Humankind’s use of fossil fuels and their associated emissions are changing our planet’s climate. Global warming is mainly attributed to fossil fuels because of the greenhouse gases their usage produces.
Renewable energy is the watchword of the 21st century. But where would we be without fossil fuels, an energy source that provided 84% of the world’s power in 2020?
Let’s drill down into the effects of burning fossil fuels that power the world’s energy system and what it means for our future.
What Are the Main Types of Fossil Fuels?
The three principal fossil fuels are coal, natural gas, and oil. Each of these primary energy fuels has various subsections of other fuels; people sometimes interchange the name fossil fuels with hydrocarbons.
Most natural gas extracted is methane. Coal includes hard coal, coke, brown coal, and derived products like coke for coke ovens. Oil has many forms too. Crude oil from oil deposits is refined to make gasoline, jet fuel, plastics, and bitumen, which is used for road surfacing (you probably know it as asphalt). We burn these fuels to power or heat our homes, factories, power plants, vehicles, and more.
Interestingly enough, wood is considered by some to be a sustainable biomass fuel because we can grow trees relatively quickly to replace felled lumber. However, burning wood and pellets releases carbon dioxide and removes carbon-capturing trees from the environment.
Peat is also considered a fossil fuel, albeit its use is fairly limited.
How Do Fossil Fuels Form?
Fossil fuels take millions of years to form under the Earth’s surface. Plants and animals die and decompose on land, then are buried by layers of sedimentary rock that eventually form (primarily) coal. In the sea, dead plankton and marine life go through the same process, with these deposits generally forming oil and natural gas deposits.
These fossil fuels have become an important source of energy ever since the Industrial Revolution, which started in Great Britain in the 18th century.
How Do We Extract Fossil Fuels?
The fossil fuel industry mainly employs two extraction methods for fossil fuels: drilling and mining.
Coal mining is performed underground or by scraping away at the Earth’s surface to access coal. The scraping technique is highly invasive, damaging ecosystems, displacing wildlife, and often causing localized pollution. Surface coal mining sites could include mountains or open pits.
Oil and gas are often found together. Traditional gas and oil production, on land and offshore, involves drilling down into an identified reserve and pumping the oil and gas to the surface. The fuels are then separated, and the oil and gas are transferred through pipelines or trucks to be refined.
Technological advances have led to more efficient oil and gas extraction techniques. Hydraulic fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, has allowed the fossil fuel industry to exploit previously unreachable oil and gas reserves. Chemicals, water, and sand are injected into shale rock, breaking its formation to release oil and gas that flows to the surface for collection. This fossil fuel is often called shale gas and shale oil.
Another growing technique is taking bitumen and oil from tar sands, also known as oil sands. Bitumen is becoming an important natural resource because it can be mixed and refined to become crude oil. Tar sands near the surface are often mined and sent for processing. Deeper deposits are extracted in a similar fashion to fracking, but the bitumen clings to sand and clay sediments rather than rocks.
How Do Fossil Fuels Contribute to Global Warming?
Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that, once released, increases the Earth’s temperature, trapping heat within the atmosphere. The more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the warmer the planet becomes.
Fossil fuels are part of a carbon cycle. Living trees and other plants take carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere and, via photosynthesis, release oxygen back into it. The plants and animals that died to form fossil fuels retained the carbon they used to take from the atmosphere.
We release that retained carbon when we burn fossil fuels in multiple parts of our energy production processes. In the United States, 73% of all greenhouse gas emissions come from burning fossil fuels. Coal is the dirtiest fossil fuel and accounts for more than 30% of global temperature rises experienced since the Industrial Revolution.
In 2021, 36% of all electricity generation worldwide came from coal-fired power plants. Natural gas warms our homes through gas furnaces, and we also create electricity by burning it at power plants. However, natural gas consumption spews carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere. Methane, the primary gas used, is 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide during its first 20 years in the atmosphere.
Oil and its derivatives are vital to the world’s current energy mix. People’s love of travel and the automobile has driven the clamor for oil and gasoline. Since 1970, the demand for oil-related products has almost doubled globally helping to boost fossil fuel production.
Why Is Fossil Fuel Extraction Bad for the Environment?
Apart from their carbon emissions, fossil fuels leave a lasting legacy on the environment. Acidic oceans, extreme and warmer weather, and rising sea levels are some of the inherent risks.
First, there are headline-grabbing disasters. For example, in 2010, BP’s Deepwater Horizon rig spilled 130 million gallons of crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico. Local wildlife was devastated, and 11 workers lost their lives.
In 2015, a leak at the Aliso County natural gas storage facility saw five billion cubic feet of methane released into the atmosphere over 112 days. Sadly, countless disasters from fossil fuel incidents have occurred over the years.
Away from the major issues, the fossil fuel industry often has an issue with its day-to-day impact on the environment. Just transporting fossil fuels adds to a country’s carbon footprint. Clearing areas for fossil fuel extraction often involves clearing flora and fauna and installing carbon-intensive materials like cement and rigs. Many processes also draw on local water sources and seldom return it clean or to pre-extractions levels.
Underground coal mines vent methane to the surface. Water passing through the mines can carry pollutants into streams, watercourses, and underground aquifers. Particles that are thrown up by mining cause air pollution.
Surface mines obliterate entire areas, with trees, foliage, and ecosystems ripped away to allow access to coal. Daily operations can pollute local rivers with chemicals, heavy metals, and sediments. In the decade between 1992 and 2002, Appalachia coal mining alone saw 1,200 miles of streams destroyed or damaged and 380,000 acres deforested.
