Researchers state that Earth's population has already exceeded the limit of sustainable existence
Kyiv • UNN
Scientists have calculated that the planet can sustainably provide resources for only 2.5 billion people. Currently, humanity has already exceeded the limit of sustainable existence.
The global population has already exceeded the level that the Earth is capable of supporting in the long term without depleting resources. This is stated in a new study published in the journal IOPscience, according to UNN.
Details
According to scientists, humanity has entered a phase where further population growth is accompanied by a slowdown in growth rates. The turning point occurred as early as 1962 – eight years before the world began to experience a global biocapacity deficit, meaning resource consumption exceeded the planet's ability to regenerate them.
How many people can the Earth sustain
According to the researchers' model, the Earth's population could grow to 11.7-12.4 billion people between 2067 and 2076. At the same time, a model that takes into account the planet's environmental constraints shows that the Earth is capable of sustainably supporting only about 2.5 billion people.
The Earth cannot feed the future human population, or even today's, without a radical overhaul of socio-cultural practices regarding the use of land, water, energy, biodiversity, and other resources
The study also emphasizes that population growth is closely linked to an increase in temperature anomalies, ecological footprints, and emissions. The authors concluded that it is the increase in the number of people, rather than just the level of consumption per capita, that has become the main factor in increasing the environmental pressure on the planet.