As we pass Earth Overshoot Day on August 2nd, the day when humanity has collectively used more resources than Earth can generate for the whole year, we are reminded that our overuse of natural resources is a continuous threat to the planet. Over the past decade, the global public has become increasingly aware of this ecological overshoot, with recent years marking a return to pre-COVID levels of concern about natural resources depletion and biodiversity loss.
Concern tends to be strongest in Latin America, while regions contributing the most to ecological overshoot – North America and Europe – express more muted concern. Younger people tend to be most worried, though concern is high across generations. As the date of ecological overshoot arrives earlier every year, public awareness and concern are likely to continue to grow over time.
*Includes Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, Russia, Spain, Turkey, UK, and USA. Not asked in all countries in all years. Before 2019 this question was asked using an in-person and telephone methodology.
Source: GlobeScan Radar Trends Report (survey of 29,293 people in the general public in June ‒ July 2022)
