From August 1st, humanity will consume more resources than the earth can renew in a year. In other words, we live as if we had 1.7 earths at our disposal. This is what the Germanwatch organization reports, citing calculations by the Global Footprint Network based in the USA and Switzerland. The so-called Earth Overshoot Day is therefore one day earlier than last year.
The earth’s overload includes the consumption of fish, arable land and wood, but also the earth’s ability to absorb waste and emissions. Airplanes are particularly harmful to the climate. In addition to CO2 emissions, they cause about three times the greenhouse effect as if the same amount of CO2 were produced on the ground, stresses Germanwatch. One reason for this is contrails. In contrast, rail transport offers a more sustainable alternative, as it is up to 28 times more climate-friendly than intra-European flights. A very small part of the world’s population is responsible for this major driver of the climate crisis through their flying behavior, explained Jacob Rohm of Germanwatch.
On the occasion of Earth Overshoot Day, the environmental organization WWF Austria called for a halt to the enormous consumption of resources and the restoration of destroyed nature. “The excessive hunger for resources is not only leading to the destruction of our nature, we are also overexploiting the future of future generations. We must finally treat our planet sustainably,” said Joschka Brangs, biodiversity spokesperson for WWF Austria.
“Governments around the world must finally stop exploiting the planet without regard for the future. We must switch to sustainable, renewable and resource-saving strategies everywhere. Austria also has major tasks ahead of it: The next federal government is called upon to introduce laws that protect our climate, as well as valuable water and our soil,” said Jasmin Duregger, climate and energy expert at Greenpeace in Austria.
In the circular economy strategy adopted in 2022, the Climate Protection Ministry, the Agriculture Ministry, the Finance Ministry and the Ministry of Labor and Economic Affairs have set a target of seven tons of material footprint per person per year for 2050, Global 2000 wrote in a press release. Austria is still a long way from this target. In 2018, Austria’s resource consumption was 167 million tons (Mt) per year, or 19 tons per capita per year. The consumption-based material footprint was even 33 tons per capita per year in 2017. “For the next five months, we will be living on credit, with resources that future generations will then lack,” said Hannah Keller, press spokesperson for resources and supply chains.
In Austria, Overshoot Day was already on April 7, which means that we would need 3.7 Earths if everyone lived like we do, emphasized IG Windkraft Austria. However, renewable energies would make it possible to provide energy with minimal CO2 emissions and low resource use. Austria’s wind power production already saves 4.5 million tons of CO2 annually. “Renewable energies can make a decisive contribution to reducing our greenhouse gas emissions and postponing Earth Overshoot Day,” explained Josef Plank, chairman of IG Windkraft.
According to Germanwatch, the high consumption of meat and other animal products also has a major impact on the consumption of natural resources. However, Germanwatch has some positive news: “For decades, the earth’s overload has increased almost every year, and for almost ten years now it has been hovering at a high level,” says Political Director Christoph Bals.
“The good news is that the turning point seems to have been reached.” He sees the reason for this as being, among other things, the global triumph of renewable energies, storage technologies, e-mobility and heat pumps. These and other trends must be greatly accelerated in order to prevent climate tipping points and massive further species loss.
what
