First Time In 2 Years: Earth Overshoot Day Delayed By A Month Due To The Pandemic

According to the Global Footprint Network, the Earth Overshoot Day, the date when humanity’s demand for ecological resources and services in a given year exceeds what Earth can regenerate in that particular year, has progressively been antedating since the 1970s. However, this year, the group calculated that the point was reached on 22 August, compared to 29 July in 2019, marking a rare reversal of events. The decrease in fuel consumption happened due to a temporary halt in day-to-day activities induced by the COVID-19 pandemic. This reduced humanity’s footprint by 9.3 per cent as compared to last year. However, Mathis Wackernagel, President of Global Footprint Network said that it’s not something to celebrate since, “It’s not done by design, it’s done by disaster”. Hence, this happened just by chance, and true sustainability cannot be achieved through chance. It has to be achieved through progressive planning and implementation. The solution can be reached through five major areas including, planet, cities, energy, food, and population.

These are the steps we can take to move the date, according to Earth Rise studio:

· Reducing our intake of animal products and eating locally

· Travel carbon-free where possible

· Switch energy provider to a renewable energy source

· Reduce, re-use, and re-cycle products

· Work together to campaign for real systematic change.

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