Today, April 4, marks Sweden's Overshoot Day, when the annual ration of renewable resources is exhausted if everyone on Earth lived like Swedes. Global Footprint Network calculations show that Swedish lifestyles would require resources from four Earths each year. The pattern holds in other high-income countries.
Sweden's Overshoot Day arrives today, April 4. It signifies the point at which the country has consumed its yearly share of renewable natural resources, assuming the global population lived at Swedish consumption levels.
According to the Global Footprint Network, Swedish ways of life would demand resources equivalent to four Earths annually. Swedes have one of the world's largest per capita ecological footprints, a trend seen across other high-income countries.
The global Overshoot Day, based on actual worldwide consumption, falls later. In recent years, it has occurred around the late July to early August shift, with last year's on July 24.
Despite the large footprint, Sweden boasts substantial biological capacity as a nation. Nationally, its biocapacity exceeds its ecological footprint, placing it among the few countries with this surplus.
