Resources worth an entire earth get exhausted way before time, once again

New Delhi: Today on Earth Overshoot Day, 8 August, 2016, the world has already exhausted nature’s budget for the entire year. From this day on and for the rest of the year, we will be using more resources than the planet can renew in a year. According to the Global Footprint Network, this means that the world will now be operating in overshoot for the year – exerting excess pressure on the planet for any resources drawn.

The reason why the Earth is exhausted, already and so early in the year, is that the world now emits more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than our oceans and forests can absorb, and fisheries and harvest forests are depleted far more quickly than they can reproduce and replenish. While economies, populations and resource demands grow, the size of Earth and its natural resource base remains the same. If the business-as-usual approach and consumption habits remain unchanged, by 2030, the world will need the equivalent of two Earths to meet its demands; presently, the world consumes as much as 1.6 Earths can provide.

As the global population has grown and consumption has increased – particularly with respect to carbon emissions – Earth Overshoot Day has moved from late September in 2000 to August 8 this year. On a positive note, the rate at which Earth Overshoot Day has moved up on the calendar has slowed to less than one day a year on average in the past five years, compared to an average of three days a year since overshoot began in the early 1970s.

However, ecological overshoot is only possible for a limited time before ecosystems begin to degrade and possibly collapse. Impacts of ecological overspending are apparent already in soil erosion, desertification, reduced cropland productivity, overgrazing, deforestation, rapid species extinction, fisheries collapse and increased carbon concentration in the atmosphere.

According to WWF’s Living Planet Report, India, despite its low per capita footprint, ranks third in the list of countries that have the highest footprint – coming only after China and USA – because of its large national population. While, according to the LPR, India ranks low on the accord of personal footprint at an individual level, this becomes a challenge when aggregated by population. This equation will be further complicated as wealth grows and consumption patterns change.

Mr. Ravi Singh, Secretary General and CEO, WWF-India, while talking about India’s role in reducing the global footprint says, “As the third largest contributor to the global ecological footprint, we need to bring about behavioural and policy changes that encourage sustainable practices and promote environmentally friendly ways of living. By being conscious of our emerging consumption patterns and the pressure we're putting on the planet, we can work towards reducing the global ecological debt. Working collectively, both at an individual and an organization level, we have the power to either continue the status quo or act for positive change in our daily lives.”