What can you do?
Reduce food waste
According to the FAO (Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations), 1.3 billion tonnes of edible food is currently thrown away unnecessarily. If we halved food waste worldwide, we could postpone Earth Overshoot Day by 13 days.
Expanding renewable energies
We could postpone Earth Overshoot Day by 26 days if at least 75 per cent of electricity were generated by renewable energy sources. Currently, the global figure is only 39 per cent. Coal and gas in particular need to be replaced by alternatives such as solar and wind energy.
Protect rainforests
Based on scenarios calculated by the non-profit organisation Project Drawdown, restoring and protecting tropical rainforests can postpone Earth Overshoot Day by seven days by 2050. When restoring forests, native species in particular should be planted and invasive species removed.
Promote plant-based nutrition
If we replaced 50 per cent of the world’s meat consumption with plant-based substitutes, we would postpone Earth Overshoot Day by seven days, simply through reduced CO2 emissions and land use. If we include the resulting reduced methane emissions, the impact is even greater.
Reduce car travel
If we were to reduce car journeys worldwide by 50 per cent and, for example, replace one third with public transport and the rest with cycling or walking, Earth Overshoot Day could be moved back by 13 days. The city of Wuppertal shows how this can be done: thanks to the expansion of the Nordbahntrasse, the share of commuters who use bicycles has risen from two percent to eight percent in recent years.
Extend the life of our clothes
If we double the lifespan of our clothes, we can halve the resources needed to produce them. Cotton, for example, is a very water-intensive crop. Other garments are made from petroleum-based fibres. By buying used clothes, repairing or upcycling, we could postpone Earth Overshoot Day by five days.
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