Beyond Limits: Navigating Earth Overshoot
As we dive into December, let’s reflect a critical climate milestone we might have missed over the year.
Natural resources have their limits, and this year, the world, before even reaching autumn, had already depleted them by August 2nd, known as Earth Overshoot Day
In Italy, the date was even earlier, on May 15th. While Italian exports, from fashion to food, are famous worldwide, we can safely say that if the world exported Italy’s approach to climate, we would collectively need almost 3 planets to survive our habits.
Where does this crucial date come from? The Earth Overshoot Day is a date calculated by the Global Footprint Network, an international organisation that employs scientific tools to measure the number of days Earth’s biocapacity suffices to provide for humanity’s Ecological Footprint.
This year while many of us where on vacation, the world slipped further into ecological debt. This stark reality implores us to face the fact that we can no longer put of key actions to reduce our emissions, we need to be considering the legacy we leave for our children and future generations today.
Understanding Resource Depletion and Impact
In your daily life, you might not have noticed much change before and after August 2nd. You may be wondering how we have exhausted our resources when you still see them all around us.
While it is true that the change is difficult to notice in our day-to-day live immediately, the earth had crossed its limit to regenerate enough natural resources to make up for the impact we have had on it.
What does this mean?
It means that we have fished more than the ocean can reproduce in a year, inevitably dooming some marine species to extinction.
It means that we have consumed more freshwater than rivers can renew, leaving an ever-increasing number of communities in some regions without enough clean water.
It means though our deeply engrained consumption habits we have released more carbon into the atmosphere then forests and oceans can absorb, which will inevitably trigger a raise in the global temperature and extreme climate events that will wreak terror on cities.
It means that we have transformed too much land into urban or agricultural areas, cultivated more food than the earth can sustain, and neglected the consequences for biodiversity.
It means a lot.
It also means a lot for underprivileged populations in some developing counties, that contribute minimally to climate emissions but are left to face the consequences of climate habits of developed countries. Think to the population of Polynesian islands that are facing the active prospect that the land underneath their feet is sinking or the droughts in East Africa that are forcing populations to migrate.
While we might not see how these resources are depleting around us from one day to the next, these populations certainly are.
Rethinking Our Impact: A Call to Action
The Earth Overshoot Day is not a blame game, but a call to action. It urges us to change our trajectory so that we can avoid difficult conversations with our children, who otherwise may be left to endure daily heatwaves, floods, storms, and droughts in an uninhabitable world.
What can we do to push that date of August the 2nds forward next year?
As individuals we need to be:
- Considering the use of plastics in all aspects of life, from what we put in our supermarket trolley to the synthetic fast-fashion garments we purchase.
- Opt for more sustainable modes of transport, such as public transport or electric vehicles.
- Consider limiting our purchases to essentials and choosing to buy local products.
- Ensure that recycling becomes a natural instinct for us.
- Reduce the consumption of meat.
As organisations, our responsibilities become even bigger. For businesses of all shapes and sizes, it is critical to embed sustainability as a core strategic business objective that does not work in isolation but rather resonates throughout every activity within the organisation.
It involves the implementation of careful and considered sustainability planning that grasps all aspects of sustainability from the ecological to the social.
A Collective Responsibility: Not Steps but Lunges
At this critical juncture, one step, nor even two steps forward are just not simply enough. We all need to make several lunges forward to be part of the solution and redefine our relationship with the planet.
