On Earth Day, 22 April, the Global Footprint Network (GFN) announced that Earth Overshoot Day will land on August 8, 2016, when we will have used as much from nature as our planet can renew in the whole year. This means we will consume 67 percent more ecological resources and services than nature can renew this year, through overfishing, deforestation and emitting more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than forests can sequester. The consequences of this "overshoot" include shrinking biodiversity, collapsed fisheries, eroded topsoil and climate change.
But GFN is still optimistic, and here’s why: The world is on the cusp of positive change. Last December, 195 nations and the European Union pledged to combat climate change as part of a historic UN agreement in Paris. Today, on Earth Day, UN delegates are officially signing the Paris climate change agreement at a high-level ceremony in New York City. In addition, the United Nations launched global goals to achieve humanity’s collective dream—sustainable development—last September.
GFN is inviting all to “Join us and take part in our action campaign to pledge for the planet, as a citizen and as a consumer. Make small or big lifestyle choices. Get involved in supporting systemic change. Help create a future where planet and people thrive. Use your voice on social media to spread the word that we can start now to build a world that our children’s children will want to live in.”
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