On July 24, 2025 exhausted the resources, it has been designated as Earth Overshoot Day, a key moment in which humanity consumed all the natural resources that the planet is capable of regenerating in a year.
This means that for the remaining five months, we will be living in a state of ecological deficit, using the planet’s resources faster than they can be replenished.
This calculation is carried out by a non-profit organization, based on the relationship between the planet’s biocapacity and humanity’s ecological footprint.
To do this, updated data from the National Footprint and Biocapacity Accounts, developed by the University of York, are used. It is worth noting that this year, the date was advanced by eight days compared to 2024, when it was commemorated on August 1.
What is Earth Overshoot Day?
The concept was proposed by Andrew Simms, of the New Economics Foundation, and became a global campaign in 2006, in collaboration with the Global Footprint Network, which is in charge of the calculation. Since then, it has been promoted by organizations such as the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and has become a key indicator of the impact of human consumption on global ecosystems.
The calculation is made through a simple formula: the planet’s biocapacity (the amount of resources Earth can generate in a year) is divided by humanity’s ecological footprint (the demand for those resources), and the result is multiplied by 365 days. The formula is:
(Biocapacity / Ecological footprint) x 365 = Earth Overshoot Day
In 2025, humanity is using natural resources at a rate 1.8 times higher than the planet’s capacity to regenerate them.
According to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), to achieve economic growth and sustainable development, it is urgent to reduce the ecological footprint. This implies modifying production and consumption methods.
Efficient management of natural resources is vital and a better way to dispose of waste and pollutants. In addition, the UNDP emphasizes the importance of urging industries, businesses, and consumers to recycle and reduce waste, as well as supporting developing countries in adopting sustainable consumption patterns by 2030.
Argentina’s Situation in Ecological Overshoot
Despite Argentina maintaining an ecological surplus in 2024 — meaning its biocapacity exceeded the demand of its population — its situation is not immune to the problem.
Global hectares are a standardized unit of measurement that allows comparing productive areas on a global scale, adjusting their capacity to generate resources and absorb waste, such as carbon emissions.
In 2024 Argentina maintained an ecological surplus, with more biocapacity than resource demand from its population
With approximately 5.8 global hectares per capita of biocapacity and an ecological footprint of 3.3 global hectares per capita, Argentina has an ecological reserve of 2.5 global hectares per person.
However, this structural advantage does not prevent the country from entering ecological overshoot. In fact, the report places its Earth Overshoot Day in 2025 on July 3.
This indicates that if all of humanity consumed like Argentinians, the planet would deplete its annual ecological budget on that date. Although the country maintains a high biocapacity per capita globally, the advancement of its overshoot date evidences increasing pressure on its local ecosystems.
How is it calculated? Updates, adjustments, and projections
Earth Overshoot Day is determined based on the most recent edition of the National Footprint and Biocapacity Accounts (2025), which contains complete data up to 2022 and estimates for 2023 and 2024. From this base, the Global Footprint Network projects the results for 2025.
One of the main modifications this year was the reduction in the estimate of the oceans’ capacity to absorb carbon.
This, combined with a slight increase in the per capita footprint and a small decrease in per capita biocapacity, advanced the overshoot date by eight days compared to 2024. According to the report, seven of those eight days are due to these data revisions.
The use of technological tools helps refine these projections. For 2025, it is estimated that the global Ecological Footprint will be 2.65 global hectares per capita, while the biocapacity will be only 1.49 global hectares, with the carbon component representing over 60% of the total.
What is the ecological footprint and why is it important?
The ecological footprint is an indicator that measures human demand for natural resources compared to the planet’s capacity to provide them in a year.
It compares the use of productive surfaces (croplands, forests, fisheries, etc.) with the biocapacity of those ecosystems.
If the ecological footprint exceeds biocapacity, a deficit is generated that forces the import of resources or the release of more carbon than can be captured
According to the Global Footprint Network, the ecological footprint “sums all <a href
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