Overshoot Day has arrived in Italy: the country’s natural resources are officially depleted.
4 Italys needed to meet Italians’ needs
The point of no return, as it is often called, has arrived 4 days later than last year (May 15, 2023). Small improvements and steps forward have been made, but according to experts, they are not sufficient.
The WWF has highlighted that, as things currently stand, the average consumption of Italians far exceeds the planet’s availability. According to estimates, it would take 4 Italys (in terms of energy resources) to meet the demands of all citizens. The balance has slightly improved, but it is still an ecological deficit. More strikingly, imagine that if everyone had the same lifestyle as Italians, 2.7 planets would be needed.
Italy is not, currently, consuming as much as super-industrialized countries like Qatar or economically significant ones like Luxembourg or the United States, but it is getting closer. Consider that for the American lifestyle, 4 planets would be needed.
Italy’s balance depends mainly on transportation and food consumption, remaining below the European average, with lower consumption than France and Germany, but higher than Spain.
How is the situation in the rest of the World
Globally, Overshoot Day arrived on August 2, 2023. It seems too early to conclude 2024, but some estimates suggest it will be around July 25 this year.
The situation varies greatly worldwide at the moment. Qatar saw its Overshoot Day arrive very early on the calendar, February 11. Western countries like Ecuador, Indonesia, Jamaica, and Iraq, on the other hand, balance global consumption. It is estimated that their Overshoot Day will be postponed until November 2024.
