29
Oct 2008 - The world is heading for an ecological
credit crunch as human demands on the world's
natural capital reach nearly a third more
than earth can sustain.
That is the stark warning
contained in the latest edition of WWF’s
Living Planet Report, the leading statement
of the planet’s health. In addition global
natural wealth and diversity continues to
decline, and more and more countries are
slipping into a state of permanent or seasonal
water stress.
“The world is currently
struggling with the consequences of over-valuing
its financial assets,” said WWF International
Director-General James Leape, “but a more
fundamental crisis looms ahead -- an ecological
credit crunch caused by under-valuing the
environmental assets that are the basis
of all life and prosperity.”
The report, produced
with the Zoological Society of London (ZSL)
and the Global Footprint Network (GFN),
shows more than three quarters of the world’s
people now living in nations that are ecological
debtors, where national consumption has
outstripped their country’s biological capacity.
Living at the cost of
others
“Most of us are propping up our current
lifestyles, and our economic growth, by
drawing - and increasingly overdrawing -
on the ecological capital of other parts
of the world,” Mr Leape said.
“If our demands on the
planet continue to increase at the same
rate, by the mid-2030s we would need the
equivalent of two planets to maintain our
lifestyles.”
The report, published
every two years, has since 1998 become widely
accepted as a statement of earth's ability
to remain a “living planet”. In 2008, it
adds for the first time new measures of
global, national and individual water footprint
to existing measures of the Ecological Footprint
of human demand on natural resources and
the Living Planet Index, a measure of the
state of nature.
“We are acting ecologically
in the same way as financial institutions
have been behaving economically - seeking
immediate gratification without due regard
for the consequences,” said ZSL co-editor
Jonathan Loh. “The consequences of a global
ecological crisis are even graver than the
current economic meltdown.”
“Continued ecological deficit spending will
have severe economic consequences,” said
GFN Executive Director Dr Mathis Wackernagel.
“Resource limitations and ecosystem collapses
would trigger massive stagflation with the
value of investments plummeting, while food
and energy costs skyrocket.”
The USA and China have
the largest national footprints, each in
total about 21 per cent of global biocapacity,
but US citizens each require an average
of 9.4 global ha (or nearly 4.5 Planet Earths
if the global population had US consumption
patterns) while Chinese citizens use on
average 2.1 global ha per person (one Planet
Earth).
Eastern Europeans part
of the problem -- and the solution
Though not as profligate in their use of
resources as Americans, people from the
Danube-Carpathian region are nevertheless
living well beyond their means. 2.5 earths
would be required if everyone consumed like
Czechs; 1.3 earths would be required if
they consumed like Bulgarians.
“Particularly for countries
in the Danube-Carpathian region, there are
significant opportunities to develop and
enhance livelihoods while at the same time
ensuring that we do not exceed the one planet
that we have,” said Michael Baltzer, director
of the WWF Danube-Carpathian Programme.
For all countries of
the Danube-Carpathian region, carbon emissions
are responsible for the greatest part of
the impact the country has on the planet,
accounting for as much as 60% of the ecological
footprint of the Czech Republic. But most
countries of the region are grossly inefficient
in their use of energy, with an intensity
of energy use per unit of output that is
two to three times higher than that of Western
European countries. There is thus very significant
potential for saving energy, saving money
while also saving the planet.
The report shows for
the world as a whole that a range of efficiency,
renewable and low emissions measures could
meet projected energy demands to 2050 with
reductions in carbon emissions of 60 to
80 per cent.
The report also points
to the growing crisis related to water,
which is expected to increase with climate
change. Bulgaria in particular is already
experiencing severe stress on water resources.
Much of this impact could be lessened with
simple water conservation measures and more
rational use of water resources.
“If humanity has the
will, it has the ways to live within the
means of the planet, but we must recognize
that the ecological credit crunch will require
even bolder action than that now being mustered
for the financial crisis” Mr Leape said.
The global ecological
footprint is worsening at an increasing
rate. The 2006 WWF Living Planet Report
revealed an excess ecological footprint
of 25 per cent in 2003 (2008 LPR - 30 per
cent on global data for 2005), with a projection
that the two planet requirement would be
reached around 2050 (2008 LPR – 2030s).
