Today China has consumed more natural resources than it can replenish
Yet it is far better than the UK which has already consumed more natural resources than it can replenish within a year
For each year since 1970, the first year that humanity began to consume more resources than the Earth can replenish in a year, the Global Footprint Network (a non-profit think tank) has calculated the date when humanity exhausts its budget of natural resources for the year. The calculation of this date, which they refer to as Earth Overshoot Day, has been completed and was announced recently. As consumption of resources has increased, Overshoot Day has advanced toward the front pages of the calendar. Last year it was August 1st.
This year, the trend has continued and the date for global Earth Overshoot is July 29th.
There are also estimates for each country individually based on national rates of consumption compared with territorial biocapacity.
The country with the greatest earliest date is Qatar, which overshot on February 11th. The UK lasts only a few months more. As a country we over-reached our capacity to replenish natural resources consumed on May 17th. China, the world’s largest manufacturer, overshoots on the day of publication of this issue.
The infographic below displays the overshoot dates of different countries throughout the year. Though less wealthy and larger countries tend to have later (or no) overshoot date, it is not totally correlated.
