Every year, people consume more resources than the planet has available. This is shown by today’s Austrian Overshoot Day. According to an analysis by the Viennese social enterprise Helioz, Austria ranks 10th among the countries that use up their ecological resources and services the fastest. There is a lot of room for improvement, especially when it comes to reducing CO2 emissions. They make up 60 percent of the ecological footprint.
Earth Overshoot Day: We live as if we have 3.5 planets at our disposal
Austria’s Overshoot Day again on April 6th
Earth Overshoot Day marks the day when we have exhausted the amount of natural resources our planet can regenerate in a year. In 2022 it fell on July 28th. However, individual countries use different amounts of resources: Austria’s own Earth Overshoot Day is much earlier. Last year, the local Overshoot Day fell on April 6th. All resources that are consumed in Austria from this point in time will be at the expense of future generations.
Qatar is in first place ahead of Austria, followed by Luxembourg and Canada. Neighboring Germany is in 16th place. Helioz CEO Niclas Schmiedmaier criticizes the modern economy, which is geared towards constant growth, production and consumption while ignoring the environment.
Austria has already used up its resources for 2022
“Absurdly high resource consumption”
“Especially in industrialized countries like Austria, we have an absurdly high consumption of resources. In comparison, there is no Overshoot Day in the Global South, countries like Bangladesh, Cambodia and Haiti, because they manage their raw materials much more sustainably. Nevertheless, they suffer most from the consequences of the climate crisis; not only under extreme weather conditions such as floods and periods of drought, but also hunger and social conflicts,” says Schmiedmaier.
In order to move Earth Overshoot Day further back in the future, emissions must be avoided, reduced or at least compensated for. “In the last step, it is important to always ensure that the certificates are transparent and of high quality. Anything else is just a half-hearted attempt to clear his guilty conscience. With high-quality certificates, however, you can create social impact in the countries of the Global South and finance sustainable climate protection projects,” explains Schmiedmaier.
IG Windkraft: Austria falls behind in Europe when it comes to renewables
“Politics must rethink the economic system”
Emissions need to decrease on a global scale to have a truly sustainable impact. “Politicians must rethink our economic system and introduce legal frameworks for climate protection, companies must assume their social and ecological responsibility and we as individuals should question our consumer behavior and take responsibility for our climate. Otherwise it will be quite uncomfortable for us humans on earth, because CO2 emissions have no return address,” says the Helioz CEO.