{"id":18047,"date":"2019-06-26T16:41:20","date_gmt":"2019-06-26T16:41:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.footprintnetwork.org\/2019\/07\/19\/press-release-humanitys-ecological-footprint-contracted-between-2014-and-2016-copy\/"},"modified":"2019-07-25T19:09:26","modified_gmt":"2019-07-25T19:09:26","slug":"press-release-june-2019-earth-overshoot-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.footprintnetwork.org\/2019\/06\/26\/press-release-june-2019-earth-overshoot-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Earth Overshoot Day 2019 is July 29th, the earliest ever"},"content":{"rendered":"

Available in additional languages<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n

OAKLAND, CA, USA \u2014 JUNE 26, 2019 \u2014\u00a0<\/strong>On July 29, humanity will have used nature\u2019s resource budget for the entire year, according to\u00a0Global Footprint Network<\/a>, an international sustainability organization that has pioneered the Ecological Footprint. The\u00a0Ecological Footprint<\/a>\u00a0adds up all of people\u2019s competing demands for biologically productive areas \u2013 food, timber, fibers, carbon sequestration, and accommodation of infrastructure. Currently, carbon emissions from burning fossil fuel comprise 60% of humanity\u2019s Ecological Footprint.<\/p>\n

Some 80 000 people have already signed current petitions to US and EU decision makers to demand that biological resource management be placed at the core of the decision-making process.<\/p>\n

Earth Overshoot Day marks the date when humanity\u2019s annual demand on nature exceeds what Earth\u2019s ecosystems can regenerate in that year. Over the past 20 years, it has moved up three months to July 29, the earliest ever. This means that humanity is currently using nature 1.75 times faster than our planet\u2019s ecosystems can regenerate, equivalent to 1.75 Earths. Humanity first saw ecological deficit in the early 1970s. Overshoot is possible because we are depleting our natural capital, compromising the planet\u2019s future regenerative capacity.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Ecological overspending costs are becoming increasingly evident: deforestation, soil erosion, biodiversity loss, and the buildup of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere leading to climate change and more frequent extreme weather events.<\/p>\n

\u201cUltimately, human activity will be brought in balance with Earth\u2019s ecological resources. The question is whether we choose to get there by disaster or by design \u2013 one-planet misery or one-planet prosperity,\u201d said Mathis Wackernagel, co-inventor of Ecological Footprint accounting and founder of Global Footprint Network.<\/p>\n

#MoveTheDate toward one-planet compatibility<\/strong><\/p>\n

If we move the date of Earth Overshoot Day back 5 days annually, humanity can reach one-planet compatibility before 2050. Global Footprint Network highlights opportunities for action that are available today and assesses their impact on the date of Earth Overshoot Day. For instance, replacing 50% of meat consumption with vegetarian food would move the date of Overshoot Day 15 days (10 days for the reduction of methane emissions from livestock alone); reducing the carbon component of the global Ecological Footprint by 50% would move the date 93 days.<\/p>\n

Elements of the 2019 campaign<\/strong><\/p>\n