A fossil fuel [a] is a carbon compound- or hydrocarbon-containing material [2] formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the buried remains of prehistoric organisms (animals, plants or planktons), a process that occurs within geological formations. Reservoirs of such compound mixtures, such as coal, petroleum and natural gas, can be extracted and burnt as a fuel for human consumption to provide energy for direct use (such as for cooking, heating or lighting), to power heat engines (such as steam or internal combustion engines) that can propel vehicles, or to generate electricity via steam turbine generators. [3] Some fossil fuels are further refined into derivatives such as kerosene, gasoline and diesel, or converted into petrochemicals such as polyolefins (plastics), aromatics and synthetic resins.
The origin of fossil fuels is the anaerobic decomposition of buried dead organisms, whose organic molecules were produced by photosynthetic carbon fixation and sequestered/biomagnified by the food web, [4] creating an underground carbon sink. The conversion from these organic materials to high-carbon fossil fuels typically requires a geological process of millions of years. [5] Due to the length of time it takes nature to form them, fossil fuels are considered non-renewable resources.
In 2022, over 80% of primary energy consumption in the world and over 60% of its electricity supply were from fossil fuels. [6] The large-scale burning of fossil fuels causes serious environmental damage. Over 70% of the greenhouse gas emissions due to human activity in 2022 was carbon dioxide (CO2) released from burning fossil fuels. [7] Natural carbon cycle processes on Earth, mostly absorption by the ocean, can remove only a small part of this, and terrestrial vegetation loss due to deforestation, land degradation and desertification further compounds this deficiency. Therefore, there is a net increase of many billion tonnes of atmospheric CO2 per year. [8] Although methane leaks are significant, [9] : 52 the burning of fossil fuels is the main source of greenhouse gas emissions causing global warming and ocean acidification. Additionally, most air pollution deaths are due to fossil fuel particulates and noxious gases, and it is estimated that this costs over 3% of the global gross domestic product [10] and that fossil fuel phase-out will save millions of lives each year. [11] [12]
Recognition of the climate crisis, pollution and other negative impacts caused by fossil fuels has led to a widespread policy transition and activist movement focused on ending their use in favor of renewable and sustainable energy. [13] Because the fossil-fuel industry is so heavily integrated in the global economy and heavily subsidized, [14] this transition is expected to have significant economic impacts. [15] Many stakeholders argue that this change needs to be a just transition [16] and create policy that addresses the societal burdens created by the stranded assets of the fossil fuel industry. [17] [18] International policy, in the form of United Nations' sustainable development goals for affordable and clean energy and climate action, as well as the Paris Climate Agreement, is designed to facilitate this transition at a global level. In 2021, the International Energy Agency concluded that no new fossil fuel extraction projects could be opened if the global economy and society wants to avoid the worst impacts of climate change and meet international goals for climate change mitigation. [19]
The theory that fossil fuels formed from the fossilized remains of dead plants by exposure to heat and pressure in Earth's crust over millions of years was first introduced by Andreas Libavius "in his 1597 Alchemia [Alchymia]" and later by Mikhail Lomonosov "as early as 1757 and certainly by 1763". [21] The first recorded use of the term "fossil fuel" occurs in the work of the German chemist Caspar Neumann, in English translation in 1759. [22] The Oxford English Dictionary notes that in the phrase "fossil fuel" the adjective "fossil" means "[o]btained by digging; found buried in the earth", which dates to at least 1652, [23] before the English noun "fossil" came to refer primarily to long-dead organisms in the early 18th century. [24]
Aquatic phytoplankton and zooplankton that died and sedimented in large quantities under anoxic conditions millions of years ago began forming petroleum and natural gas as a result of anaerobic decomposition. Over geological time this organic matter, mixed with mud, became buried under further heavy layers of inorganic sediment. The resulting high temperature and pressure caused the organic matter to chemically alter, first into a waxy material known as kerogen, which is found in oil shales, and then with more heat into liquid and gaseous hydrocarbons in a process known as catagenesis. Despite these heat-driven transformations, the energy released in combustion is still photosynthetic in origin. [4]
Terrestrial plants tended to form coal and methane. Many of the coal fields date to the Carboniferous period of Earth's history. Terrestrial plants also form type III kerogen, a source of natural gas. Although fossil fuels are continually formed by natural processes, they are classified as non-renewable resources because they take millions of years to form and known viable reserves are being depleted much faster than new ones are generated. [25] [26]
Fossil fuels have been important to human development because they can be readily burned in the open atmosphere to produce heat. The use of peat as a domestic fuel predates recorded history. Coal was burned in some early furnaces for the smelting of metal ore, while semi-solid hydrocarbons from oil seeps were also burned in ancient times, [29] they were mostly used for waterproofing and embalming. [30]
Commercial exploitation of petroleum began in the 19th century. [31]
Natural gas, once flared-off as an unneeded byproduct of petroleum production, is now considered a very valuable resource. [32] Natural gas deposits are also the main source of helium.
