Fossil fuel is known in modern times for providing various industries and the general public with fuel and electricity. This "hydrocarbon-containing material" can take the form of coal, oil, and natural gas, a product of animal and plant remains transforming as fossils buried under the Earth's for millions of years. The material is extracted and scorched as a fuel in a process called fossil fuel emissions or burning.
While fossil fuel burning boosts the oil and gas industry, as well as the energy sector, scientists in the past have pointed towards the process to be detrimental to the environment, particularly as a source of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide that traps heat in the atmosphere, causing global warming and eventually climate change.
In the recurring theme surrounding the climate crisis, fossil fuels have been subjected economic, political, and environmental debates in the context of addressing the climate emergency and reducing global temperatures. In particular, the United Nations (UN) and other entities worldwide have been in the forefront in tackling the best possible measures in addressing the climate threat.
One of these climate change-mitigating efforts was held over the weekend involving the Group of Seven (G7) industrialized nations, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, and Italy, as well as the European Union (EU). The recent G7 meeting led to a "new pledge" of quitting fossil fuel emissions but with no specific deadline provided, according to reports.
Quitting Fossil Fuel Burning
MUSWELLBROOK, AUSTRALIA - APRIL 15: A coal train travels through the Hunter Valley on April 15, 2023 in Muswellbrook, Australia. Australia has pledged to cut carbon emissions by 43% from 2005 levels by 2030, up from the previous conservative government's target of between 26% and 28%, the BBC reported. Australia is one of the world's highest per capita carbon emitters, and reaching its targets will require a pivot away from fossil fuels and substantial investment in renewables.
The G7 countries on Sunday, April 16, pledged to quit on fossil fuels faster without providing any date and urged other countries to follow. This comes after two days of discussions in Japan's northern city of Sapporo, where the group vowed to hasten the "phase-out" of unabated fossil fuels, as cited by Phys.org.
The meeting's host Japan and the U.S. opposed the said target amid the crisis global energy supplies amid the Russian-Ukrainian war that started since February 2022. With this, the recent talks showed both sides in favor of climate action and energy security.
Also Read: Air Pollution Due to Fossil Fuel Combustion Caused Over a Million Deaths in 2017
Fossil Fuel Addiction
One cannot address the issue of climate crisis without looking at the true cost of our addiction to fossil fuels, where an average of $423 billion dollars' worth of public funds are spent every year on fossil fuel subsidies, according to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
The UNDP points out that despite international commitments, fuel subsidies on the climate-damaging material are not being phased out but are still increasing even as of Tuesday, April 18, mentioning our addiction to oil, coal, and gas.
While there are other types of greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide (including those from fossil fuel emissions) makes up the majority of greenhouse gas emissions but smaller amounts of methane and nitrous oxide are also emitted from the electric power sector, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA).
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