Earliest Earth Overshoot Day ever

Earth Overshoot Day, calculated every year by Global Footprint Network, was on 29 July in 2019 – the earliest date ever. On this day, humanity has used nature’s resource budget for the entire year, according to Global Footprint Network, an international sustainability organisation that has pioneered the Ecological Footprint. This means that humanity’s demand for ecological resources (fish and forests, for instance) and services in a given year exceeds what Earth can regenerate in that year.

Earth Overshoot Day falling on July 29 means that humanity is currently using nature 1.75 times faster than our planet’s ecosystems can regenerate. Overshoot is possible because we are depleting our natural capital – which compromises humanity’s future resource security, according to the Global Footprint Network. The costs of this global ecological overspending are becoming increasingly evident in the form of deforestation, soil erosion, biodiversity loss, or the build-up of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The latter leads to climate change and more frequent extreme weather Events.

Moving the date of Earth Overshoot Day back five days each year would allow humanity to reach one-planet compatibility before 2050. For instance, cutting CO₂ emissions from fossil-fuel burning by 50 per cent would move back the date of Earth Overshoot Day by 93 days, according to the Global Food Print Network.

Just days ahead of Earth Overshoot Day, Global Footprint Network launched the beta version of the #MoveTheDate Solutions Map, where people are invited to champion existing solutions. Users can also connect with each other on the basis of geography and focus of interest, accelerating the implementation of new projects in the real world. 

(Global Food Network/ile)

More information: https://www.overshootday.org/

Visit the #MoveTheDate Solutions Map: https://movethedate.overshootday.org/