Trial / Demo
Today, 1st August 2024, marks this year’s Earth Overshoot Day. The day of the year on which humanity’s demand on nature exceeds the Earth’s annual biological capacity to regenerate. And just slightly beyond the halfway line, humanity has managed to exceed the Earth’s biocapacity in a mere 7 months.
Despite years of campaigning to #MoveTheDate, by the Global Footprint Network and many other climate conscious organisations and individuals, it seems the message still isn’t getting through. In fact, we continue to move in the wrong direction. In the early 1970s, the average global earth overshoot day occurred in December. However, this crucial date has been steadily creeping forward by around a month every decade – clear evidence that we are still not doing enough to meet our climate change and environmental goals.
Based on this year’s calculations, we will have consumed the equivalent of 1.75 Earths by the time we reach December 31st. However, delve a little deeper into those statistics, and it quickly becomes apparent that some nations have a lot more work to do than others in order to push the date forward. It is calculated that no less than 72 countries have “country overshoot days” (i.e. the date on which Earth Overshoot Day would fall if all of humanity consumed like the people in that country) which fall within the first 6 months of the year, with some of the earlier examples including Qatar (11th February), Luxembourg (20th February) and the USA (14th March). If the whole world were to consume the world’s resources at the rate of these countries, we’d be tearing through at least 5 Earths each year. A sobering thought.
Earth Overshoot’s “Power of Possibility” initiative highlights a number of solutions that can help to improve our resource security in the five key areas of: healthy planet, cities, energy, food, and population. And with buildings still accounting for almost 37% of energy and process-related CO2 emissions, it is unsurprising to see that they feature more than once amongst the solutions proposed. Incorporating elements of sustainable and passive design practices, energy efficient retrofits, and the use of more sustainable building materials are just a few of the measures they suggest. However, there is arguably a lot more the sector can – and in many cases, already is doing - to reduce its impact.
While I have stressed this point time and time again, the significance of the built environment in mitigating climate change and preserving our planet’s finite resources cannot be overstated. By rethinking how we design, build, operate and retrofit our buildings, we can make significant strides towards reducing our impact on the planet and safeguarding it for generations to come. However, this transformation will require widescale collaboration across governments, industries, and communities, and an unwavering commitment to innovation and sustainability.
Throughout my career, I have been fortunate to witness first-hand some of the great strides our industry is making to limit the impact of buildings on our planet. However, I know that those who are driving the change that we so desperately need to see are most likely just as frustrated as I am that the scale of transformation just isn’t happening quickly enough. We know how to design, build and operate our buildings more efficiently and we have access to the tools we need to bring this knowledge into fruition. But we need our governments, businesses and society as a whole to get behind us in taking the role of buildings seriously as we move forward.
Moving the Earth Overshoot date will also mean putting the interests of all life on Earth ahead of our own financial and personal gains. It simply isn’t good enough for governments and businesses to continue to turn a blind eye to what they are doing to the Earth. By delaying action, we are simply passing on an increasingly bigger problem for future generations to deal with.
Earlier this year, the average annual Earth temperature exceeded the ‘acceptable’ limit of 1.5°C for the first time. This was a significant warning point and makes the campaign to #MoveTheDate even more urgent than ever before. We must all make massive changes to our personal lives but also do whatever is in our power to help others make changes, to overcome passive attitudes to climate change.
As we strive to push Earth Overshoot Day later into the year, the built environment stands as a key area for action. However, by embracing sustainable practices, and the knowledge, tools and technologies currently at our disposal, I am confident that we can move towards a more balanced relationship with our planet, ensuring a healthier and more sustainable future for all.
Remember, it is our families and future generations are being passed this ticking time bomb. Let’s all play our part to look after them and #MoveTheDate.
