Fossil fuel

A fossil fuel is a material that contains carbon and can burn. It forms naturally in the Earth's crust from the buried remains of ancient organisms, such as animals, plants, or microplanktons. This happens within geological formations. Fuels such as coal, oil (petroleum), and natural gas can be dug or pumped out and burned. People use them for cooking, heating, and lighting. They also power heat engines that move vehicles, and they run steam turbine generators that make electricity. Some fossil fuels are refined into products like kerosene, gasoline, and diesel. Others are turned into petrochemicals, such as plastics, aromatics, and synthetic resins.

Fossil fuels begin when dead organisms are buried and broken down without oxygen. This process is called anaerobic decomposition. Turning these materials into fuels takes millions of years. Because they take so long to form, fossil fuels are considered non-renewable resources.

In 2023, fossil fuels provided about 77% of the energy consumption in the world and over 60% of its electricity. Burning them harms the environment. In 2022, most of the greenhouse gas emissions caused by people came from carbon dioxide (CO₂) released when fossil fuels were burned. Natural carbon cycle processes, mostly the ocean absorbing carbon, can remove only a small part of this. Losing plants through deforestation, land degradation, and desertification makes the problem worse. As a result, many billions of tonnes of CO₂ are added to the air each year. Methane leaks also matter, but burning fossil fuels is the main source of the gases that cause global warming and ocean acidification. Air pollution from fossil fuels, including particulates and harmful gases, also harms people's health. It is estimated that this costs over 3% of the global gross domestic product. A fossil fuel phase-out could help protect many lives each year.

Many people now recognize the climate crisis, pollution, and other harms caused by fossil fuels. This has led to a widespread policy transition and an activist movement that want to stop using them and switch to renewable and sustainable energy. The fossil-fuel industry is deeply connected to the global economy and is heavily subsidized, so this change is expected to have large economic effects. Many people argue that the change must be a just transition, with policies that help society with the burdens it faces from the stranded assets of the fossil fuel industry. International agreements also aim to help this change worldwide. These include the United Nations' sustainable development goals for affordable and clean energy and climate action, and the Paris Climate Agreement. In 2021, the International Energy Agency concluded that no new fossil fuel extraction projects should be opened if the world wants to avoid the worst effects of climate change and meet its goals for climate change mitigation.

For other uses of the words "oil and gas", see Oil and gas (disambiguation).

Origin

The idea that fossil fuels formed from the fossilized remains of dead plants came from heat and pressure in Earth's crust over millions of years. Andreas Libavius first suggested this idea in his 1597 book Alchemia [Alchymia]. Later, Mikhail Lomonosov also wrote about it, as early as 1757 and certainly by 1763. The first known use of the term "fossil fuel" was in the work of the German chemist Caspar Neumann, in an English translation from 1759. The Oxford English Dictionary says the word "fossil" in "fossil fuel" meant something "obtained by digging" or "found buried in the earth." This meaning was used by at least 1652. In the early 1700s, the word "fossil" began to mean mainly very old living things.

Millions of years ago, tiny sea creatures and plants, phytoplankton and zooplankton, died and settled in large amounts where there was little oxygen, in anoxic conditions. Without oxygen, they slowly broke down through anaerobic decomposition, and this began to form petroleum and natural gas. Over a very long time, called geological time, this organic matter mixed with mud and was covered by more layers of heavy sediment. The heat and pressure slowly changed it. First, it chemically changed into a waxy material called kerogen, which is found in oil shales. Then, with more heat, it turned into liquid and gas hydrocarbons in a process called catagenesis. Plants that grew on land tend to form coal and methane. Many coal fields date back to the Carboniferous period. Land plants also form type III kerogen, which is a source of natural gas. Fossil fuels are called non-renewable resources because they take millions of years to form. The supplies we know about are being used up much faster than new ones are made.

Importance

See also: Fossil fuel power station

Fossil fuels are useful because they can be burned easily in open air to make heat. People burned peat as a home fuel long before written history. Coal was burned in some early furnaces for smelting metal ore. Ancient people also burned thick, sticky hydrocarbons that seeped from the ground, but they mostly used them for waterproofing and embalming. People began producing petroleum for sale in the 1800s. Natural gas was once flared-off as an unneeded byproduct of petroleum production, but it is now seen as a very valuable resource. Natural gas deposits are also the main source of helium. From the early 2000s, heavy crude oil and oil sands, where bitumen is mixed with sand and clay, became more important fossil fuel sources. Oil shale and similar sedimentary rocks contain kerogen, which turns into synthetic crude oil when heated (pyrolyzed). In the 2010s and 2020s, some people stopped investing in these resources because they release a lot of carbon cost compared with easier-to-process reserves.