Heavy crude oil, which is much more viscous than conventional crude oil, and oil sands, where bitumen is found mixed with sand and clay, began to become more important as sources of fossil fuel in the early 2000s. [33] Oil shale and similar materials are sedimentary rocks containing kerogen, a complex mixture of high-molecular weight organic compounds, which yield synthetic crude oil when heated (pyrolyzed). With additional processing, they can be employed instead of other established fossil fuels. During the 2010s and 2020s there was disinvestment from exploitation of such resources due to their high carbon cost relative to more easily-processed reserves. [34]
Prior to the latter half of the 18th century, windmills and watermills provided the energy needed for work such as milling flour, sawing wood or pumping water, while burning wood or peat provided domestic heat. The wide-scale use of fossil fuels, coal at first and petroleum later, in steam engines enabled the Industrial Revolution. At the same time, gas lights using natural gas or coal gas were coming into wide use. The invention of the internal combustion engine and its use in automobiles and trucks greatly increased the demand for gasoline and diesel oil, both made from fossil fuels. Other forms of transportation, railways and aircraft, also require fossil fuels. The other major use for fossil fuels is in generating electricity and as feedstock for the petrochemical industry. Tar, a leftover of petroleum extraction, is used in the construction of roads.
The energy for the Green Revolution was provided by fossil fuels in the form of fertilizers (natural gas), pesticides (oil), and hydrocarbon-fueled irrigation. [35] [36] The development of synthetic nitrogen fertilizer has significantly supported global population growth; it has been estimated that almost half of the Earth's population are currently fed as a result of synthetic nitrogen fertilizer use. [37] According to head of a fertilizers commodity price agency, "50% of the world's food relies on fertilisers." [38]
The burning of fossil fuels has a number of negative externalities –harmful environmental impacts where the effects extend beyond the people using the fuel. These effects vary between different fuels. All fossil fuels release CO2 when they burn, thus accelerating climate change. Burning coal, and to a lesser extent oil and its derivatives, contributes to atmospheric particulate matter, smog and acid rain. [39] [40] [41] Air pollution from fossil fuels in 2018 has been estimated to cost US$2.9 trillion, or 3.3% of the global gross domestic product (GDP). [10]
Climate change is largely driven by the release of greenhouse gases like CO2, and the burning of fossil fuels is the main source of these emissions. In most parts of the world climate change is negatively impacting ecosystems. [44] This includes contributing to the extinction of species and reducing people's ability to produce food, thus adding to the problem of world hunger. Continued rises in global temperatures will lead to further adverse effects on both ecosystems and people; the World Health Organization has said that climate change is the greatest threat to human health in the 21st century. [45] [46]
Combustion of fossil fuels generates sulfuric and nitric acids, which fall to Earth as acid rain, impacting both natural areas and the built environment. Monuments and sculptures made from marble and limestone are particularly vulnerable, as the acids dissolve calcium carbonate.
Fossil fuels also contain radioactive materials, mainly uranium and thorium, which are released into the atmosphere. In 2000, about 12,000 tonnes of thorium and 5,000 tonnes of uranium were released worldwide from burning coal. [47] It is estimated that during 1982, US coal burning released 155 times as much radioactivity into the atmosphere as the Three Mile Island accident. [48]
Burning coal also generates large amounts of bottom ash and fly ash. These materials are used in a wide variety of applications (see Fly ash reuse), utilizing, for example,[ clarification needed ] about 40% of the United States production. [49]
In addition to the effects that result from burning, the harvesting, processing, and distribution of fossil fuels also have environmental effects. Coal mining methods, particularly mountaintop removal and strip mining, have negative environmental impacts, and offshore oil drilling poses a hazard to aquatic organisms. Fossil fuel wells can contribute to methane release via fugitive gas emissions. Oil refineries also have negative environmental impacts, including air and water pollution. Coal is sometimes transported by diesel-powered locomotives, while crude oil is typically transported by tanker ships, requiring the combustion of additional fossil fuels.
