This day, which is celebrated every year, falls a Sunday earlier in 2025 than last year. The main reason is that the oceans can absorb less CO2 than previously thought.
We are overusing natural resources, much faster than they can be replenished, which is reflected in deforestation, biodiversity loss, and the accumulation of carbon dioxide emissions in the atmosphere. This trend began in the early 1970s.
Mathis Wackernagel, co-founder of the Global Footprint Network, told DW that the overuse of resources on Earth is causing many "ecological problems." This means that their normal, regular use is greater than the planet's ability to renew them. And this has a cumulative effect.
"Even if we maintain the same level of resource consumption, we will increase our ecological debt," Wackernagel argues, adding that this debt can be measured.
Excessive consumption as a global problem
Qatar, Luxembourg and Singapore are among the first countries that exceeded their annual capacities back in February. The USA was right behind them.
If everyone in the world consumed resources like the United States, they would be exhausted by March 13. If they consumed like Germany and Poland, they would be exhausted by May 3, if they consumed like China and Spain, they would be exhausted by May 23, and if they consumed like South Africa, they would be exhausted by July 2.
Wackernagel states that "high GDP usually leads to higher resource consumption," but that this is not the only factor.
Qatar, with a desert climate, little rainfall and very hot, humid summers, relies heavily on air conditioning, which is powered by fossil fuel energy.
"Fossil fuels are easily available to them, so their use is cheap, but they have a huge ecological footprint," says the expert, adding that Qatar also uses a lot of resources for the energy-intensive process of desalinizing seawater.
On the other hand, Uruguay will not exceed its capacity until December 17th and has successfully shifted to renewable energy sources, relying mainly on hydropower, wind and biomass.
Living within the limits of what the planet can regenerate
There are also countries that remain within the planet's carrying capacity, such as India, Kenya and Nigeria. For the entire world to remain within sustainable limits, the ecological footprint per person would have to be equal to the available biocapacity per person, which is currently about 1,5 global hectares.
Biocapacity is defined as the area of land and sea that provides resources such as food and timber, supports urban infrastructure and absorbs excess CO2. It is, therefore, the ability of an ecosystem to produce useful biological matter and absorb harmful waste, such as CO2. Anything above this level means overexploitation of resources.
Decades of overconsumption are leaving their mark
Wackernagel says we are using resources "far more than the Earth can regenerate," but collectively believe that what we are doing is okay. "We are fooling ourselves."
Paul Srivastava, co-president of the think tank the Club of Rome, says it's time to change the way we understand the economy. "We need to move from an extractive and exploitative mindset to a regenerative one," he tells DW.
"Mining is extraction. Oil is a form of extraction. Once we take it out of the ground, we don't put anything back in," he added.
Wackernagel emphasizes that it's not about what we have to give up, but how to prepare for the future and understand what will have value then.
Instead of adjusting the economy to reduce overconsumption of resources, people are trying to "squeeze every last drop out of a tube of toothpaste," warns Wackernagel.
"In the United States, where I live, many of the big issues in the last election were about overconsumption – for example, the fear of not having enough energy." Yet the government did not solve the problem, but continued with the policy of "drilling more holes and extracting more fossil fuels" from the country.
How to move Ecological Debt Day?
The Global Footprint Network has presented a series of solutions in five key areas to push back Ecological Debt Day.
The energy sector is by far the biggest factor: Introducing a price for CO2 emissions, which would reflect its true cost, would shift the environmental debt by 63 days.
Smart cities with integrated transportation systems, advanced energy management and sensors that regulate energy consumption in buildings could add another 29 days.
Replacing coal and gas-fired power plants with renewable energy sources such as solar and wind, and producing 75 percent of electricity from sources with low CO2 emissions, would create savings and shift the ecological debt back another 26 days.
Halving food waste would save an additional 13 days, while replacing 50 percent of global meat consumption with plant-based alternatives would save another seven days – based on CO2 emissions and land use alone. Just one day of meat-free eating per week would save two days.
"Strong interest in maintaining the existing system"
"There are strong vested interests in maintaining the existing system," especially when it comes to fossil fuels, Srivastava points out.
He believes that since individual changes - at the individual level, such as eating less meat, cycling instead of driving, and vacationing at a closer destination - have less impact, voters have the power to demand systemic changes.
"We can influence those in power," Srivastava points out, calling for peaceful protests and support for local politicians who have an ecological vision.
"Overconsumption of resources is the second greatest risk facing humanity in this century," Wackernagel concludes. "And the greatest risk is that we do not react."
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