Human demand outstrips nature's supply

During the 1970s, humanity as a whole passed the point at which the annual Ecological Footprint matched the Earth’s annual biocapacity. This situation is called “ecological overshoot”, and has continued since then.

An overshoot of 50% means it would take 1.5 years for the Earth to regenerate the renewable resources that people used in 2007 and absorb CO₂ waste.

Put another way, people used the equivalent of 1.5 planets to support their activities.

The current overshoot is largely due to carbon emissions.

CO₂ and other greenhouse gas emissions from human activities are far more than ecosystems can absorb.

The carbon footprint has increased by over 30% since the first Living Planet Report in 1998, and now accounts for over half of humanity’s Ecological Footprint.

Not all people are equal consumers

The Footprint of high-income countries is 3 times that of middle-income countries, and 5 times that of low-income countries.

The countries with the biggest Ecological Footprint per person are: United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Denmark, Belgium, United States, Estonia, Canada, Australia, Kuwait, Ireland.