This Thursday (28) marks Earth Overshoot Day, a date that marks the moment in which humanity has already consumed the natural resources that the planet is capable of generating for a year. In other words, it is as if in seven months human beings had spent a balance that should last the entire year and, from today, entered the negative bank called Earth.
In 1971, when the count started to be made, the mark was reached on December 25th, but since then the resources have been used in an accelerated way. Even the Covid pandemic, which in 2020 postponed the date to August 22, did not permanently change consumption patterns. In 2021, Overload Day moved forward again and fell on July 29.
The calculation is carried out by the organization Global Footprint Network, which divides the amount of resources that the Earth is capable of generating per year by the annual demand of humanity and multiplies the value by 365 days. Data are presented globally and individually, by country.
“We have a more privileged position in the ecological footprint x biocapacity relationship if we compare Brazil with countries like the United States, China and practically all European nations. But if the whole world consumed natural resources like Brazil, we would still need 1.6 planet Earth per year”, says Felipe Seffrin, communication coordinator at Instituto Akatu, an organization that works towards responsible consumption.
In the case of Brazil, Overload Day will fall on August 18th. The three-week difference from the global account, however, should not be seen as a bonus. “Biocapacity per capita in Brazil has been falling year after year and the ecological footprint is increasing. With annual records of fires, deforestation and ecosystem degradation, we are wasting our ‘credit’ instead of serving as an example to the world”, says Seffrin .
He also recalls that the impacts of consumption beyond the limits of the planet, such as the increase in extreme weather events, affect everyone, and the longer the debt is postponed, the heavier it will be for future generations. “It’s a problem that needs answers and collective action today, not tomorrow,” he argues.
“About 86% of Brazilians want to reduce their individual impact on the environment and nature, against 73% of the world average. We still see very limited actions on the part of companies and governments to meet this growing demand, but we can contribute from of our choices and the practice of conscious consumption in our daily lives, reinstating Brazil as one of the world leaders in environmental issues”.