Notes for editors:
The 2008 Living Planet
Report can be downloaded from www.panda.org/lpr/08
The report and additional
multimedia materials including broadcast
quality video can be found at wwf.extranet.largeblue.net,
using the password mA1aGb73
The global ecological
footprint is worsening at an increasing
rate. The 2006 WWF Living Planet Report
revealed an excess ecological footprint
of 25 per cent in 2003 (2008 LPR - 30 per
cent on global data for 2005), with a projection
that the two planet requirement would be
reached around 2050 (2008 LPR – 2030s).
For further information:
WWF: Phil Dickie, WWF International News
Editor
WWF Danube-Carpathian Programme: Andreas
Beckmann
About WWF
WWF is one of the world's largest and most
respected independent conservation organizations,
with almost 5 million supporters and a global
network active in over 100 countries. WWF's
mission is to stop the degradation of the
earth's natural environment and to build
a future in which humans live in harmony
with nature, by conserving the world's biological
diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable
natural resources is sustainable, and promoting
the reduction of pollution and wasteful
consumption.
About ZSL
Founded in 1826, the Zoological Society
of London (ZSL) is an international scientific,
conservation and educational charity: our
key role is the conservation of animals
and their habitats. ZSL runs ZSL London
Zoo and ZSL Whipsnade Zoo, carries out scientific
research in the Institute of Zoology and
is actively involved in field conservation
in over forty countries worldwide. www.zsl.org
About GFN
The Global Footprint Network promotes a
sustainable economy by advancing the Ecological
Footprint, a tool that makes sustainability
measurable. Together with its partners,
the network coordinates research, develops
methodological standards, and provides decision
makers with robust resource accounts to
help the human economy operate within the
Earth’s ecological limits. www.footprintnetwork.org
+ More
Living Planet analysis
shows looming ecological credit crunch
29 Oct 2008 - Gland,
Switzerland: The world is heading for an
ecological credit crunch as human demands
on the world's natural capital reach nearly
a third more than earth can sustain.
That is the stark warning
contained in the latest edition of WWF’s
Living Planet Report, the leading statement
of the planet’s health. In addition global
natural wealth and diversity continues to
decline, and more and more countries are
slipping into a state of permanent or seasonal
water stress.
“The world is currently
struggling with the consequences of over-valuing
its financial assets,” said WWF International
Director-General James Leape, “but a more
fundamental crisis looms ahead -- an ecological
credit crunch caused by under-valuing the
environmental assets that are the basis
of all life and prosperity.”
The report, produced
with the Zoological Society of London (ZSL)
and the Global Footprint Network (GFN),
shows more than three quarters of the world’s
people now living in nations that are ecological
debtors, where national consumption has
outstripped their country’s biological capacity.
“Most of us are propping
up our current lifestyles, and our economic
growth, by drawing - and increasingly overdrawing
- on the ecological capital of other parts
of the world,” Mr Leape said.
“If our demands on the
planet continue to increase at the same
rate, by the mid-2030s we would need the
equivalent of two planets to maintain our
lifestyles.”
The report, published
every two years, has since 1998 become widely
accepted as an statement of earth's ability
to remain a “living planet”. In 2008, it
adds for the first time new measures of
global, national and individual water footprint
to existing measures of the Ecological Footprint
of human demand on natural resources and
the Living Planet Index, a measure of the
state of nature.
The Living Planet Index,
compiled by ZSL, shows a nearly 30 per cent
decline since 1970 in nearly 5000 measured
populations of 1,686 species. These dramatic
losses in our natural wealth are being driven
by deforestation and land conversion in
the tropics (50% decline in Tropical LPI)
and the impact of dams, diversions and climate
change on freshwater species (35% decline).
Pollution, over-fishing and destructive
fishing in marine and coastal environments
is also taking a considerable toll.
“We are acting ecologically
in the same way as financial institutions
have been behaving economically - seeking
immediate gratification without due regard
for the consequences,” said ZSL co-editor
Jonathan Loh. “The consequences of a global
ecological crisis are even graver than the
current economic meltdown.”
Carbon emissions from
fossil fuel use and land disturbance are
the greatest component of humanity’s footprint,
underlining the key threat of climate change.
. The ecological footprint analysis, produced
by GFN, shows that while global biocapacity
– the area available to produce our resources
and capture our emissions – is 2.1 average
or “global” hectares per person, the per
person footprint is 2.7 global ha.
