Humanity’s escalating ecological overshoot, demanding over 75% more from nature than ecosystems can regenerate, has triggered climate disruption, biodiversity loss, and resource depletion, undermining global stability.
While climate change understandably dominates environmental discourse, it is often framed as a “free-rider problem.” Under this mindset, individuals, businesses, and nations perceive that they are being asked to make sacrifices for the global good, which breeds resistance rather than enthusiasm. Free-rider logic appears everywhere: for example, a Californian who gives up their car to reduce CO₂ emissions will not significantly lower the chance of their own house burning down in a wildfire.
Because free-rider problems suffer from misaligned incentives, they are notoriously difficult to solve.
But is our environmental challenge truly defined by free-rider dynamics?
Global Footprint Network is not convinced. We take a different approach, one that reveals most environmental challenges are not free-rider problems but are closely tied to actors’ own interests. Rather than focusing solely on carbon emissions, we invite a broader perspective: ecological overshoot. This means looking not just at carbon but at biocapacity, the regenerative capacity of ecosystems.
This shift reframes the crisis as a resource security challenge, one that directly affects the stability and resilience of cities, companies, and countries. Resource insecurity is a major consequence of climate change. A shifting climate will strain agricultural systems, while the transition away from fossil fuels will disrupt resource inputs that economies have long relied on. Yet failing to transition will accelerate climate change, forcing an even more abrupt and costly shift later.
Resource security is therefore deeply intertwined with climate change. Paradoxically, framing the issue around resource security makes solutions more actionable. While cutting carbon emissions often feels abstract and collective, ensuring reliable access to resources is an immediate, tangible concern for decision-makers.
By emphasizing resource security, we align environmental imperatives with economic and strategic self-interest. People feel their “skin in the game.” Preparing for an overshoot-constrained future becomes not just a moral obligation but a pragmatic necessity: it delivers economic advantages, strengthens resilience, and ensures long-term prosperity.
We also believe in the power of early wins. Demonstrating that resource security efforts yield clear, measurable benefits attracts attention and builds momentum. It signals opportunity to key stakeholders and accelerates engagement. This is why we prioritize practical examples that showcase immediate advantages, rather than starting with commons-based challenges like atmospheric pollution or deep-sea fishing, which require broad international cooperation and long-term commitments. By focusing first on areas where individual actors can see direct gains, we create a positive feedback loop, emphasizing their advantage rather than sacrifice.