This year's Earth Overshoot Day already on 29 July 2021

By the end of July this year, humanity had already used up all the natural resources that the planet can produce and regenerate within a year.

In the 1970s the day still fell in December.

The so-called Earth Overshoot Day falls on 29 July this year, more than three weeks earlier than last year, the environmental organisations BUND and Germanwatch announced in Berlin on Monday. Earth Overshoot Day is calculated by the Global Footprint Network. Due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, Earth Overshoot Day had moved back to 22 August last year.

The overuse of the Earth had therefore declined somewhat. This year, however, the sustainably usable resources were used up as early as in 2019.

The reasons given were the sharp rise in CO2 emissions, forecast at 6.6 per cent compared with 2020, and the loss of 0.5 per cent of the biocapacity of forests, above all due to the rapid deforestation of the Amazon rainforest.

According to the network, the calculations compare two quantities: on the one hand, the Earth’s biological capacity to build up resources and to absorb waste and emissions; on the other, the demand for forests, land, water, arable land and fishing grounds.

In the 1970s, the day still fell in December because of lower resource consumption. To meet its resource needs sustainably, the world’s population would currently need 1.6 planets, according to the figures. If all countries lived like Germany, as many as three Earths would be needed. (epd)

Source: tagesspiegel.de (German)