“Continued ecological
deficit spending will have severe economic
consequences,” said GFN Executive Director
Dr Mathis Wackernagel. “Resource limitations
and ecosystem collapses would trigger massive
stagflation with the value of investments
plummeting, while food and energy costs
skyrocket.”
The USA and China have
the largest national footprints, each in
total about 21 per cent of global biocapacity,
but US citizens each require an average
of 9.4 global ha (or nearly 4.5 Planet Earths
if the global population had US consumption
patterns) while Chinese citizens use on
average 2.1 global ha per person (one Planet
Earth).
Biocapacity is unevenly
distributed, with eight nations – the United
States, Brazil, Russia, China, India, Canada,
Argentina and Australia - containing more
than half the world total. Population and
consumption patterns make three of these
countries ecological debtors, with footprints
greater than their national biocapacity
- the United States (footprint 1.8 times
national biocapacity), China (2.3 times)
and India ( 2.2 times).
This can be contrasted
with the Congo with the seventh highest
per person biocapacity of 13.9 global ha
per person and an average footprint of just
0.5 global ha per person – but facing a
future of degrading biocapacity from deforestation
and increased demands from a rising population
and export pressures.
The new water footprint
measures show up the significance of water
traded in the form of commodities with,
for example, a cotton T-shirt requiring
2,900 litres of water in its production.
On average, each person consumes 1.24 million
litres (about half an Olympic swimming pool)
of water a year, but this varies from 2.48
million litres per person a year (USA) to
619,000 litres per capita annually (Yemen).
“Around 50 countries
are currently facing moderate or severe
water stress and the number of people suffering
from year-round or seasonal water shortages
is expected to increase as a result of climate
change,” the report finds.
“These Living Planet
measures serve as clear and robust signposts
to what needs to be done,” said Mr Leape.
“It is our hope that in years to come we
will be reporting increases in the Living
Planet Index, an ecological footprint coming
down in shoe sizes and water becoming more
rather than less available in more places.”
The report suggests
some key “sustainability wedges” which if
combined could stabilise and reverse the
worsening slide into ecological debt and
enduring damage to global support systems.
For the single most important challenge
– climate change – the report shows that
a range of efficiency, renewable and low
emissions “wedges” could meet projected
energy demands to 2050 with reductions in
carbon emissions of 60 to 80 per cent.
“If humanity has the
will, it has the ways to live within the
means of the planet, but we must recognize
that the ecological credit crunch will require
even bolder action than that now being mustered
for the financial crisis” Mr Leape said.
Notes for editors:
The 2008 Living Planet
Report can be downloaded from www.panda.org/lpr/08
The report and additional
multimedia materials including broadcast
quality video can be found at wwf.extranet.largeblue.net,
using the password mA1aGb73
The global ecological
footprint is worsening at an increasing
rate. The 2006 WWF Living Planet Report
revealed an excess ecological footprint
of 25 per cent in 2003 (2008 LPR - 30 per
cent on global data for 2005), with a projection
that the two planet requirement would be
reached around 2050 (2008 LPR – 2030s).
WWF: Phil Dickie, WWF International News
Editor
GFN: Nicole Freeling
About WWF
WWF is one of the world's largest and most
respected independent conservation organizations,
with almost 5 million supporters and a global
network active in over 100 countries. WWF's
mission is to stop the degradation of the
earth's natural environment and to build
a future in which humans live in harmony
with nature, by conserving the world's biological
diversity, ensuring that the use of renewable
natural resources is sustainable, and promoting
the reduction of pollution and wasteful
consumption.
About ZSL
Founded in 1826, the Zoological Society
of London (ZSL) is an international scientific,
conservation and educational charity: our
key role is the conservation of animals
and their habitats. ZSL runs ZSL London
Zoo and ZSL Whipsnade Zoo, carries out scientific
research in the Institute of Zoology and
is actively involved in field conservation
in over forty countries worldwide. www.zsl.org
About GFN
The Global Footprint Network promotes a
sustainable economy by advancing the Ecological
Footprint, a tool that makes sustainability
measurable. Together with its partners,
the network coordinates research, develops
methodological standards, and provides decision
makers with robust resource accounts to
help the human economy operate within the
Earth’s ecological limits. www.footprintnetwork.org
