Italy in overshoot: Natural resources exhausted in 5 months. Only Japan does worse.
Overshoot Day is the date when a country’s total resource consumption, including food, natural materials and greenhouse gas emissions, exceeds the planet’s ability to regenerate those resources for that year. This date varies from country to country and year to year, influenced by behaviours and policies related to the exploitation of natural resources.
According to the latest analysis by Unicusano, Italy is among the “worst” countries in terms of resource consumption. In 2024, Italy is projected to consume 500% of its resources within just 5 months, meaning it uses up five times its annual capacity. Only Japan has a worse performance in this regard.
Calculation of the overshoot day
To calculate Overshoot Day, the Global Footprint Network – an international research organisation dedicated to analysing the consumption of the Earth’s natural resources and their capacity to regenerate – uses a formula that divides the planet’s biocapacity, both globally and for individual countries, by the Ecological Footprint.The resulting figure is then multiplied by the number of days in a year, which for this leap year is 366.
This method makes it possible to determine not only the global date, announced each year on 5 June on World Environment Day, when humanity has used up the biological resources that the Earth’s ecosystems can regenerate in a year, but also the specific date for each country, marking the moment when ecological debt begins.
Italy’s Status in 2024
In just five months in 2024 – starting on May 19 – Italy will have used up all the renewable resources the planet can regenerate in one year. By May 2023, Italy will have used up all the resources for 2024, and from 19 May next year, it will also start using up the resources for 2025 at a worryingly early rate.
If everyone on the planet had the same lifestyle and consumption habits as the Italians, we would need the resources of almost three Earths.
Overshoot Days 2024
According to Unicusano’s infographic, the countries that contribute most to the climate crisis are Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, the United States and Luxembourg. On the other hand, Indonesia, Ecuador and Jamaica stand out as the most virtuous countries in this ranking.
Generally, European countries consume more than the Earth produces in a year. Therefore, no European country has adopted a real policy against the climate crisis and the depletion of resources: the Old Continent consumes more than the Earth can “naturally” produce in a year. As a result, overshoot days are plentiful.
According to the Unicusano study, several factors exacerbate the situation: overusing plastics, wasting food and making food unavailable. There are 5.25 trillion pieces of plastic floating in the oceans, with plastic islands covering up to 10 million square kilometres (eight times the size of Italy).
Global food waste reaches 30% and food production is responsible for 4.8 billion tonnes of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. We also ingest at least 5 grams of microplastics per week.
Natural and economic consequences
All of this is leading to a rise in the temperature of the planet. According to scientists, global warming will peak at +1.5/3°C by 2030. This will have serious consequences. It is estimated that within the next 50 years, 3.5 billion people will be living in temperatures similar to those in the Sahara. In addition, summer temperatures could rise by as much as +5°C by 2070.
Floods, droughts, soil erosion, heat waves and rising sea levels will have serious consequences, especially for minorities: women, the unemployed, small farmers, indigenous peoples, poor countries and developing agricultural nations. The economic impact should not be underestimated.
The solution?
According to the analysis, the solution must be a radical change – social, cultural, political and economic – that must be implemented immediately.
Among the goals to be pursued are decarbonisation, plant-based diets, urban planning that preserves green spaces, reduction of plastics and more sustainable purchasing behaviour.
