Today we celebrate Earth Day, but in a month Italy will have already run out of all the natural resources for 2023

According to estimates by the Global Footprint Network, from May 15th our country will be in "debt" to the planet.The scientist Alessandro Galli:«We need to rethink the concept of well-being»

On April 22, 1970, the day the first Earth Day was celebrated, we only needed one planet.Today, 53 years later, it would take almost two to satisfy the consumption of the world population.The estimates are from the Global Footprint Network, a network of associations that measure the ecological footprint of human beings.Every year, experts calculate the so-called Earth Overshoot Day, i.e. the day on which the Earth runs out of natural resources that it is able to regenerate over the course of a calendar year.The date varies continuously depending on how quickly the resources are exploited.Yet, the trend does not leave too much room for interpretation:from the seventies to today theovershoot day was achieved more and more rapidly.In 1971, the first year to be calculated, the date fell on December 25.In 1980, November 8th.In 2000, September 25th.In 2022, July 28th.«We must rethink the concept of well-being and really ask ourselves whether the quality of life is always and only determined by consumption», explains a Open Alessandro Galli, senior scientist of the Global Footprint Network and responsible for the program for the Mediterranean area.

Countries compared

THE'overshoot day It is calculated by comparing two elements:the ecological footprint of humans and the biocapacity of the planet.The ecological footprint measures the amount of productive land required by a population to support its activities and consumption.The Earth's biocapacity includes all those natural and renewable resources that are actually available and that the planet is capable of cyclically regenerating.The data from the Global Footprint Network are quite clear:the rate at which humans are exploiting the Earth's resources has reached unsustainable levels.“Over the last 50 years economies have grown beyond what the planet can bear, requiring the equivalent of 1.75 planets in terms of ecological resources and services by 2022,” adds Galli.

To avoid creating imbalances, each citizen should have an ecological footprint of approximately 1.6 hectares.Yet, more than 80% of the world's population lives in countries with an ecological deficit, meaning they use more resources than their ecosystems are able to generate.It is also true that there are big differences between one country and another.The one to earn the black jersey is Qatar, whose overshoot day it fell on February 10th.Things aren't much better for the United States, which ran out of resources for 2023 on March 13th.If the whole world lived like in Russia, the day of overexploitation of the Earth would fall on April 19.For China, the date moves to June 2.«This immoderate use of resources has consequences and leads to the destruction of the habitats of wild species and the decline of biodiversity, threatening the well-being of current and future generations», specifies Galli.According to the latest report from Wwf, in the last 50 years wildlife has declined by 69% globally.

The Italian case

And Italy?Estimates say that on May 15th our country will have already consumed all the natural resources of 2023 and will be in debt for the rest of the year.The average ecological footprint of an Italian is 4.3 hectares, a figure more than double the 1.6 hectares considered sustainable.In other words, if the whole world adopted the lifestyle and consumption levels of Italians, we would need the equivalent of 2.7 planets.«This data is a wake-up call:tells us that we Italians consume much more than ours fair share of the planet's resources.Consequently, we are called to reduce consumption and redistribute resources", comments Galli.In particular, there are two sectors that weigh on Italy:the food sector (responsible for 31% of the average footprint of an Italian) and the transport sector (responsible for around 25%).«These data do not tell us that we must reduce our quality of life – specifies the scientist -.Rather, they tell us that we achieved it in an unsustainable and inefficient way."To demonstrate this, just look at the UN data on food waste, according to which every Italian throws away on average 67 kilos of food annually.

In recent years, some progress has been made.«The level of environmental awareness of the Italian population seems to be very high and growing – comments Galli -.In 2019, we became the first country in Europe to make sustainability and the climate crisis compulsory subjects in school for ages 3 to 19."To this we then add the ambitious goals set at European level with the Green Deal, the package of measures aimed at reducing emissions in the 27 member countries.Measures that Italy has often tried to oppose or change downwards, starting from the new regulation on polluting cars.«I have witnessed this debate with bitterness, because I believe that we have not understood the extent of the changes that are necessary to make our societies sustainable», underlines the scientist of the Global Footprint Network.

The solutions are there

But what are the indicators that allow you to move - forwards or backwards - the date ofovershoot day?Experts identify five:cities, energy, food, planet and population.Within each of these macro-sectors there are an infinite number of sustainable solutions and alternatives.Any examples?Halving food waste around the world would give us 13 more days on the calendar.While the so-called "15 minute city" - where all essential services can be reached on foot or by bicycle - would save us another 11 days.Or again:reforesting 350 million hectares of land would move the date by 8 days.Small individual gestures are then added to the decisions that are up to governments and companies.For example in energy production, one of the main ones drivers of climate change.According to expert estimates, abandoning fossil fuels and reducing CO2 emissions by 50% would allow us to postpone theovershoot day of more than three months (93 days).

In short, there are solutions.It's just a matter of implementing them more and better than we have done so far.And this is perhaps why the theme chosen this year for World Earth Day is «Invest in our planet».A transversal appeal, aimed at governments, companies, associations and citizens.«It is an invitation addressed to all of us, regardless of our role in society.We all have a personal interest in ensuring that the Earth is not destabilized", specifies Galli.«The natural capital available on our planet, the only habitable one we have to date, is the real engine of our economies.Consequently, ensuring that natural resources are in good condition is key to our social well-being."

Cover photo:ANSA/Pierpaolo Ferreri | The dry Po river near Castel San Giovanni, Piacenza (25 March 2023)