questionable. Because the earlier the day is reached when the earth is exhausted from us, the greater is, of course, the debt burden that we accumulate: Since 1970, our annual consumption of natural resources has been greater than nature's ability to regenerate. Our Today's balance sheet would even need 1.75 earthsto stay balanced.
Ideas to relieve the earth
Earth Overshoot Day shows that we are ill-prepared for the predictable future of climate change and resource scarcity, although there are many opportunities for improvement.
This was shown, for example, by the pandemic year 2020, in which Earth Congestion Day only fell on August 22. According to Global Footprint Network, this was a direct result of the global corona pandemic, as air, car and truck traffic was significantly restricted due to global lockdowns. Less wood was also used and fewer CO₂ emissions were produced from fossil fuels.
However, the effect was only short-term - Earth Overshoot Day had already reached the 2019 level again in 2021. The temporary reduction in the ecological footprint caused by the corona crisis was also far removed from the changes that would be necessary to restore an ecological balance.
Central sustainability goals must therefore be consistently implemented, which affect areas such as food, energy, production, infrastructure and real estate. A pioneering project in the area of nutrition is For example Food4Future, created by the Global Footprint Network, the Farming Systems Ecology Group at Wageningen University & Research and the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) is being developed. Food4Future aims to explore new ways to feed the world population while also protecting the planet.
But everyone can already ensure greater sustainability in the area of nutrition: If we were to reduce food waste generated worldwide by half, we could Postpone Earth Overshoot Day by eleven days.
The same applies to means of transport: If we were to reduce our footprint by driving worldwide by 50 percent and assume that a third of the kilometers by car will be replaced by public transport and the rest by cycling and walking, Earth Overshoot Day would be postponed by 13 days.
Industry and the real estate sector in particular have particularly high potential for improvement: Existing, commercially available energy efficiency technologies for buildings, industrial processes and power generation could postpone Overshoot Day by at least 21 days without loss of productivity or comfort.
