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The Alpine states are among the first to reach Overshoot Day. A more sustainable lifestyle would help us reach this day later in the year. © Global Footprint Network 2024, www.overshootday.org

Earth Overshoot Day is the day on which all the natural resources that the Earth can regenerate within a year are used up. The more wasteful a country’s economy, the earlier national Overshoot Day is reached – and, unfortunately, the Alpine countries are way out in front. Austria tops the list on 7 April, followed by Slovenia on 25 April. The list continues with Germany (2 May), France (7 May) and Italy (19 May), followed by Liechtenstein and Switzerland on 27 May. For a future worth living, Overshoot Day should take place much later or rather not at all. The data used for the calculation is based upon the latest available results of the “National Footprint and Biocapacity Accounts”, taken from last year. Time delays in data reporting mean that the results from 2020 to 2022 are based upon a mixture of actual data and preliminary estimates, which are therefore less reliable than the estimates up to 2020, which are taken from complete data sets. This year’s Overshoot Days are therefore an extrapolation, based upon the results for 2022. The Global Footprint Network is behind the calculation: this non-profit organisation is committed to ensuring that all people live within the capacities of our planet, with the aim of putting ecological limits at the centre of political decisions.

Sources and further information:

overshoot.footprintnetwork.org/newsroom/country-overshoot-days/ (en), www.footprintnetwork.org/licenses/public-data-package-free (en)