A fossil fuel is a hydrocarbon-containing material such as coal,oil,and natural gas,formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the remains of dead plants and animals that is extracted and burned as a fuel. Fossil fuels may be burned to provide heat for use directly,to power engines,or to generate electricity. Some fossil fuels are refined into derivatives such as kerosene,gasoline and propane before burning. The origin of fossil fuels is the anaerobic decomposition of buried dead organisms,containing organic molecules created by photosynthesis. The conversion from these materials to high-carbon fossil fuels typically require a geological process of millions of years.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) is a Paris-based autonomous intergovernmental organisation,established in 1974,that provides policy recommendations,analysis and data on the global energy sector. The 31 member countries and 13 association countries of the IEA represent 75% of global energy demand.
Climate change mitigation is action to limit climate change. This action either reduces emissions of greenhouse gases or removes those gases from the atmosphere. The recent rise in global temperature is mostly due to emissions from burning fossil fuels such as coal,oil,and natural gas. There are various ways that mitigation can reduce emissions. These are transitioning to sustainable energy sources,conserving energy,and increasing efficiency. It is possible to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. This can be done by enlarging forests,restoring wetlands and using other natural and technical processes. The name for these processes is carbon sequestration. Governments and companies have pledged to reduce emissions to prevent dangerous climate change. These pledges are in line with international negotiations to limit warming.
The energy policy of the United States is determined by federal,state,and local entities. It addresses issues of energy production,distribution,consumption,and modes of use,such as building codes,mileage standards,and commuting policies. Energy policy may be addressed via legislation,regulation,court decisions,public participation,and other techniques.
Aircraft engines produce gases,noise,and particulates from fossil fuel combustion,raising environmental concerns over their global effects and their effects on local air quality. Jet airliners contribute to climate change by emitting carbon dioxide,the best understood greenhouse gas,and,with less scientific understanding,nitrogen oxides,contrails and particulates. Their radiative forcing is estimated at 1.3–1.4 that of CO2 alone,excluding induced cirrus cloud with a very low level of scientific understanding. In 2018,global commercial operations generated 2.4% of all CO2 emissions.
A low-carbon economy (LCE) or decarbonised economy is a concept for a desirable economy which has relatively low greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions per person. GHG emissions due to human activity are the dominant cause of observed climate change since the mid-20th century. There are many strategies and approaches for moving to a low-carbon economy,such as encouraging renewable energy transition,efficient energy use,energy conservation,electrification of transportation,carbon capture and storage,climate-smart agriculture. An even more ambitious target than low-carbon economies are zero-carbon economies with net zero emissions. An example are zero-carbon cities.
Norway is a large energy producer,and one of the world's largest exporters of oil. Most of the electricity in the country is produced by hydroelectricity. Norway is one of the leading countries in the electrification of its transport sector,with the largest fleet of electric vehicles per capita in the world.
A coal-fired power station or coal power plant is a thermal power station which burns coal to generate electricity. Worldwide there are over 2,400 coal-fired power stations,totaling over 2,000 gigawatts capacity. They generate about a third of the world's electricity,but cause many illnesses and the most early deaths,mainly from air pollution.
Fossil fuel phase-out is the gradual reduction of the use and production of fossil fuels to zero,to reduce deaths and illness from air pollution,limit climate change,and strengthen energy independence. It is part of the ongoing renewable energy transition,but is being hindered by fossil fuel subsidies.
Mark Kenneth Jaccard is a Canadian energy economist and author. He develops and applies models that assess sustainability policies for energy and material. Jaccard is a professor of sustainable energy in the School of Resource and Environmental Management (REM) at Simon Fraser University.
Ross Gregory Garnaut is an Australian economist,currently serving as a vice-chancellor's fellow and professorial fellow of economics at the University of Melbourne. He is the author of numerous publications in scholarly journals on international economics,public finance and economic development,particularly in relation to East Asia and the Southwest Pacific.
The environmental effects of transport in Australia are considerable. Australia subsidizes fossil fuel energy,keeping prices artificially low and raising greenhouse gas emissions due to the increased use of fossil fuels as a result of the subsidies. The Australian Energy Regulator and state agencies such as the New South Wales' Independent Pricing and Regulatory Tribunal set and regulate electricity prices,thereby lowering production and consumer cost.
David J. Hayes is an American attorney and legal scholar who serves in the Biden Administration as Special Assistant to the President for Climate Policy. Hayes has led White House work on clean energy deployment issues,climate resilience and greenhouse gas emission reduction and carbon sequestration initiatives. Hayes also has assisted in developing and implementing the climate-related provisions included in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Inflation Reduction Act.
The climate change policy of the United States has major impacts on global climate change and global climate change mitigation. This is because the United States is the second largest emitter of greenhouse gasses in the world after China,and is among the countries with the highest greenhouse gas emissions per person in the world. In total,the United States has emitted over a trillion metric tons of greenhouse gasses,more than any country in the world.
The Deep Decarbonization Pathways Project (DDPP) is a global consortium formed in October 2013 which researches methods to limit the rise of global temperature due to global warming to 2 °C or less. The focus of the DDPP is on sustainable energy systems,other sectors of the economy,such as agriculture and land-use,are not directly considered.
Coal,cars and lorries vent more than a third of Turkey's six hundred million tonnes of annual greenhouse gas emissions,which are mostly carbon dioxide and part of the cause of climate change in Turkey. The nation's coal-fired power stations emit the most carbon dioxide,and other significant sources are road vehicles running on petrol or diesel. After coal and oil the third most polluting fuel is fossil gas;which is burnt in Turkey's gas-fired power stations,homes and workplaces. Much methane is belched by livestock;cows alone produce half of the greenhouse gas from agriculture in Turkey.
China's greenhouse gas emissions are the largest of any country in the world both in production and consumption terms,and stem mainly from coal burning,including coal power,coal mining,and blast furnaces producing iron and steel. When measuring production-based emissions,China emitted over 14 gigatonnes (Gt) CO2eq of greenhouse gases in 2019,27% of the world total. When measuring in consumption-based terms,which adds emissions associated with imported goods and extracts those associated with exported goods,China accounts for 13 gigatonnes (Gt) or 25% of global emissions.
Michael Wang is a distinguished fellow,a senior scientist,and director of the Systems Assessment Center of the Energy Systems Division at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Argonne National Laboratory. He is also a faculty associate in the Energy Policy Institute at The University of Chicago;a senior fellow at the Northwestern-Argonne Institute of Science and Engineering at Northwestern University.
Green recovery packages are proposed environmental,regulatory,and fiscal reforms to rebuild prosperity in the wake of an economic crisis,such as the COVID-19 pandemic or the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). They pertain to fiscal measures that intend to recover economic growth while also positively benefitting the environment,including measures for renewable energy,efficient energy use,nature-based solutions,sustainable transport,green innovation and green jobs,amongst others.
The Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism Regulation2023/956 ("CBAM") is a carbon tariff on carbon intensive products,such as steel,cement and some electricity,imported to the European Union. Legislated as part of the European Green Deal,it takes effect in 2026,with reporting starting in 2023. CBAM was passed by the European Parliament with 450 votes for,115 against,and 55 abstentions and entered into force on 17 May 2023.
