Human civilization has always been guilty of not only using but exploiting natural resources that are found on earth. The human invasion of earth’s resources is not a recent development but has been evident in the past as well where human inhabitation has caused extinction of many species. However, the rate at which these resources are being consumed has crossed an alarming rate and now with each day grows with population and expansion of the human civilization. To calculate the human exploitation of resources, Ecological Footprint was made. It is a metric that comprehensively compares human demand on nature against nature’s capacity to regenerate. Global Footprint Network is an international non-profit organization founded in the year 2003. Its key strategy has been to make available robust Ecological Footprint data. Global Footprint Network has created a parameter to monitor the day when humans consume earth’s natural resources that were supposed to last a year. This is called as the Earth Overshoot Day.
WHAT IS EARTH OVERSHOOT DAY?
Earth Overshoot Day marks the date when 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. The concept of Earth Overshoot Day was first conceived by Andrew Simms of the UK think tank New Economics Foundation, which partnered with Global Footprint Network in 2006 to launch the first global Earth Overshoot Day campaign. Earth Overshoot Day is computed by dividing the planet’s bio-capacity (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 Bio-capacity / Humanity’s Ecological Footprint) x 365 = Earth Overshoot Day
In 2021, Human civilization has reached the Earth Overshoot day on July 29 and Humanity currently uses 74% more than what the planet’s ecosystems can regenerate — or 1.7 Earths. From Earth Overshoot Day until the end of the year, humanity operates on ecological deficit spending. Earth Overshoot Day is an estimate, not an exact date. It’s not possible to determine with 100 percent accuracy the day we bust our ecological budget. Adjustments of the date that we go into overshoot are due to revised calculations, not ecological advances on the part of humanity.
REASONS WHY IT HAPPENED EARLY
In the wake of covid-19 pandemic, the governments around the world had imposed lockdowns last year that reduced human activities and also the resources were used at a lesser rate. As a result earth overshoot occurred on August 22 in the year 2020.However, the greenhouse gases declined only 6.4% in 2020 — a substantial drop representing around twice Japan’s yearly emissions, but not enough to turn things around. The global carbon footprint increased by 6.6% in 2020 and a decrease of 0.5% was registered in ‘global forest bio-capacity’ due to a rise in deforestation of the Amazon’s rainforests. Some 1.1 million hectares of rainforest were lost in Brazil alone, which is home to the largest swathe of Amazonian rainforest. Significant parts of the Amazon have started to emit more carbon dioxide than they absorb, scientists have confirmed. The forest had previously been a carbon sink, absorbing emissions driving the climate crisis, but is now causing its acceleration, researchers from the National Institute for Space Research in Brazil said.
An analysis published by the International Energy Agency earlier in March found that, while emissions fell overall in 2020, they began to rise steadily over the second half of the year as countries recovered from the pandemic. By December, emissions were 2 per cent higher than in the same month of the previous year. Rather than recognizing this as a reset moment, governments around the world have been eager to get back to business-as-usual. Global emissions are already creeping back up to pre-pandemic levels,” said Stephanie Feldstein, population and sustainability director at the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD), a US-based environmental group.
An image depicting the possible earth overshoot day if populations around the world lived like these countries.
PREDICTIONS RELATED TO EARTH OVERSHOOT DAY
Some studies have shown that there would be a 43% year-over-year increase in deforestation in 2021. However, the carbon footprint of transportation will be lower this year than pre-pandemic levels; CO2 emissions from road transport and domestic air travel will be 5% below 2019 levels and CO2 emissions due to international aviation will be 33% below 2019 levels. But global energy-related CO2 emissions will increase 4.8% from last year as economies try to recover from the impact of Covid-19. Global coal use is estimated to constitute 40% of the total carbon footprint.
“We are well over budget, and that debt is compounding. It is an ecological debt, and the interest we are paying on that mounting debt—food shortages, soil erosion, and the build-up of CO₂ in our atmosphere—comes with devastating human and monetary costs.“
ARE THERE WAYS TO MOVE THE DATE?
Greening our economies isn’t the only way to bring us back into balance with the Earth. On its site under the rallying cry #MoveTheDate, the Global Footprint Network (GFN) highlights other ways to bring that date closer to December 31. Reforesting an area the size of India, for example, would shift the date back by eight days, according to GFN. Retrofitting buildings and industries with existing energy-saving technology, such as mechanical system upgrades, water conservation controls and sensors that accurately control lighting, temperature and air quality, would move the date back by 21 days.
Food is another important area — according to GFN, half of the Earth’s bio-capacity is used just to keep us fed. But too much of that food is lost due to inefficiencies during the production process, or waste; an estimated 30 to 40% of food in the US ends up in landfills every year. By eliminating food loss and waste, reducing meat consumption and choosing foods grown with more sustainable agricultural practices less reliant on fossil fuels, another month could be added to the Earth’s bio-capacity account. Shifting to more plant-based diets, for example, could help reduce food-related emissions as much as 70% by 2050, according to a recent draft report released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. While we need to transition away from industrial agriculture as a whole, we can’t solve this problem by simply tweaking how food is produced — we must change what is produced. While fossil fuels are responsible for more emissions overall, meat and dairy production are also a major cause of habitat loss. Governments can accelerate this change by supporting plant-centered diets and agriculture and ending subsidies for cheap meat and dairy.
GLOBAL INITIATIVES
- The Conference of the Parties (COPs):
- For nearly three decades the United Nations (UN) has been bringing together almost every country on earth for global climate summits called COPs.
- In that time climate change has gone from being a fringe issue to a global priority.
- This year will be the 26th annual summit – giving it the name COP26 will take place in Glasgow, UK.
2. Paris Agreement:
- It is a legally binding international treaty on climate change. It was adopted by 196 Parties at COP 21 in Paris in December 2015 and entered into force in November 2016.
- Its goal is to limit global warming to well below 2, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels.
Talking about our country, India has also launched a variety of initiatives like National Clean Air Programme (NCAP), Bharat Stage-VI (BS-VI) emission norms, UJALA scheme, National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) etc. in order to tackle the resource crisis and safeguarding the environment.
Do you want to calculate your Ecological footprint? Follow this link to do the same.