{"id":5385,"date":"2020-12-09T15:13:06","date_gmt":"2020-12-09T15:13:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greens-efa.eu\/dossier\/?p=5385"},"modified":"2020-12-09T15:13:08","modified_gmt":"2020-12-09T15:13:08","slug":"the-end-of-fossil-fuels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greens-efa.eu\/dossier\/the-end-of-fossil-fuels\/","title":{"rendered":"The end of fossil fuels"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Read Issue 1: All About the Climate Law <\/em>here<\/em><\/a>.<\/em>
Read Issue 2: Responding to a Crisis: Climate and Corona <\/em>here.<\/em><\/a>
Read Issue 3: Will COVID-19 Destroy or Empower the European Green Deal here<\/a><\/em>
Read Issue 4: Financing the Green Deal here<\/a><\/em>
Read Issue 5: The EU Recovery Plan here<\/a><\/em>
Read Issue 6: The Mercosur Trade Agreement: A Lose-Lose Deal here<\/a><\/em>
Read Issue 7: Farm to Fork Strategy here<\/a><\/em>
Read Issue 8: The European Climate Targets by 2030 here<\/a><\/em>
Read Issue 9: How Trees Can Stop Climate Change here<\/a><\/em>
Read Issue 10: Getting out of the red: The Greenhouse Gas Budget here<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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\"Young
Young climate protesters holding signs\/ CC0 Callum Shaw<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n
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In all of our blogs, we\u2019ve been talking about the most obvious and urgent climate policies like implementing a greenhouse gas budget<\/a>, reforestation<\/a>, halting destructive trade agreements<\/a>, putting the money<\/a> where it should be, and so on. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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But the most important and urgent thing that is right in front of us, is something barely anyone is talking about. Why don\u2019t we just stop all fossil fuels? <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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Pumpjack against orange sunset\/ CC0 Zbynek Burival<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n
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What are fossil fuels? <\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n
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Let\u2019s go over the basics. What actually are fossil fuels? Fossil fuels are formed from the remains of ancient animals and plants buried deep inside the earth for many years. Coal, oil, petroleum and natural gas are all considered fossil fuels and they have a high carbon content. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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Fossil fuels are used to fuel our cars, produce our clothes and food, and light our homes. For the last century, we\u2019ve basically built a society that is addicted to fossil fuels. Almost everything we do burns fossil fuels because it\u2019s the way we produce most of our energy. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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In recent years, many new alternative energy sources have been developed, like solar energy, wind energy, water energy, hydropower, and even biofuels and the renewable parts of waste. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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However, according to data from the World Bank<\/a>, 80% of all our energy has come from fossil fuels since 1971. When you take into account that most nuclear power plants were built after this date and most renewable energy farms were built over the past 10 years, this means that not only have we failed to make progress, we\u2019re actually going backwards<\/em>.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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The reason for this is partly because much of the developing world finally gained access to modern forms of energy and the cheapest option was chosen. We are also using a lot more energy today than we used to. But, apart from that, the biggest reason is that the western world simply hasn\u2019t made this a priority. We\u2019ve gone on consuming more and more fossil fuels, and we\u2019ve left our responsibilities behind.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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\"Smoke
Smoke coming out of a factory chimney\/ CC0 Johannes Plenio<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n
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Why are fossil fuels bad for the climate? <\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n
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When fossil fuels are burned, carbon dioxide and other gases are released into the Earth\u2019s atmosphere. These gases trap heat in the atmosphere that would otherwise escape into space, and this, in turn, warms up the earth. This is known as the greenhouse effect<\/a>, and it was identified by scientists as far back as 1896!  In 2018, 89% of global CO2 emissions came from fossil fuels and industry.  This makes fossil fuels the biggest cause of global warming<\/a> and climate change.  We\u2019ve explained in our previous blogs what the consequences of climate change will be if we don\u2019t take drastic action to stop the earth from warming above 1.5\u00b0C. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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Some people argue that the transition from fossil fuels should be \u201ca process\u201d, where we first switch to natural gas (for example), since it emits less than coal and oil. However, gas still accounts for a fifth of the world\u2019s global emissions<\/a> and it also has \u2018fugitive emissions\u2019 that escape from the industry and are not counted.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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As we\u2019re rapidly approaching our planet\u2019s tipping point<\/a>, there\u2019s an absolute urgency to stop the use of all fossil fuels as soon as possible. We need to switch to renewables – and we need to do it now.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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The good news is that since Europe has signed the Paris Agreement, one way or another, there can be no future in fossil fuels. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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\"Wind
