Earth Overshoot Day

August 5, 2023

The Earth Overshoot Day for year 2023 fell on August 2^nd.
The day marks the date when humanity’s demand for ecological resources (fish and forests, for instance) and services in a given year exceeds what the Earth can regenerate in that year.
The concept of Earth Overshoot Day was first conceived by Andrew Simms of the UK think tank New Economics Foundation.
It is measured by Global Footprint Network (international research organization) each year since 1971.
World-Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the world’s largest conservation organization, has participated in Earth Overshoot Day since 2007.
It is calculated by Global Footprint Network by dividing the planet’s biocapacity (the amount of ecological resources Earth is able to generate that year), by humanity’s Ecological Footprint (humanity’s demand for that year), and multiplying by 365, the number of days in a year:
- Earth Overshoot Day = (Planet’s Biocapacity / Humanity’s Ecological Footprint) x 365