Special Issue "Ecological Footprint Indicator"

Guest Editor
Dr. John Barrett
Stockholm Environment Institute, University of York, Heslington, York, YO10 5DD, UK
Website: http://www.york.ac.uk/inst/sei/staff/jbarrett.html
E-Mail:

Dear Colleagues,

The Ecological Footprint has emerged as an aggregated indicator of human appropriation of biocapacity. There now exists numerous policy applications from the approach. This special edition will explore both the successful applications of the Ecological Footprint along with a recognition of its limitations to policy assessment. Additionally, alternative approaches to the Ecological Footprint are welcome.
We invite you to contribute to this special issue by submitting comprehensive review or research articles.

Dr. John Barrett
Guest Editor

Submission

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. Papers will be published continuously (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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• ecological footprint
• ecological overshoot
• sustainable consumption and production
• sustainability accounting
• environmental limits

Title: Burdening the Earth: The Use of the Environmental Footprint in Assessing Humanity's Impact on the Planet
Authors: Gemma R. Cranston and Geoffrey P. Hammond
Affiliation: Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering & Design, University of Bath, Bath BA2 7AY, UK; E-Mails: G.R.Cranston@bath.ac.uk (G.R.C.); ensgph@bath.ac.uk (G.P.H.)
Abstract: Environmental footprints provide an indication of the burdens humanity places on the Earth. They represent a partial measure of the extent to which the planet, its regions, or nations are moving along a sustainable development pathway. Such footprints vary between countries at different stages of economic development and varying geographic characteristics. A correlation equation for national environmental footprints is used, alongside international projections of population growth and gross regional income, to estimate the relative contributions of the peoples of the industrialised North and populous South that would be needed in order to secure climate-stabilising carbon reductions out to about 2100. These are employed as a basis for assessing some of the benefits and weaknesses of the footprint approach.