Ending the use of fossil fuel technologies is the only way to tackle the climate emergency we have created.Let’s be clear: burning coal, oil and gas got us into this mess, and the only way to get out of it is to stop doing so.
The chronology of the climate emergency runs parallel to the exploitation of fossil fuels as our primary energy source. The oil companies have lied about this for decades, but increases in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere follow the progress of industrialization, and get worse and worse as we introduce multiplicative technologies such as the automobile.
As of today, power generation by fossil fuels such as coal, oil or gas is responsible for the climate disaster, followed immediately by transportation. Privately owned cars are the main source, mainly because they are tremendously inefficient and, above all, because there are so many of them, but we cannot ignore airplanes and ships. What’s more, 40% of all products transported by large ships are oil, coal or gas, so if we were to stop using these products, we would immediately reduce a very significant part of the pollution generated by these large ships.
How realistic is it to stop using fossil fuels? Obviously, doing so overnight would trigger a global crisis and starve millions of people, but a gradual phasing-out and leaving a significant part of our reserves in the ground is increasingly seen as realistic by a significant part of the business world.
In fact, more than 130 companies, among them Astra Zeneca, Ikea, Nestlé, Unilever and Volvo, have just signed a declaration calling on world leaders to phase out fossil fuels, which will be presented at the upcoming climate summit in Dubai. The signatories say they are “taking action and actively working towards phasing out their use of fossil fuels,” adding the caveat that they “cannot make this transition safely or efficiently on their own,” and so are calling on heads of state to set policies that will accelerate the use of renewable energy.
The simple truth is that we have all the technologies necessary to carry out this technological transition and consign fossil fuels, as directly responsible for the climate emergency, to the oblivion of history, to the archive and closure of that era that has come to be called the Pyrocene, the era in which we humans dedicated ourselves to burning things non-stop.
We already have enough renewable energy to replace every coal, oil or gas power plant, and thanks to the availability of storage, we can ensure a stable and sufficient supply for all economic activity. The fact that solar panels and batteries have decreased in price by 99% and 97% respectively in the last forty years while increasing their performance, provides an unbeatable scenario: there are plenty of raw materials, they can be extracted in a reasonable way, and there is no realistic problem of recycling or waste, whatever the naysayers may say. And of course, such has been the pace of development of these technologies that we no longer need nuclear power.
Cars? Electric cars are already perfectly capable not only of filling the gap left by internal combustion engines, but off far superior performance.
In which case, what is preventing us from ending the use of fossil fuels? Quite simply, economics: powerful interests that make the majority of states continue to subsidize oil companies so as to maintain supplies. But the reality is that it could be done, and above all, it should be done, and no longer for the upcoming generations, but for our own sake, right now. The frequency and intensity of climatic catastrophes in the form of torrential rains, fires, floods, hurricanes and heat waves has increased to the extent that we are all caught up in a sinister lottery that threatens to take our lives or homes at any moment, wherever we live.
Here are the words of Volvo’s sustainability director, Anders Kärrberg:
“We know that phasing out fossil fuels is the only way forward if we are to limit global warming and keep people safe from climate catastrophe.”
He is absolutely right: there is no other way. The science speaks for itself. Let’s hope the message is heard loud and clear, and that we hold our governments accountable if they ignore it.
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This post was previously published on MEDIUM.COM.
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