On Thursday, the world’s resources have been used up for this year – Norway is among the worst consumers

World Overshoot Day, or Earth Overshoot Day, is marked this year 1 August, one day earlier than last year. For the rest of the year, we live beyond our means, says WWF Secretary General Karoline Andaur.

– We are sinking ever deeper into the debt mire when, year after year, we continue to use our natural resources on credit.

In seven months, the world has used up the natural resource budget for the entire year.

– Anyone with a little financial understanding knows what happens when we spend more than we can afford. It rarely ends well, says Andaur.

Advocates a more circular economy

Andaur believes that the authorities must take action to slow down our consumption.

– We absolutely have to reduce our consumption and switch from a linear to a circular economy. If we don’t do that, we will not reach climate targets and risk complete natural collapse, she says.

Circular economy means using the resources that have already been extracted from nature through repair, reuse and recycling.

– This means that we must focus more on managing natural resources that are already in circulation rather than waste management, says the general secretary.

Norway at the top of the world

The date 1 August is overconsumption day for the entire world. In Norway, the situation is worse, and we are at the top of the world when it comes to overconsumption. Here, the overconsumption day falls on 12 April, as it did last year.

Only 24 countries have higher consumption, shows the overview from think tank Global Footprint Network which calculates World Overconsumption Day.

– If everyone had lived like us, we would have needed 3.6 earths, says Andaur.

Worst in the class is Qatar, which had already used up its natural quota for 2024 on 11 February.

At the same time, there are several countries that do not use up their natural resources, and thus do not have an over-consumption day. This applies, for example, to Kenya and Afghanistan.