How many earths do we need, if the rest of the world consumed as much as Hong Kong?
With the second largest ecological footprint in Asia and wildlife populations on the decline, it’s time for some self-reflection in the city, experts say
Hongkongers consume so much that if everyone else in the world lived like us, we would need almost four Planet Earths to sustain us.
Hong Kong’s ecological footprint per capita, or the area required to sustain a person’s use of natural resources, has reached a historic high, according to a study by conservation body WWF, released last week. The city’s footprint is the second largest in Asia, behind Singapore, and 17thin the world.
About 3.9 earths would be needed to sustain humanity’s lifestyle if everyone consumed at the same rate as Hongkongers, the report said.
The city’s footprint grew to 6.7 global hectares (gha) per person this year from 5.4 gha in 2014, when we would have needed three Planet Earths if everyone in the world lived like Hongkongers. Global hectares measure the average productivity of land and sea areas.
Worldwide, the average footprint per capita is 2.8 gha and we would need 1.6 earths to support this rate, the study showed.
Allen To Wai-lun, assistant manager of WWF-Hong Kong’s Footprint Programme, said although there were minor changes to the study’s methodology, the results clearly show a trend of unsustainable consumption.
