(Finance) – Today is theEarth Overshoot Day 2024that is, the day of overexploitation of the Earth. The date is calculated every year by the Global Footprint Network, which indicates that in just 7 months humanity has already used what the Earth takes 12 months to regenerate. In particular, at a global level we are consuming the equivalent of 1.7 Planets per year, a figure that could reach two planets in 2030 based on current trends according to estimates by WWF Italy.
Earth Overshoot Day is calculated by dividing the planet’s biocapacity (the amount of ecological resources that the Earth is able to generate in that year) by humanity’s ecological footprint (the demand of our societies for that same year) and multiplying everything by 365, the days in a year. In 1974, Overshoot Day fell on November 30thin 2004, on September 2, in 2014 the August 5th. Italy is also one of the countries with the highest ecological debt. Overshoot Day for our country has already arrived on May 19th.
“There Earth has exhausted its annual natural resources, while globally over a billion meals a day are wasted, with economic and environmental consequences linked to excessive energy consumption and waste management”. This is what the analysis of Coldiretti on data from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) on the occasion of Earth Overshoot Day 2024.
“According to the latest Unep report, 1.05 billion tons of food waste have been produced in the world, equal to 132 kilograms per capita, which represents almost a fifth of the food available to consumers. Of this, approximately 60% is attributable to homes, 28% to catering and 12% to retail trade. At the same time, 735 million people suffer from hunger and a third of the world’s population faces food insecurity, as reported by Unep”, Coldiretti underlined, adding that “the real problem lies in the distribution from the resources food and in the imbalances caused by the decline of local food systems based on family farming, which need to be supported and revitalized. In many countries, these systems are no longer able to produce and distribute enough food to feed a growing global population, meet nutritional needs, ensure equitable access and operate sustainably”.
(Photo: Photo by NASA on Unsplash)