Earth Overshoot Day is the day of the year on which humanity’s demand on nature exceeds the Earth’s annual biological capacity to regenerate. In 2023, It falls on August 2nd, meaning that between January 1st and August 2nd, humanity’s demand for biological regeneration is equivalent to the planet’s entire annual regeneration.
To determine the date for each year, Global Footprint Network calculates 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 global overshoot.
The Calculation
This day 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:
(Planet’s Biocapacity / Humanity’s Ecological Footprint) x 365 = Earth Overshoot Day.
History
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. WWF, the world’s largest conservation organization, has participated in Earth Overshoot Day since 2007.
Learn more about the Ecological Footprint
Learn about the Research Report
Explore and download the data at data.footprintnetwork.org.
Source: https://www.overshootday.org/about/
Categorised in Public Article. Submitted by ICSP Editor
