Photo: AndreasAux from Pixabay
Earth Overshoot Day is an annual indicator of when we start living beyond the resources available for the current year. The exact date when humanity goes into the red will be announced on June 5. However, individual countries are aware in advance of when they cross their threshold. As usual, the first overshoot in Southeastern Europe in 2024 will occur in Slovenia.
Earth Overshoot Day is computed by dividing the planet’s biocapacity (the amount of ecological resources the Earth can generate that year), by humanity’s ecological footprint, which is the consumption projected for one year, and multiplying by the number of days of the particular year.
Just as a bank statement tracks income against expenditures, Global Footprint Network measures a population’s demand for and ecosystems’ supply of resources and services.
On the supply side, biocapacity represents its biologically productive land and sea area, including forest, grazing, and cropland, fishing grounds, and built-up land.
On the demand side, the ecological footprint measures a population’s demand for plant-based food and fiber products, livestock and fish products, timber and other forest products, and space for urban infrastructure and forest to absorb its carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels.
Every year, Global Footprint Network announces the date for Earth Overshoot Day of the running year on June 5 . In 2023 it fell on August 2.
Slovenia is once again the first in the region
In Slovenia, Earth Day has long all but coincided with Earth Overshoot Day. The former is marked on April 22, while this year the country will begin to overspend Earth’s resources as early as April 25, a week later than in 2022.
According to the Global Footprint Network, if everyone in the world lived like the inhabitants of Slovenia, we would need 3.4 Earths to meet our needs for natural resources.
The Institute for Health and Environment of Slovenia has launched an awareness campaign on social media for Earth Day and Earth Overshoot Day. It launched an ecological footprint calculator for everyone to easily check how their actions and lifestyle habits impact the environment.
According to the Ministry of Environment, Climate and Energy’s climate policy head Andrej Gnezda, energy and transportation or mobility account for the highest greenhouse gas emissions.
Gnezda: Renewables development is particularly important in the energy sector
“As for the latter, greenhouse gas emissions vary significantly from year to year, and in the energy sector, the development of renewable energy sources and their efficient use are particularly important. The ministry has prepared some legislative proposals and adopted amendments to the legal framework that incentivize development along the necessary trajectory, while at the same time, through the subsidy system, we encourage investments in the energy renovation of buildings and the installation of solar power plants and other investments,” he said.
By the end of next month, Bosnia and Herzegovina (May 9), Serbia (May 23), Hungary and Greece (May 25), Croatia (May 28), and Montenegro (May 30) will join Slovenia across the line. Among other countries in the region monitored by Balkan Green Energy News, Bulgaria will enter ecological debt on June 2, followed by Romania on July 10. Albania traditionally remains the last. Its date is September 23 this time.
APRIL 25, NOT MAY 25?