Earth Overshoot Day In The Year of The Global Pandemic
By Ellen Salter
August 2020
Beginning in 2006, Earth Overshoot Day was first conceived by the New Economics Foundation and the Global Footprint Network to mark the date when humanity’s demand for ecological resources and services exceeds what Earth can regenerate in that annum.
To calculate this global limit, the Global Footprint Network calculates the number of days per annum in which the planet’s biologically productive land (all natural and developed land types) and sea (all water bodies, lakes, oceans, rivers etc.) can meet mankind’s demand for plant-based food and fibre resources, terrestrial and aquatic resources, land for the built environment and urban infrastructure, and the capacity for carbon sequestration within our natural systems. In essence, the calculation for Earth Overshoot Day can be summarised below:
(Earth’s Biocapacity / Humanity’s Ecological Footprint) x 365 = Earth Overshoot Day
In short, the remainder of the year in which the Earth’s biocapacity no longer serves to provide for humanity’s ecological footprint is known as the global overshoot – or deficit.
So, when is Earth Overshoot Day?
According to the Global Footprint Network (2019), the first Global Earth Overshoot took place on August 12th, 2007 – with 141 days in deficit. This has since been retrospectively calculated on December 29th in 1970 – with just 2 days in deficit: and most recently on July 29th – with 155 days in deficit.
This year however, the trend has experienced an anomaly. An anomaly known as The COVID-19 Global Pandemic. In 2020, Earth Overshoot Day, as a result of the slowing down of human activity and resource consumption has been delayed to three weeks later than anticipated – landing on the 22nd August. The Pandemic, according to the University of East Anglia, has been estimated to have reduced our global carbon footprint (to date) by as much as 17%. At present and owing to the range of sources of the data presented and unpredictable human behaviour, the direct causal link between the Pandemic and our resource consumption remains fraught with complexities. However, it is clear that whilst this is positive, even with dramatic reductions in economic activity we are still consuming 60% more resources than the Earth’s biocapacity – or the equivalent to 1.6 Earths.
One thing is clear – we cannot rely (oddly enough) on a Global Pandemic to limit our global resource consumption and production. And limiting unsustainable resource extraction is imperative. The global response to the Pandemic clearly demonstrates that when facing an immediate crisis (as climate change does indeed present) it is not only possible, but probable, that we are all able to significantly transition towards a new way of life. Governments, Leaders, Businesses, and the Collective can all harmoniously work together to achieve a common goal. What kind of future do we want to create, and what kind of future should we be creating?
(There’s also questions of the role of the circular economy and justice implications for the geographical variation of Earth Overshoot calculations at the country level, but I’ll leave that for another day).
In the meantime, you can find out more here.