Humanity is running out of the planet’s resources available for this year this Thursday (1), starting to consume resources from 2025, warns the international organization “Global Footprint Network”.
The so-called Planet Overshoot Day means that humanity’s demand for natural resources exceeds the planet’s capacity to regenerate them, so from now on humans live “on credit”.
According to calculations by the international sustainability organization, a pioneer in the ecological footprint, humanity is using nature 1.7 times faster than the planet’s ecosystems can regenerate.
The excessive use of resources compromises the oceans, leads to deforestation, soil erosion, loss of biodiversity and an increase in carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere, responsible for global warming, which causes extreme weather phenomena and increased food insecurity, warns the organization.
The ecological footprint indicator began to be produced in 1971, when resources were sufficient for practically the entire year. From 1984 onwards, resources only reached November and in 1993 only until October.
Since that year, humanity has consumed more and more resources, with only a slight drop in consumption in 2020, explained by the pandemic.
This year’s record represents a record, one day ahead of 2023.
Recycling and reuse are ways to reduce consumption and a directive to this effect came into force today in the European Union (EU), with States having to adapt by 2026.
The law means that manufacturers of products such as refrigerators or smartphones are obliged to offer repair services at a reasonable price and to provide spare parts.
The refurbished product platform refurbed, in a statement, cites data from the United Nations indicating that global production of electronic waste reached 62 million tons in 2022, 82% more than in 2010, of which 4.6 million tons relate to small equipment such as laptops or smartphones.
Refurbishing electronic devices saves on average 83% of CO2, 89% of water and 77% of waste, compared to new products.
If all electronic waste were recycled or reused, Earth Overshoot Day could be delayed by approximately four days, the platform also says.
The platform calls for action against the waste of electronic resources, says that on average each person keeps 2.72 old smartphones at home, which are a huge waste of valuable resources, and advocates a change in lifestyle towards a more circular economy.
In the calculation to determine the day of planetary overload, the “Global Footprint Network” placed the EU exhausting its resources even earlier, on May 3rd.
But the country that first ran out of resources was Qatar, on February 11. The United States reached that mark on March 14.
The last countries to exhaust their resources will be Ecuador and Indonesia, on November 24.
Source: CNN Brasil
Bruce Belcher is a seasoned author with over 5 years of experience in world news. He writes for online news websites and provides in-depth analysis on the world stock market. Bruce is known for his insightful perspectives and commitment to keeping the public informed.
