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BERLIN/BONN (dpa-AFX) - As of Thursday, humanity will consume more resources than the Earth can renew in a year. In other words: We are living as if we had 1.7 Earths at our disposal. This was reported by the organization Germanwatch, citing calculations by the Global Footprint Network based in the USA and Switzerland. The day is therefore one day earlier than last year. Earth overload includes, for example, the consumption of fish, arable land or wood, but also the earth's capacity to absorb waste and emissions.

Aircraft are particularly harmful to the climate. In addition to CO2 emissions, they cause around three times the greenhouse effect as if the same amount of CO2 were emitted on the ground, emphasizes Germanwatch. One reason for this is contrails. In contrast, rail transport offers a more sustainable alternative, as it is up to 28 times more climate-friendly than intra-European flights.

A very small proportion of the world's population is responsible for this key driver of the climate crisis with their flying behavior, explains Jacob Rohm from Germanwatch. For example, over 60 percent of Germans state that they only fly rarely or not at all, according to the organization. In addition, over 80 percent of the world's population has never boarded an airplane.

According to Global Footprint Network's calculations, natural resources in Germany were already used up on May 2. According to Germanwatch, the high consumption of meat and other animal products has a major impact on the consumption of natural resources.

In order to reduce the consumption of resources, the German Federation for the Environment and Nature Conservation (BUND) is calling for a law with clear conservation targets. This is necessary in order to create responsibilities and provide incentives for a sustainable economy, says BUND Chairman Olaf Bandt.

Germanwatch also has some positive news: "For decades, the earth's overload has increased almost every year, but for almost ten years now it has been hovering at a high level," says Political Director Christoph Bals. "The good news is that the tipping point seems to have been reached." He sees the "global triumph" of renewable energies, storage technologies, e-mobility and heat pumps as one of the reasons for this. These and other trends must be greatly accelerated in order to prevent climate tipping points and massive further losses of species./scr/DP/zb