The world would use up all the resources that the earth generates in a year within just four months if the rest of the globe consumed at the same rate as Malta, a study for Earth Overshoot Day has found.

Earth Overshoot Day is hosted and calculated by Global Footprint Network, an international research organization that provides decision-makers with a menu of tools to help the human economy operate within Earth’s ecological limits.

It uses figures from the 2021 edition of the National Footprint and Biocapacity Accounts, which features ecological footprint and biocapacity data from 1961 to the latest data year of 2017, to determine two key figures: the earth’s offshoot day and a country’s offshoot day.

A country’s overshoot day is the date when humanity’s demand for ecological resources and services in a given year exceeds what Earth can regenerate in that year if the rest of the world was consuming at the same rate. 

According to the data, the world would use up all the resources that it generates in a year by 13th April, if it used the earth’s resources at the same rate as Malta.

Meanwhile, in terms of the current global climate, the entire world used up the resources the earth generates in a year on 29th July 2021. The network estimates that 1.6 planets are required to support the global population’s way of life.

While there is a global figure for the world, not all countries have an overshoot day since it only applies once ecological footprint per person is greater than global biocapacity per person.

Malta is not the worst offender, with Qatar (9th February) and Luxembourg (15th February) topping the list. Meanwhile, the country offshoot day for major economies like Canada and the USA is on 14th March. 

Still, Malta still consumes more resources than some other large economies, like Russia (17th April), Germany (5th May), Italy (13th May), the UK (19th May), and China (7th June). 

Among the countries that made the list, Indonesia is the best performer, with its offshoot day landing on 18th December. 

The methodology of the study relies on a “demand-supply” calculation. The research team measures a state’s biocapacity — productive land and sea areas and then subtracts the demand of the state, which includes inhabitants’ needs for goods, space for urban infrastructure, and forest to absorb its carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels.