TORONTO, Aug. 1, 2023 – The Earth’s account is once again overdrawn, but rather than money it is natural resources that humanity has used up. Tomorrow is the day that becomes official – – when the Earth is no longer able to renew what humans have used this year.

“During the pandemic when we weren’t using quite as many resources, we actually did better, but now were back to where we started. Seven months into the year and the account is empty,” says , director of the in 91��ɫ’s Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change.

Miller leads a team of researchers and graduate students to produce the  for the , a Canadian not-for-profit organization.

Since 1970, humanity’s Ecological Footprint has overshot the capacity of nature to sustain it. 

Humanity's goal of getting to "net zero emission" will require ending Earth overshoot, he says.

Miller is available to speak with media about Earth Overshoot Day and what it means for Ontario and the rest of Canada. He can also speak about the detailed calculations and what the results mean. He is a member of Ontario’s Biodiversity Council and is the former head economist at the Ministry of Natural Resources.

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91��ɫ’s Ecological Footprint Initiative will release data showing changes up to 2022

TORONTO, April 17, 2023 – What is the size of Canada’s ecological footprint, and that of the rest of the world, and how did that change during the global pandemic?

Researchers at 91��ɫ will release the Ecological Footprint of Canada, and 200 other countries, from 1961 to 2022, at an on Thursday, April 20, from 1 to 2 p.m.

Ecological Footprint measures the area of land and water used to grow food and renewable materials, plus the area occupied by settlements and infrastructure, as well as the area of forests needed to soak up carbon emissions.

“Canada reports on GDP with a lag of just a few months, yet its environmental data lags by years. We filled in gaps and lags to make it easier to assess environmental performance in Canada and around the world,” says Eric Miller, director of 91��ɫ's  in the Faculty of Environmental and Urban Change. “Time is ticking. Each year of action or inaction matters for the future of humanity. For this reason, our data reports on Ecological Footprint up to the end of 2022.”

Since the first Earth Day in 1970, humanity’s Ecological Footprint has been in overshoot of the planet’s capacity to sustain it. Since 1961 humanity’s footprint has tripled.

“For each country we calculate the footprint of what was produced and what was consumed. The difference comes from the footprint embodied within the goods imported to the country, and the footprint of the goods exported by the country,” says Miller.

“Canada, for example, produces more wood products than it consumes, with the difference as exports. We generate this data for all countries, to reveal the ecological dimensions of global supply chains and the extent to which countries effectively offload their ecological requirements onto others.”

This is the fifth anniversary of 91��ɫ producing data about ecological footprint and biocapacity, and supplying that data on an open-source basis to researchers around the world.

This year’s data will also include a more robust look at the footprint of fish harvests, including unreported catch. “In Canada, fish harvests were significantly underreported up to the point of the cod collapse. By including underreports, we can help researchers see these trends much more easily,” says Katie Kish, Ecological Footprints Initiative research associate.

Register here:

Speakers:

91��ɫ's new Chief Sustainability Officer Mike Layton will kick off the event, followed by updates to the 2023 accounts from Ecological Footprint Initiative Director Eric Miller, along with data analysts Sila Basturk Agiroglu and Peri Dworatzek.

Katie Kish will talk about research futures and the growing international research network for the global footprint family, with a direct focus on better public-facing data and data for communities.

Mathis Wackernagel, co-founder and president of the Global Footprint Network, will discuss the state of the footprint and a look towards the future. One example he will draw on is the Kunming/Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework with 23 targets agreed upon at the 15th meeting of the Conference of Parties to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity. These targets include the Ecological Footprint as a measurement tool.

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TORONTO, Tuesday, April 17, 2018 – 91��ɫ will lead an international research collaboration to calculate how well countries are managing their natural resources and meeting their United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

The University has been chosen by California- and Switzerland-based non-profit to produce its National Footprint Accounts. These accounts show each country’s ecological footprint or overall demand on nature and the biocapacity of nature to regenerate.

The collaboration will be announced at 12:30pm today in Ottawa (Room 430, Wellington Building, 180 Wellington St., Ottawa) at a reception for parliamentarians and senators hosted by MP Joyce Murray, MP Linda Duncan and Green Party Leader MP Elizabeth May. 91��ɫ’s Faculty of Environmental Studies Dean Ravi De Costa and Professor Emeritus Peter Victor will be on hand. Mathis Wackernagel, co-founder and CEO of Global Footprint Network, will give a presentation at 1pm on the Ecological Footprint framework and emerging collaboration.

“Whether it is through teaching, research, engagement, or volunteerism, 91��ɫ is committed to being a leader in sustainability and to addressing the challenges we face locally and globally, including those of ecological integrity,” said 91��ɫ President & Vice-Chancellor Rhonda Lenton. “This collaboration is a major opportunity for our researchers and their international partners, as well as for our graduate students. It will build on the innovative research and teaching underway in our Faculty of Environmental Studies to inspire positive change and action, shape public policy, support evidence-based decision-making, and foster sustainability as an embedded value.”

The National Footprint Accounts are the foundation of Global Footprint Network's Ecological Footprint accounting framework and are updated annually with the latest United Nations data sets. The National Footprint Accounts track the Ecological Footprint and biocapacity of more than 200 countries and regions. This has been used by more than a dozen national governments to guide sustainability policy, including Switzerland and the United Arab Emirates, and many cities, such as Calgary and Vancouver. When coupled with the UN Human Development Index, the Footprint can help determine if countries are on track to meeting the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

"By establishing the National Footprint Accounts at 91��ɫ – a vibrant, independent, well-governed, and respected academic leader in sustainability – the accounts will become even more trusted and effective," said Wackernagel. "After spreading the use and recognition of Ecological Footprint accounting around the globe, this new placement at 91��ɫ will turn these accounts into an even more incontrovertible reference for public and private decision-making in support of sustainability."

The goal of the partnership is to make the National Footprint Accounts even more scientifically robust and widely used. An international hub at 91��ɫ will not only update the accounts, but also coordinate, among international research institutions, methodological improvements to the Footprint Accounts.

In addition to hosting the Ecological Footprint database, 91��ɫ will look into developing a new graduate program to support the production of the National Footprint Accounts.

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About 91��ɫ
is known for championing new ways of thinking that drive teaching and research excellence. Our students receive the education they need to create big ideas that make an impact on the world. Meaningful and sometimes unexpected careers result from cross-discipline programming, innovative course design and diverse experiential learning opportunities. 91��ɫ students and graduates push limits, achieve goals and find solutions to the world’s most pressing social challenges, empowered by a strong community that opens minds. 91��ɫ U is an internationally recognized research university – our 11 faculties and 26 research centres have partnerships with 200+ leading universities worldwide. Located in Toronto, 91��ɫ is the third largest university in Canada, with a strong community of 53,000 students, 7,000 faculty and administrative staff, and more than 300,000 alumni. 91��ɫ U's fully bilingual Glendon campus is home to Southern Ontario's Centre of Excellence for French Language and Bilingual Postsecondary Education.

About Global Footprint Network
is an international research organization that is changing how the world manages its natural resources and responds to climate change. Since 2003, Global Footprint Network has engaged with more than 50 nations, 30 cities, and 70 global partners to deliver scientific insights that have driven high-impact policy and investment decisions. Together, we’re creating a future where all of us can thrive within our planet’s limits.

Media Contact:

Sandra McLean, 91��ɫ Media Relations, 416-736-2100 ext. 22097, sandramc@yorku.ca

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