Resource consumption, Overshoot Day this year falls on 1 August
It is the day on which humanity consumes more resources than the Earth is capable of generating. For Italy it is 19 May. The worst is Qatar (11 February)
2' min read
2' min read
In some countries it has already started, in some others it is only a matter of days or months and the countdown has begun. It is Overshoot Day, the beginning of the global ecological deficit. The day of the so-called 'Earth Overshoot', when the period begins when humanity's demand for ecological resources and services exceeds the supply of resources that the Earth is able to regenerate in the year. "We live and consume with a mentality focused on the "here and now"," emphasises Roberto Grossi, deputy director of Etica Sgr. "This year's Earth Overshoot Day is proof of this, as it marks the deadline by which we have used all the natural resources that the planet's ecosystems can regenerate in a year and we begin to fall into debt with our future". Taking an average of the dates on which Overshoot Day is triggered, as Etica Sgr points out, the first of August comes out.
How it is calculated
.The date is calculated by dividing the amount of ecological resources that the Earth is able to generate in one year by the resource demand that humanity requires for that year, multiplied by 365.
In this scenario, it is not only the end of available resources that has an impact, but also the exceeding of the CO2 emission threshold, i.e. the point at which the climate-altering gases released into the atmosphere exceed the capacity of ecosystems to absorb them. Situations in which we owe a debt to the environment and which call for change.
The first of August
."In 2024, the date falls on 1 August, one day less than in 2023. From this moment until the end of the year, we will start borrowing resources from the next generations," Grossi continues. "Etica Sgr, as a responsible investor, is convinced that only with a joint commitment from all economic players and conscious investments is it possible to protect natural resources for future generations. This is why we believe it is essential to act now, adopting sustainable practices and promoting policies that incentivise the reduction of environmental impact, supporting projects and companies that place the protection of the planet at the centre of their operations'.
Italy, however, albeit by a little, improves since, as the Global Footprint Network (the international research organisation that calculates Overshoot day every year) points out, it saw its day on 19 May, one day more than in 2023 and four more than on 15 May in 2022. Numbers that put Italy in the middle of the ranking.
