On 24 July, the Earth will have reached this year's breaking point: the resources for human life will - statistically speaking - be used up after this day. Lisa Pier, Misereor expert for sustainable development, explains:
"Earth Overshoot Day is not a calendar entry - it is a reminder: our planet is at its limit. The profit-oriented economy is overstretching the capacities of our planet: if we use up all our resources, there will be no air to breathe, no petrol to drive, no raw materials for new clothes. But to keep everything running, the world is living on credit. Theoretically, we would need 1.8 Earths to quench our thirst for resources in the long term.
In the coalition agreement, the German government has committed itself to reducing the consumption of resources, but this is happening far too slowly. Misereor is therefore calling on the German government to pass a resource conservation law that sets out clear rules: Raw material consumption in Germany must fall and the circular economy must be strengthened. A law with sector-specific reduction targets is the most important lever - even before recycling and reuse. Germany can lead by example - and set an example for other countries. Only in this way can the transition to a fairer and sustainable economy succeed - for all people, today and tomorrow. And it is also the only way to push Earth Overshoot Day later into the year again."
Background
With Goal 12 of the 2030 Agenda, the global community has committed to taking sustainable consumption and production patterns seriously and implementing them. However, the resource-intensive economic policies of Germany and the EU are preventing this goal from being achieved. The high consumption of raw materials is fuelled by deregulation and exploitative production patterns along global supply chains. There is also a distribution problem: wealthy countries such as Germany are overexploiting their resources, while many countries in the Global South are consuming far less. At the same time, these countries are feeling the effects of climate change and resource scarcity the most. Misereor partners provide a frightening insight: In Indonesia, floods are threatening entire regions; in Somalia, people and animals are dying from drought and heat; in Brazil, indigenous peoples are losing their livelihoods due to the destruction of the rainforest. The inhabitants of these countries are experiencing the consequences on a daily basis - while the industrialised nations continue to profit.
