Earth Overshoot Day (EOD) marks the date when humanity’s demand for ecological resources and services in a given year exceeds what Earth can regenerate in that year.
- Earth Overshoot Day 2023 falls on 2nd August. This means that humanity currently uses 75% more than what the planet’s ecosystems can regenerate.
i.Earth Overshoot Day 2022 was observed on 28th July.
ii.The first Earth Overshoot Day was calculated on 25th December 1971.
Note: The date is getting earlier every year as we are over-utilizing the resources every year.
Overshoot: When the combined deficit exceeds what the planet can provide, human society is considered to be in overshoot.
History
The concept of Earth Overshoot Day was first conceived by Andrew Simms of the United Kingdom(UK) think tank New Economics Foundation, which partnered with Global Footprint Network in 2006 to launch the first global Earth Overshoot Day campaign.
- Simms started the idea behind Earth Overshoot Day to understand the rate at which we are consuming our natural resources and how long we can sustain them.
World Wide Fund(WWF), the world’s largest conservation organization, has participated in Earth Overshoot Day since 2007.
Calculation of Earth Overshoot Day:
i.Earth Overshoot Day is hosted and calculated by Global Footprint Network, an international research organization that uses United Nations(UN) data to calculate the supply and demand for ecological categories.
ii.Earth Overshoot Day is computed by dividing the planet’s biocapacity (the amount of ecological resources Earth is able to generate that year), by humanity’s Ecological Footprint (humanity’s demand for that year), and multiplying by 365, the number of days in a year:
Earth’s Biocapacity / Humanity’s Ecological Footprint x 365 = Earth Overshoot Day.
Click here for Research report on estimation of Earth Overshoot Day 2023.
Click here for the data published by Global Footprint Network
Country Overshoot Days
A country’s overshoot day is the date on which Earth Overshoot Day would fall if all of humanity consumed the resource like the people of a particular country.
- Countries’ overshoot dates are calculated with Global Footprint Network’s National Footprint and Biocapacity Accounts, which are updated annually.
Click here to view the Country Overshoot Days 2023
2023- Earth Overshoot Day:
Earth Overshoot Day 2023 will be marked together with the Republic of Slovenia.
- Slovenia adopted an Ecological Footprint reduction target and collaborates with organizations like Global Footprint Network to achieve the overshoot which is a threat to Slovenia’s long-term success.
Measures to push Earth Overshoot Day back:
i.Increasing global low-carbon electricity sources from 39% to 75% would move it by 26 days
ii.Halving food waste would gain 13 days
iii.Tree intercropping would earn an extra 2.1 days
iv.Policies like 15-minute cities, a four-day work week will gain 11 days
v.Using public and green transport will earn 13 days.
About Global Footprint Network:
Chief executive officer (CEO)- Steven Tebbe
Headquarters- California, US
Established- 2003
