World Overshoot Day, which the Global Footprint Network calculates by measuring natural resources and human use of resources, was set for July 28 this year. Humanity will have exhausted the resources of 2022 156 days before the year ends.
The Global Footprint Network (GFN), which calculates the “World Overshoot Day” of that year by measuring the world’s natural resources and people’s use of them every year, announced that the natural resources of 2022 will be exhausted as of July 28 and that the debt for the next year will start as of July 29.
Overshoot Day, which means the day when one year of natural resources offered by the world are consumed, varies every year depending on the resources the world can produce and the consumption of people.
While the world’s natural resources and human resource consumption have been calculated since 1961, humanity first consumed more than the world could produce in 1971.
The first Overshoot Day was observed on December 25 that year.
With the exception of 2020, when the use of natural resources decreased due to restrictions during the COVID-19 pandemic, the Limit Exceedance Day has corresponded to an earlier day in almost every year. So far, humanity owes a total of 19 years of ecological resources to the future.
1.75 planetary consumption
GFN’s data, based on United Nations statistics, reveals that in 2022, humans will have used 75 percent more natural resources than ecosystems can replenish.
Accordingly, humans will have consumed as if there were 1.75 planets this year, not 1.
Reversing the trend is possible
In a statement made by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), it was stated that with small changes, the World Limit Day could be postponed.
Emphasizing that one of the most effective measures that can be taken is to reduce the use of automobiles, the statement said: “If the carbon footprint caused by automobile use is reduced by 50 percent and one third of this distance is covered by public transport and the rest by walking or cycling, the World Overshoot Day can be postponed by 13 days.”
In the statement, it was stated that if food waste in the world is reduced by half, the World Overshoot Day can be shifted 13 days further:
“We can also slow down this trend by reclaiming forests. If 350 million hectares of forest area is reclaimed all over the world, we can postpone this date by 8 days. “