Natural gas leaks along pipelines and at extraction centers occur frequently. In the United States between 2010 and 2021, leaks saw 26.6 billion cubic feet of methane escape into the atmosphere — equivalent to 2.4 million automobiles driven for a year.
Oil companies often see small leaks at sites and often flare excess or unusable methane gas on land and offshore. Vast areas can be altered when companies strike oil, disrupting wildlife and migration routes. Fracking has been linked to earthquakes and water pollution.
Finally, around 99% of plastics come from fossil fuels. These plastics invariably end up in oceans or endangering wildlife.
Do Fossil Fuels Harm Human Health?
Both extracting and burning fossil fuels impact human health. Removing fossil fuels releases pollutants and particles into the air, from airborne particles like soot to toxins like sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide.
A staggering 13% of people aged 14 and over in the United States die from air pollution from fossil fuels — rising to 30% in Eastern Asia. Globally, that figure is one in five people. In the U.S., people of color or low-income communities are the most likely to suffer from the health and environmental impacts of fossil fuels.
Toxic substances that leach into surrounding watercourses and soil have been linked to causing cancer, heart disease, asthma, and other respiratory diseases. Coal miners are particularly susceptible to pulmonary illnesses that may cause disability, impairment, or even death.
This is without taking into account the workers who die in accidents at fossil fuel production sites. Some 167 people died in the Piper Alpha oil rig disaster in the U.K. in 1988. Staying in the North Sea, 123 workers died in 1980 when the Alexander L Kielland rig’s floating hotel capsized.
Are Fossil Fuels a Renewable Energy Source?
Fossil fuels are not a renewable energy source. Decomposed organic matter, like plants and animals, takes millions of years to form fossil fuels. We cannot replenish fossil fuels. Therefore, they are not renewable energy sources.
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Where Are Fossil Fuels Found?
Venezuela tops the list of available oil reserves at over 300 billion barrels or 17.5% of the world’s supply, just ahead of Saudi Arabia (17.2%). Canada is home to just under 10% of the global reserves, and the United States has 4% or 68.8 million barrels.
There are fewer players in the natural gas market. Russia is the dominant player, accounting for almost a quarter of the global supply, followed by Iran (17.3%), Qatar (12.5%), and the United States (5.3%).
As of 2020, coal is also in the hands of a few dominant countries. The U.S. leads the way with 23% of all reserves, with Russia second (15%), close to Australia (14%), and China (13%).
How Much Fossil Fuel Is Left in the World?
The amount of fossil fuels left in the world depends on how quickly we burn it all. But based on current consumption levels and knowing what we can currently extract, the estimates for fossil fuels left are:
- 47 years for oil
- 133 years for coal
- 52 years for natural gas
Technology means that some unproven reserves — too tricky or expensive to extract — may also become available. Taking advantage of new reserves may prolong the lifetime of fossil fuels.
What Are Clean Energy Alternatives to Fossil Fuels?
As we’ve seen, fossil fuels only have a limited shelf life — once they’re gone, they’re gone. But they still make up 84% of the world’s total energy supply, a hefty chunk that is hard to remove quickly.
Many governments and companies are looking at an alternative climate policy to fossil fuel reliance. Almost 200 countries have signed up to the Paris Agreement, agreeing to restrict global warming to 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit (1.5 degrees Celsius) and achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.
A vital part of the plan to avoid climate change’s worst effects is an increase in renewable energy sources like wind, hydropower, geothermal, and solar. Energy storage in batteries is also earmarked for development.
France generates 70% of its electricity from nuclear energy, another way to reduce carbon emissions while keeping the lights on. The United States government has pledged to have 80% clean electricity by 2030 and 100% clean electricity by 2035.
Other measures include increased energy efficiency for buildings, vehicles, and industry. Indeed, electric vehicles are starting to replace traditional combustion engine models.
The fossil fuel industry is trying to clean up its act by promoting carbon capture. This technique involves capturing carbon dioxide emissions at their release points and then being used or stored underground. Technology is still in its relative infancy, though. It has yet to take off, hampered by expense, opaque regulation, and effectiveness at capturing all the carbon that sites produce.
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Will Fossil Fuels Remain Key to Future Energy Supplies?
The U.S. Energy Information Agency (EIA) predicts global energy demands will increase almost 50% between now and 2050, driven by population and economic growth. Renewable energy sources will meet much of the new electricity requirements. However, the “green revolution” will skew fossil fuel’s future role in climate change.
The EIA percentages show fossil fuels losing market share in the global energy market. Yet the world will still be burning more fossil fuels in 2050 than today. Energy-related carbon dioxide emissions will increase, and oil and gas production will grow faster than coal.
In short, renewable energy sources will grow but we’ll still depend on fossil fuels in the short and medium term.
Fossil Fuels: An Easy Energy Source That Keeps on Burning
Net-zero emissions and renewable energy transitions are to be applauded and encouraged to help to offset the worst effects of climate change. But more and more people are demanding energy that’s easy to access, whether it’s for driving our automobiles, heating our homes, or paving the road.
Whether we like it or not, burning fossil fuels will continue to supply the world’s growing energy demand. While climate policy and the push for sustainability continue, fossil fuels will continue to play the most prominent role in global energy supplies until at least 2050 — the net-zero emissions deadline.
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