Can Humans Live Without Fossil Fuels? Here's How to Transition to a Greener Future

(Photo : Getty Images/ Oli SCARFF )

Fossil fuel is considered as any of the class of hydrocarbon-containing materials of biological origin occurring within Earth's crust, which can be used as a source of energy.

Fossil fuels include coal, petroleum, natural gas, oil shales, bitumens, tar sands, and heavy oils.

Benefits Of Fossil Fuels

Fossil fuels brought so much benefit to the world, with experts saying that the past 250 years of economic growth was due to coal, oil, and gas exploitation as they have significantly improved the quality of life.

Research suggested that the public has achieved longer life spans, breakthroughs in medicine and science to cure and prevent illnesses and diseases, and increased food production, which improved diets.

They said this was in contrast to what it was before the industrial revolution.

Despite the benefits it had brought especially to the economy, there are still reasons why there are calls to phase out fossil fuels.

When it comes to human health, greenhouse gas emissions have devastating effects on human health. Pollution can also lead to respiratory problems for many people, including asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Toxic emissions, combined with increasing temperatures, limit access to clean water that can later force global populations of low socioeconomic status to drink and use dirty water. Doing so can result in illnesses like cholera, diarrhoea, and hepatitis A.

Further, restricted water access also contributes to food insecurity, making nutritious food hard to grow and unaffordable. The World Health Organization (WHO) predicted that between 2030 and 2050, there will be an additional 250,000 deaths from malnutrition, malaria, diarrhoea, and heat stress.

On endangered ecosystems, the scientific community expects global temperatures to increase by about 2C by 2050. While it might seem like a small difference, the impact on ecosystems and human life would still be catastrophic.

Experts warned that the rising temperatures reduce the geographical range of many habitats, increasing the number of invasive species and the amount of severe weather events. These changes are endangering nature, including trees, coral, and many animal species.

When it comes to the global economy, the World Economic Forum (WEF) said that climate change could wipe out 18% of global gross domestic product (GDP) by 2050, and this could be attributed to the increased temperatures and severe weather.

Carbon Reduction Goals

If nations fail to meet their carbon reduction goals, shifts in the global temperatures will impact agriculture, infrastructure, and many other industries. Experts noted that it is pretty obvious that the world could not both burn fossil fuels and limit the damage from climate change.

Given the increasing risk posed to Earth's climate by rising concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, representatives from nearly 200 nations at the 28th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP28) agreed to begin to transition the world's economies from fossil fuels to renewable energy.

To achieve the goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, which would do much to limit average warming worldwide to about 1.5 °C (2.7 °F) above pre-industrial levels, the delegates urged countries to accelerate the build-out of solar, wind, and other renewable energy projects, with the objective of tripling renewable energy capacity by 2030.