Fossil Fuels

Fossil fuels (including coal, oil, and natural gas) supply about 80% of the world’s energy for electricity, heat, transport, and manufacturing. However, as non-renewable resources formed over millions of years, their combustion releases large amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, making them the primary driver of global warming. Coal is the biggest single source of temperature rise, oil dominates transport emissions and carries major spill risks, and natural gas (now the top US electricity source due to fracking) emits less CO₂ but still contributes significantly to climate change, including through methane leaks.

Fossil fuel use has risen dramatically since the Industrial Revolution, increasing eightfold since 1950 and doubling since 1980, with global energy shifting from coal alone to a mix of coal, oil and gas. Today around four-fifths of primary energy still comes from these sources, and per capita consumption varies widely, with the highest-using countries consuming more than ten times the energy of the lowest.

Meaningfully moving away from fossil fuels, despite the general understanding that they are bad for the environment and human health, has been difficult for several reasons. Firstly, fossil fuels are more convenient due to their high energy density, meaning that a smaller weight or volume of fuel is needed to do the job of earlier fuels, such as wood. Additionally, there are several challenges associated with renewable energies, like how to balance power generation with use over the course of a day. Ultimately, the hardest barriers to transition are political, especially when solutions are framed too narrowly or ignore the broader systems that keep fossil fuels dominant.

Fossil‑fuel exploration, extraction, transport, and use all harm biodiversity by destroying habitats, fragmenting landscapes, generating intense noise pollution on land and in oceans, increasing access for further destructive activities, and driving climate change. Current oil, gas and coal infrastructure is already concentrated in areas with unusually high species richness and range‑restricted species, though future exploration blocks appear to overlap less with these biodiversity hotspots.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) provides a set of mitigation pathways to limit global temperature rise. These pathways require that fossil fuel use must decline dramatically to limit warming to 1.5°C, especially for coal. However, even though COP26 pushed phase-out discussions forward, recent energy security concerns have led some countries to expand gas or return to coal. Governments need clear plans to reduce fossil fuel production and use, including decisions about whether natural gas can genuinely serve as a short-term “bridge fuel”.

The COP28 climate conference in Dubai closed with an agreement that signals the “beginning of the end” of the fossil fuel era. Included in the global stocktake call to action is accelerating efforts towards the phase-down of unabated coal power, phasing out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies, and other measures to drive the transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems. This must be done in a just, orderly, and equitable manner, continuing to be led by developed countries.

Visual practices such as documenting pipeline impacts, creating art, and bearing witness have become central tools of Indigenous resistance to fossil‑fuel expansion on unceded lands in British Columbia. These practices expose “fossil fuel violence” (the environmental harm, cultural loss and ongoing colonial dispossession tied to extraction) and counter state and corporate efforts to control how these conflicts are seen. They assert Indigenous sovereignty, challenge dominant narratives, and make struggles for climate justice visible in ways that build solidarity and reshape public understanding.

The single most important step we can take to address the climate crisis is to stop using fossil fuels. While we must advocate for policy shifts, we can also start by rooting out fossil fuels from our lives. Examples include switching to a clean energy electricity supplier, installing solar panels, installing energy efficiency upgrades, and shifting your mode of transport (opting for public transport when possible).

Fossil‑fuel subsidies come in two forms. Explicit subsidies are direct government payments or price supports that lower the cost of producing or consuming coal, oil, and gas. These totalled about US$1.5 trillion in 2022, with most of the support going to consumers. Implicit subsidies are much larger and refer to the unpriced societal damages from air pollution, climate change, and road use. When these external costs are included, the total reaches roughly US$7 trillion, although most of this figure represents harm rather than money that governments can simply redirect.

Fossil‑fuel “resources” refer to all known and estimated deposits, while “reserves” are the portion proven to exist and economically and technologically viable to extract. Because viability changes with technology, price, and policy, reserve estimates expand or contract over time.(2)