{"id":18123,"date":"2019-07-23T19:37:53","date_gmt":"2019-07-23T19:37:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.footprintnetwork.org\/2019\/07\/24\/press-release-june-2019-earth-overshoot-day-copy\/"},"modified":"2019-07-25T20:39:58","modified_gmt":"2019-07-25T20:39:58","slug":"press-release-july-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.footprintnetwork.org\/2019\/07\/23\/press-release-july-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"Global Footprint Network promotes real-world solutions that #MoveTheDate, accelerating the transition to one-planet prosperity"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

OAKLAND, CA, USA \u2014 JULY 23, 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. It is Earth Overshoot Day. Its date has moved up two months over the past 20 years to the 29th of July this year, the earliest date ever.<\/p>\n

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Earth Overshoot Day falling on July 29th<\/sup>\u00a0means that humanity is currently using nature 1.75 times faster than our planet\u2019s ecosystems can regenerate. This is akin to using 1.75 Earths. Overshoot is possible because we are depleting our natural capital \u2013 which compromises humanity\u2019s future resource security. The costs of this global ecological overspending are becoming increasingly evident in the form of deforestation, soil erosion, biodiversity loss, or the buildup of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The latter leads to climate change and more frequent extreme weather events.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have only got one Earth \u2013 this is the ultimately defining context for human existence. We can\u2019t use 1.75 without destructive consequences,\u201d said Mathis Wackernagel, co-inventor of Ecological Footprint accounting and founder of Global Footprint Network.<\/p>\n

His just released book,\u00a0Ecological Footprint: Managing Our Biocapacity Budget<\/a>,\u00a0<\/em>demonstrates that overshoot can only be temporary. Humanity will eventually have to operate within the means of Earth\u2019s ecological resources, whether that balance is restored by disaster or by design. \u201cCompanies and countries that understand and manage the reality of operating in a one-planet context are in a far better position to navigate the challenges of the 21st<\/sup>\u00a0century,\u201d Wackernagel writes.<\/p>\n

Accelerate solutions to #MoveTheDate<\/strong><\/p>\n

Moving the date of Earth Overshoot Day back 5 days each year would allow humanity to reach one-planet compatibility before 2050.\u00a0Solutions that #MoveTheDate<\/a>\u00a0are available and financially advantageous. Significant opportunities are to be found in five key areas: cities, energy, food, population, and planet. For instance, cutting CO2<\/sub>\u00a0emissions from fossil fuel burning by 50% would #MoveTheDate by 93 days.<\/p>\n

Christiana Figueres<\/a>, the former Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Bertrand Piccard<\/a>, founder of the Solar Impulse Foundation, and Sandrine Dixson-Decl\u0450ve<\/a>, co-president of the Club of Rome, are among those who took to Twitter in recent weeks, calling to #MoveTheDate in video statements.\u00a0Shoot your own statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Just days ahead of Earth Overshoot Day, Global Footprint Network launched the beta version of the\u00a0#MoveTheDate Solutions Map<\/a>\u00a0where people are invited to champion existing solutions. Users can also connect with each other on the basis of geography and focus of interest, accelerating the implementation of new projects in the real world. Developed with startup Mapotic, the social platform also features solutions identified by partners, starting with Buckminster Fuller Institute award laureates.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0#MoveTheDate Solutions Map<\/a>\u00a0is designed to complement the\u00a0Footprint Calculator<\/a>. The latter, which enables people to calculate their own Ecological Footprint and their personal Earth Overshoot Day, draws more than 2.5 million users per year and is now available in eight languages, with Chinese and Portuguese most recently added.<\/p>\n

The relevance of one-planet compatibility for successful business strategies is explored in a whitepaper by Schneider Electric and Global Footprint Network that was published July 22. Follow the twitter discussion via #SEMoveTheDate. Previous research by both organizations shows that if 100% of the existing building and industry infrastructure were equipped with available energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies from Schneider Electric and partners, the date of Earth Overshoot Day would\u00a0move back by 21 days at least<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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