Türkiye exceeds natural resource consumption limit in 169 days

ISTANBUL

Türkiye has used up the natural resources Earth can sustainably provide per person for the entire year by June 18, consuming in less than half a year what nature can regenerate in 12 months, marking its Overshoot Day.

The date indicates that in just 169 days, the country exhausted the ecological resources that should have lasted through December and will now spend the rest of the year depleting nature’s reserves.

This growing imbalance highlights the mounting pressure on ecosystems and signals urgent sustainability challenges.

Overshoot Day, calculated by the Global Footprint Network, serves as a stark reminder of the environmental cost of overconsumption.

Türkiye’s date has moved earlier compared to last year, when it fell on June 22, indicating a significant acceleration in resource use.

Experts suggest that the shift is driven by excessive resource consumption, a carbon footprint above the global average and lack of effective sustainability measures.

They suggest that small changes can make a global impact: Reducing food waste by 50 percent could delay the global Overshoot Day by 11 days, while improving transport sustainability by 20 percent could gain 13 days.