Earth Overshoot Day (EOD) marks the date when humanity’s demand for ecological resources and services (Ecological Footprint) in a given year exceeds Earth’s capacity to regenerate in that year (Bio-capacity).
- Earth Overshoot Day 2024 falls on 1 August, signifying that humanity uses nature 1.7 times faster than earth’s ecosystems can regenerate.
- This day is calculated by the Global Footprint Network, an international sustainability research organization that pioneered the Ecological Footprint.
Note:
i.Earth Overshoot Day 2023 was observed on 2 August. The 1st Earth Overshoot Day was calculated on 25 December 1971.
ii.The EOD date has consistently moved earlier each year, occurring just after 7 months of the year have passed, due to increasing ecological overshoot.
Overshoot:
i.When the combined deficit exceeds what the planet can provide, human society is considered to be in “overshoot” or an “ecological deficit”.
- Human society has been maintaining this deficit by liquidating stocks of resources and accumulating waste, primarily carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere.
Calculation of Earth Overshoot Day:
i.Global Footprint Network calculates the date of EOD for each year by calculating the number of days of that year that Earth’s biocapacity suffices to provide for humanity’s Ecological Footprint.
- The remainder of the year corresponds to a global overshoot.
ii.The EOD is computed by dividing the planet’s biocapacity (the amount of ecological resources Earth can regenerate that year), by humanity’s Ecological Footprint (humanity’s demand for that year), and multiplying by 365, the number of days in a year (or 366 days in a leap year, as for 2024):
- (Planet’s Biocapacity / Humanity’s Ecological Footprint) x 366 = Earth Overshoot Day.
History:
i.The idea of EOD was first suggested by Andrew Simms of the United Kingdom’s (UK) think tank New Economics Foundation.
- The idea behind the EOD is to understand the rate at which we are consuming our natural resources and how long we can sustain them.
ii.That Foundation partnered with the Global Footprint Network in 2006 to launch the first global EOD campaign aimed at raising awareness of the Earth’s limited resources.
- The Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF), the world’s largest conservation organization, has participated in Earth Overshoot Day since 2007.
Annual Data and Updates:
i.Metrics are calculated using the National Footprint and Biocapacity Accounts (NFBA) (2023 edition).
ii.It also incorporates the United Nations (UN) statistics and data from sources like the Global Carbon Project (GCP) and the International Energy Agency (IEA).
iii.Every year on June 5, World Environment Day, Global Footprint Network announces the date for EOD.
Click here for the Research Report on Estimating the Date of EOD 2024
Country Overshoot Days:
i.A country’s overshoot day marks the date Earth Overshoot Day would occur if everyone consumed resources like the people of that particular country.
ii.It is annually published on 1 January, using the latest year of the most recent NFBA edition. The 2024 country overshoot days are based on the 2023 edition.
- Country overshoot days are calculated by dividing the country’s Ecological Footprint per person (recent edition) by the Global biocapacity per person of that country (recent edition).
iii.Not all the countries have an overshoot day. If a country’s Ecological Footprint per person is less than global biocapacity per person (1.5 global hectares (gha)), they do not have an overshoot day.
- Calculations adjust for leap years, using 366 days instead of 365.
Click here for the Country Overshoot Days 2024
Some measures to push back the date of EOD:
i.Placing a price of USD 100 per ton of carbon would move the date by 63 days.
ii.If every family delayed parenthood by 2 years, we could shift Overshoot Day by 49 days by 2050.
iii.If half of the world implemented a Green New Deal, the date could move by 42 days within the next 10 years.
About the Global Footprint Network:
Global Footprint Network is an international nonprofit organization founded in 2003.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO)- Steven Tebbe
Headquarters– Geneva, Switzerland