Wind turbines in a field<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n
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But are renewables realistic?<\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n
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There are two main arguments that are often used against renewable energy. Firstly, that it would cost too much money and would be unaffordable. Secondly, that we would have to face \u2018blackouts\u2019 of energy which would leave our houses dark and cold. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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Let\u2019s start with the financial argument:<\/strong> the energy transition would not require a higher investment<\/a> than the money we invest into keeping the current energy system alive. Especially not if we take into account that the current energy system requires more and more money to be invested into damage control, like environmental degradation, pollution, lung disease, etc. According to ActAlliance<\/a>, in 2019, there were 15 extreme weather events causing more than $1 billion of damage. Four of them caused more than $10 billion of damage. On top of this, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency<\/a>, in 2020, renewable energy is increasingly becoming cheaper than any electricity capacity based on fossil fuels. They have even called solar energy the cheapest in the world. We know that a lot of investors will have to pull out of fossil fuels to reach the Paris Agreement\u2019s climate targets. A lot of economists, such as Nicolas Stern<\/a>, have made the argument that it is more economically viable to make the energy switch sooner rather than later.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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Secondly, let\u2019s address the energy blackouts: <\/strong>there have been blackouts, like the one in California<\/a>, which cut off electricity for several hundred thousand households during a record-breaking heatwave. Critics have blamed the state\u2019s dependence on solar and wind energy but many leaders and experts have opposed that claim. The heatwave caused many people to turn on their air conditioning, which required a lot more energy than was available in the normal supplies. As climate change worsens, we need to be prepared to tackle many more heatwaves and other crises. Increasing our reliance on fossil fuels will only add fuel to that fire. In a letter<\/a> to the State Governor, the presidents of California\u2019s Power Grid, Public Utilities and Energy Commission, expressed their opinion that \u201cclimate change will mean more heat storms and more volatile imports, and that our changing electricity system may need larger reserves<\/em>\u201d. California should expand its renewables. After all, they said, \u201cclean energy and reliable energy are not contradictory goals<\/em>\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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Of course, a lot of research has been devoted to making sure no blackouts will occur during the energy transition. New research<\/a> by Mark Z. Jacobson, a Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Stanford University, and colleagues at the Universities of California, Berkeley and Aalborg in Denmark, states that there is absolutely no technical reason that the entire world couldn\u2019t transition to 100% renewables. In this study, 80% of the energy transition could be finalised as soon as 2030. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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Other researchers, like Tommaso Nesti,<\/a> a PhD student at CWI\u2019s Stochastics, have developed techniques to operate power grids in times of uncertainty concerning the energy supplies. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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Neither the supposed blackouts nor the economic consequences are a valid excuse to prevent the energy transition from moving forward. So, what now? <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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\"People
People inspecting solar panels in a field\/ CC0 Science in HD<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n
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What next for Europe\u2019s energy transition? <\/strong><\/h4>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n
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In the beginning of this year, the European Commission presented \u2018the new Industrial Strategy\u2019<\/a>. According to Greens\/EFA MEP, Michael Bloss, this is the \u2018starting gun for the transformation of our industry towards climate neutrality\u201d, with \u201cenergy efficiency and the expansion of renewable energies\u201d at its core. This deal could be a first step to ensure that European industry falls in line with the Paris Agreement. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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The Commission has also presented an offshore strategy for renewable energy<\/a>. Offshore wind and wave energy could eventually contribute up to 40% of the energy supply by 2030. This is, of course, far from enough, and the Greens\/EFA have criticised the Commission\u2019s lack of ambition. What\u2019s also worrying is that the Commission\u2019s strategy also doesn\u2019t include a plan to make sure this offshore wind energy won\u2019t happen at the expense of biodiversity and marine ecosystems. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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With the advent of the European Green Deal, and the slew of climate and energy-related policies put forward by the European Commission this year, it\u2019s clear that both politically and in the private sector things are definitely moving. But, as always, the pace is frustratingly slow. It is not perceived as a priority. It should be taken for granted that every sector stops relying on fossil fuels and prepares for a future without. Because, at the end of the day, it\u2019s humanity that\u2019s at stake. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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