28 July: Earth overshoot day

Every year, the NGO Global Footprint Network calculates the “Earth Overshoot Day”, i.e. the day on which humanity has used up all the biological resources that the Earth regenerates in one year. This year it was 28 July 2022. This means that from August to December 2022, we are drawing on our reserves for future years and that our greenhouse gas emissions will have been greater than our oceans and forests can absorb.

The day of overshoot is calculated by dividing the planet’s biocapacity (the amount of ecological resources the Earth is able to generate in a given year), by humanity’s ecological footprint (humanity’s demand in a given year), and multiplying by 365, the number of days in a year. It is based on three million statistical data from 200 countries (see more details on the calculation here).

Since 1971, the global trend of the exceedance date has been to move forward. By 2022, to meet global demand, we will need the resource equivalent of 1.75 earths.

To help move the date forward, Global Footprint Network has launched the #Movethedate campaign, which brings together a number of projects around the world and proposes solutions. At A Rocha, we encourage and educate Christians all year round to adopt a more restrained lifestyle, particularly through our Ambassador Network.

Calculate your carbon footprint with Climate Stewards

Climate Stewards, an environmental NGO of the A Rocha family, offers a calculator to enable us to calculate our carbon footprint – a good opportunity to identify areas for improvement in our lifestyles!