Before the late 1700s, windmills and watermills powered work such as grinding flour, sawing wood, or pumping water. Wood or peat was burned to keep homes warm. The wide use of coal, and later petroleum, in steam engines made the Industrial Revolution possible. At the same time, gas lights that used natural gas or coal gas became common. The internal combustion engine was invented, and its use in automobiles and trucks greatly increased the need for gasoline and diesel oil, both made from fossil fuels. Railways and aircraft also need fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are used for generating electricity and as feedstock for the petrochemical industry. Tar, a leftover from petroleum extraction, is used in the construction of roads. Fossil fuels also helped power the Green Revolution, through fertilizers made from natural gas, pesticides made from oil, and hydrocarbon-fueled irrigation. Synthetic nitrogen fertilizer has greatly supported population growth, and it is estimated that almost half of the Earth's population are fed as a result.

Environmental effects

Main articles: Effects of climate change and Health and environmental impact of the coal industry

See also: Extinction risk from climate change

Burning fossil fuels causes harmful externalities. These are effects that reach beyond the people who use the fuel. All fossil fuels release CO₂ when they burn, which speeds up climate change. Burning coal, and to a lesser extent oil and its products, adds atmospheric particulate matter, smog, and acid rain to the air. In 2018, air pollution from fossil fuels was estimated to cost US$2.9 trillion. That is about 3.3% of the world's gross domestic product (GDP).

Climate change is mostly caused by greenhouse gases like CO₂, and burning fossil fuels is the main source of them. In most parts of the world, climate change is negatively impacting ecosystems. It helps cause some species to die out and makes it harder to grow food, which adds to world hunger. If the Earth keeps warming, there will be more effects on nature and people. The World Health Organization has said climate change is the greatest threat to human health in the 21st century.

Burning fossil fuels also creates sulfuric and nitric acids. These fall as acid rain and harm nature and buildings. Statues made of marble and limestone are especially at risk, because the acids dissolve calcium carbonate.

Fossil fuels also contain small amounts of radioactive materials, mainly uranium and thorium, which are released into the air. In 2000, about 12,000 tonnes of thorium and 5,000 tonnes of uranium were released worldwide from burning coal. In 1982, scientists estimated that US coal burning released much more radioactivity than the Three Mile Island accident.

Burning coal also makes large amounts of bottom ash and fly ash. These are used in many ways (see Fly ash reuse). Coal mining methods such as mountaintop removal and strip mining harm the environment. Offshore oil drilling can threaten sea life. Fugitive gas emissions can release methane, and Oil refineries cause air and water pollution.

To protect the environment, people have moved toward renewable energy. Environmental regulation also limits pollution, such as rules against releasing fly ash into the air. In December 2020, the United Nations reported that some governments were "doubling down" on fossil fuels. Some sent over 50% of their COVID-19 recovery stimulus money to fossil fuel production. UN Secretary-General António Guterres said people are fighting against nature, and nature is pushing back with growing force. He also said there was reason for hope. The United States planned to join China and the EU in aiming for net zero emissions by 2050.

Inflation effects

Fossilflation is a word used to describe how fossil fuels affect inflation, which is when prices rise over time. In August 2022, Vox said that economists have pointed to energy prices as the main reason for high inflation. It also said that energy prices affect almost every part of the economy. When fossil fuels cost more, it costs more to move things, grow and transport food, and ship goods. Mark Zandi of Moody's says that fossil fuel prices have caused every big period of inflation since World War II. The economic impact of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine in 2022 is a recent example. Some economists, including Isabel Schnabel, believe that depending on fossil fuels was the main cause of the 2021–2022 inflation spike.

Some people look for ways to fight fossilflation. Gernot Wagner says that commodities are poor energy sources because their prices are volatile, which means they go up and down a lot. New technologies, such as renewable energy, do not have this problem. He also says that technologies get better and cheaper over time. After the COVID-19 pandemic, some people said that a base effect may have made inflation seem worse. Prices were lower than normal at the start of the pandemic, and then they rose above average. The Inflation Reduction Act is not expected to bring much relief right away. However, it aims to make the United States rely less on fossil fuels. Moody's estimates that by 2030, the law could cut the typical American household's energy spending by more than $300 each year, in 2022 dollars.

Illness and deaths

Pollution from fossil fuels harms people's health. Particulates and other air pollution from burning fossil fuels can make people sick when they breathe them in. It can cause breathing problems, worse asthma, and weaker lungs. People who are poor, very young or very old, or who already have health problems are more at risk.

Every energy source has some harmful effects, but fossil fuels cause the most greenhouse gas emissions and are the most harmful to human health. Modern renewable energy sources appear to be safer and cleaner. The death rates from accidents and air pollution in the EU per terawatt-hour (TWh) are shown below.

As the data shows, coal, oil, natural gas and biomass cause higher harm to people and more greenhouse gas emissions than hydropower, nuclear energy, wind and solar power. Scientists think that switching from fossil fuels to nuclear power has saved many lives.

Phase-out

Industrial sector

Main articles: Coal industry and Petroleum industry

In 2019, Saudi Aramco became available to buy on the stock market. On its second day of trading, it was worth US$2 trillion. It was the largest sale of company shares to the public ever.

Subsidies

Lobbying activities