For the rest of the year, humanity lives on credit. The environmental organization Global Footprint Network, which has been calculating this so-called Earth Overshoot Day for a good 50 years, reports that the earth's natural resources for the current year have already been used up on July 28th.
What is meant is the time when the world population uses more raw materials than can grow back and regenerate in the course of a year. And that will happen in 2022 earlier than ever before. For comparison: at the turn of the millennium, the so-called international World Overshoot Day was still in September and in the 1970s in December.
Environmental organizations and business associations speak of a dramatic and, above all, worrying development. Because life is now lived at the expense of future generations.
"This is an ecological declaration of bankruptcy by mankind," comments Florian Titze, for example, the expert on biodiversity policy at the environmental organization WWF. “Rainforests, rivers and coral reefs are falling victim to our consumption. We are wasting and destroying our livelihoods and ruining the futures of our children and grandchildren – around the world and right on our doorstep.”
Olaf Bandt, chairman of the Bund für Umwelt und Naturschutz Deutschland (BUND) finds similarly clear words: “Hot summers and floods, burning forests in Germany, southern Europe and California: the climate is out of joint, the planet’s warning lights are glowing dark red. We must immediately limit the dramatic effects of the climate crisis and global species extinction. We all foot the bill for supposed freedoms without giving up. Above all, however, we live at the expense of our children and grandchildren.”
In purely mathematical terms, the world population now uses resources from 1.75 earths, as shown by the Global Footprint Network, which uses data from the National Footprint and Biocapacity Accounts and thus figures from the United Nations for the calculation. It is mainly the lifestyle in rich industrial nations that weighs on the account: Measured against German consumption, for example, 3.1 Germanys would be necessary.
The national overload day was therefore already at the beginning of May in this country. According to experts, the main reasons for this early date are the high energy consumption in Germany, the high CO₂ emissions in traffic and in factory farming, as well as the pollution of soil, air and groundwater.
But other countries also live far beyond their means. For example, the value for the USA is 2.4, for India 2.7, for China 4.1 and for Japan even 7.9. This balance sheet is based, for example, on the consumption of wood, plants, animal feed and fishing grounds, but also on CO₂ emissions and land use.
The fact that Germany is worse off than most other countries in terms of the regeneration balance of the earth is due to the relatively high proportion of industry in the domestic economy. The manufacturing industry in this country accounts for around 30 percent of value added, significantly more than in other western economies such as France or the USA.
According to experts, the most important proposed solution for curbing the consumption of resources is the circular economy. The aim is a closed material cycle, not only to use resources efficiently, but also to minimize and ideally even avoid the generation of waste.
"We don't have to consume resources, we have to use them," says Peter Kurth, President of the Federal Association of German Waste Management, Water Management and Circular Economy (BDE), in the WELT interview.
Christoph Heinrich, the Executive Director of the WWF in Germany, sees it that way. He calls on the federal government not to lose any time in implementing the energy transition, despite the new challenges posed by the Ukraine war. "In response to the scarcity of raw materials, Germany must also develop an efficient circular economy," says Heinrich.
That is what is still lacking. The Federal Republic likes to see itself as the world champion in recycling. "In reality, however, there is still a lot of room for improvement," says BDE boss Kurth. In any case, currently only twelve percent of the raw materials used in this country come from a recycling process.
“This rate is not as bad as it sounds at first glance. Nevertheless, it could be twice as high with simple means.” Theoretically, around 60 million tons of CO₂ equivalents could then be saved – in Germany alone. And even then, more is possible with the right political will.
"Circular economy is the major lever for achieving climate targets and at the same time maintaining Germany as a production location," says Kurth. It is true that the circular economy alone cannot solve the problem of earth pollution. "But it can make a sustainable contribution to the urgently needed relief of our planet."
What is important is the speed, warns Kurth. “It is not enough to point out impending catastrophes on the ever earlier Earth Overshoot Day. Now is the time to act. All actors in politics, business and society are called upon to make their contribution.”
BUND boss Bandt also demands this. "Our way of life and the way we do business must change fundamentally." And the time for that is dwindling.
The Corona wave has given the planet a short breather. In any case, in 2020 the overload day was not until August 22nd, a good three weeks later, due to the significant weakening of global economic output due to the pandemic. In 2021, however, the date jumped to July 29th - and this year it will be another day forward.
"The federal government must now initiate clear legal requirements that take account of the planetary boundaries: for resource protection, energy efficiency and soil protection." and the raw materials strategy should finally be coordinated in a binding manner.
But the same applies to other countries. Otherwise, the BUND sees serious conflicts coming towards mankind. "Our planet will not be able to provide for everyone for much longer," says Derian Boer, member of the federal board of BUNDjugend.
"Distribution conflicts and even wars will become inevitable." In addition to politics and business, each individual can also contribute to alleviating the earth's congestion and thus prevent such scenarios, say experts.
Halving food waste alone could push Earth Overshoot Day back by 13 days. Other approaches for consumers include driving less, lower energy and water consumption, sustainable travel and reducing the consumption of animal products.
"Everything on shares" is the daily stock exchange shot from the WELT business editorial team. Every morning from 7 a.m. with the financial journalists from WELT. For stock market experts and beginners. Subscribe to the podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcast, Amazon Music and Deezer. Or directly via RSS feed.
