Ecological Footprint
Accounting Tool
for Sustainability
Balance between:
• Resource demand: How much of the biosphere’s
regenerative capacity is used by human
activities?
• Resource supply: How much regenerative
capacity is available?
‘Biosphere regenerative
capacity’
• Capacity of soil, water, plants, animals, microorganisms to provide resources without being
exhausted.
• EG soil to grow food without eroding/losing
fertility, forests to regrow after felling, fish
stocks to build up after harvesting
• EG surface and groundwater to provide
drinking, industry, crop irrigation etc supply
• Capacity for vegetation to absorb CO2, water
to break down pollutants to harmless
substances
Energy assumed to be the
biggest problem
• Climate change associated with rising
GHGs assumed to be the biggest current
threat to biosphere regenerative capacity
• Energy production and consumption given
greatest weighting
• ‘Carbon footprint’ focuses solely on GHG
emissions [not covered here]
Overhang assumption
We can use biosphere resources eg fish,
timber, soil, water, oil, gas etc faster than:
(1) they can regenerate,
(2) our waste products can be assimilated
[ie not accumulate in toxic/damaging
concentrations in air, water, on land].
But only for while.. Eventually either they run
out, or we pollute our planet with very bad
consequences for our wellbeing
Ecological Footprint
• We measure the mutually exclusive types
of areas necessary to produce the
resources we consume and absorb the
waste we produce.
• The unit is a global hectare [gha]
(10 000 m²), with the average productivity
of the world’s bio-productive surface
(ocean and land). Assumes everybody on
Earth is entitled to equal share of global
resources
Ecological Footprint
Footprint components
Fossilenergie
Fossil Fuel verbaute
Built-up Waste
Abfall Food
Nahrung
Fläche absorption
Holz
Fibres,
undFirewood
Faser
W.Pekny, Plattform Footprint
Ecological Footprint
• Non renewable fossil fuels impacts are
calculated with the area necessary to
absorb the emitted CO2 (forest and
oceans).
• Note each piece of land is assumed to
have only one effect. Eg forest land to
absorb carbon dioxide does not also
provide timber, fish etc
• Many methodological issues arise
Biocapacity
67%
Oceans with
low
productivity
Bioproductive segments
22%
4% Oceans
with high
productivity
13.4 B
hectares
18%
productive land
11%
Deserts, ice
Ecological Footprint
• The very complex ecological inter-relations
are summarized to simple parameter:
area.
• The strength of the concept is the obvious
and indisputable limit of area on planet
Earth.
• No matter how much money, houses,
industries we have, we need biocapacity
to survive
Ecological Footprint
Footprint
The only sustainability
metric with an
undisputable maximum
value: one Earth.
13.4B ha bio
productive
area
Assuming a fair allocation of area, there is about
1.8 gha available per person today (not including
any area for biodiversity)
• The average European citizen requires
4.8 gha to meet his/her material demands.
(US citizen 9.6 gha)
For all people to live like Europeans
would require 2.5 planets
Absolute Limits
Human Ecological Footprint, 1950-2050
Standard
scenario
Sustainable
scenario
+ 40% in 2008
Humankind uses an equivalent of 1.4 Earths
We no longer get along with the interest Earth provides.
We use the capital stocks.
Source: Ecological Footprint of Europe WWF
2008
Absolute Limits
Human Ecological Footprint, 1950-2050
Standard
scenario
Sustainable
scenario
By 2050, the ecological debts
would equal about 34 years
of planetary production
Source: GFN Daten update 2008
National Footprints
Figures in gha/capita
Ireland tenth
Switzerland
D
Austria
A
Slovenia
Built land
Fishing
Forest
Pasture
Arable land
Carbon Footprint
China
Germany
Hungary
WWF Living Planet Report 2008
World
available
National Footprints
figures in gha/capita
China
1330
Nigeria
130
WWF Living Planet Report 2008
Indonesia
223
India
1100 Pakistan
Bangladesh
158
142
Product Footprints
National Footprint
Aggregated Footprint
per capita
Component
Footprint
Top Down
Bottom Up
- Regional Footprints
- City Footprints
- Individual Footprint
- Energy Footprint
- Transport Footprint
- Carbon Footprint
Summary 1
• In relation to region/Earth’s capacity to
provide us with energy, food, living space,
assimilate wastes, can measure whether
we are using resources faster than are
being renewed
• gha unit: big success, many organisations,
countries, companies have adopted it as
key indicator for measuring sustainability
• Raising general awareness: many people
believe they understand what the EF
measures
Summary 2
Socio-economics not included
Toxic substances not included
One aggregated figure: not much use for
prioritising policies
Awareness/behaviour divide
What EF can do for us…
• Measure resource demand and supply.
• Show us where we are using resources too
quickly.
• Highlight which land type is used most
intensively.
• Provides a basis for comparing overall
resource demand amongst settlements,
regions and countries.
• Provides a personal account of the resource
demand of an individual’s lifestyle.
What EF cannot do for us…
• Show us why we are using resources too
quickly.
• Help with finding policies to reduce our
consumption [other than the general policy:
‘we must use less’].
• Take account of other impacts on the
environment eg mercury pollution, ozone
depletion [ie it UNDERESTIMATES our
overall impact on the Earth].
• Tell us about the impact of resource
consumption on human health and wellbeing.
Take this quiz to estimate your Ecological
Footprint
www.footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/.
../calculators/
OR
Search words: calculate your ecological
footprint