'Humans will need two Earths by 2030'

Humans are overusing the planet's resources and will need two Earths by 2030,a new report warns.


According to the Living Planet Report, human demands on natural resources have doubled in under 50 years and are now outstripping what the Earth can provide by more than half; and humanity carries on as it is in use of resources, globally it will need the capacity of two Earths by 2030.

The report said that wildlife in tropical countries is also under huge pressure, with populations of species falling by 60 per cent in three decades, the'Daily Mail'reported.

And the report, from the WWF, the Zoological Society of London and the Global Footprint Network, said that British people are still consuming far more than the Earth can cope with.

If everyone lived such a lifestyle, humans would need 2.75 planets to survive, it warned.

The study's authors looked at 8,000 populations of 2,500 species and studied the change in land use and water consumption across the globe.

Britain comes 31st in a list of countries based on their'ecological footprint'- the amount of land and sea each person needs to provide the food, clothes and other products they consume and to absorb the carbon dioxide they emit.

The country has fallen down the league table from having the 15th biggest footprint in the last report two years ago, but WWF attributes this to an increase in other countries'impact rather than a reduction in the UK's use of resources.