A variety of mitigating efforts have arisen to counter the negative effects of fossil fuels. This includes a movement to use alternative energy sources, such as renewable energy. Environmental regulation uses a variety of approaches to limit these emissions; for example, rules against releasing waste products like fly ash into the atmosphere. [41]
In December 2020, the United Nations released a report saying that despite the need to reduce greenhouse emissions, various governments are "doubling down" on fossil fuels, in some cases diverting over 50% of their COVID-19 recovery stimulus funding to fossil fuel production rather than to alternative energy. The UN secretary general António Guterres declared that "Humanity is waging war on nature. This is suicidal. Nature always strikes back –and it is already doing so with growing force and fury." He also claimed there is still cause for hope, anticipating the US plan to join other large emitters like China and the EU in adopting targets to reach net zero emissions by 2050. [51] [52] [53]
Fossilflation is a term that describes the impact of fossil fuels on inflation. [54] [55]
According to Vox in August 2022, "Economists have pointed to energy prices as the main reason for high inflation," noting that "energy prices indirectly affect virtually every part of the economy". [54] Sectors that raise prices significantly as a result of higher fossil fuel prices include transportation, food, and shipping. [54]
Mark Zandi of Moody's says that fossil fuel prices have driven every big episode of inflation since WWII. [54]
The economic impact of the Russian Invasion of Ukraine in 2022 was a major recent example of fossil fuels causing inflation. [55] Some economists, including Isabel Schnabel, believe that dependence on fossil fuels is the main driver of the 2021-2022 inflation spike. [54] [55]
Gernot Wagner argues that commodities are undesirable energy sources because they are susceptible to volatile price swings that technologies like renewable energy are not. He also argues that technologies improve and get relatively cheaper over time. [54] [56] Coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, some argued for the possibility of a base effect phenomenon due to cheaper than normal prices, such as for oil, at the onset of the pandemic, followed by above-average prices which exacerbated the perceived inflation. [57] [58]
While not expected to provide much short-term relief, the Inflation Reduction Act seeks to make the United States less dependent on fossil fuels and their ability to cause inflation in the economy. [54] [59] [56] Moody's estimates that by 2030, the bill could reduce the typical American household's spending on energy by more than $300 each year, in 2022 dollars. [54]
Environmental pollution from fossil fuels impacts humans because particulates and other air pollution from fossil fuel combustion may cause illness and death when inhaled. These health effects include premature death, acute respiratory illness, aggravated asthma, chronic bronchitis and decreased lung function. The poor, undernourished, very young and very old, and people with preexisting respiratory disease and other ill health are more at risk. [61] Global air pollution deaths due to fossil fuels have been estimated at over 8 million people (2018, nearly 1 in 5 deaths worldwide) [62] at 10.2 million (2019), [63] and 5.13 million excess deaths from ambient air pollution from fossil fuel use (2023). [64]
While all energy sources inherently have adverse effects, the data show that fossil fuels cause the highest levels of greenhouse gas emissions and are the most dangerous for human health. In contrast, modern renewable energy sources appear to be safer for human health and cleaner. The death rates from accidents and air pollution in the EU are as follows per terawatt-hour (TWh):
Energy source | Nos. of deaths per TWh | Greenhouse gas emissions (thousand tonnes/TWh) |
---|---|---|
Coal | 24.6 | 820 |
Oil | 18.4 | 720 |
Natural gas | 2.8 | 490 |
Biomass | 4.6 | 78–230 |
Hydropower | 0.02 | 34 |
Nuclear energy | 0.07 | 3 |
Wind | 0.04 | 4 |
Solar | 0.02 | 5 |
[65] As the data shows, coal, oil, natural gas, and biomass cause higher death rates and higher levels of greenhouse gas emissions than hydropower, nuclear energy, wind, and solar power. Scientists propose that 1.8 million lives have been saved by replacing fossil fuel sources with nuclear power. [66]
This article needs to be updated. The reason given is: Needs to incorporate developments in international law and climate law which now recognise just transition.(September 2024) |
Fossil fuel divestment or fossil fuel divestment and investment in climate solutions is an attempt to reduce climate change by exerting social, political, and economic pressure for the institutional divestment of assets including stocks, bonds, and other financial instruments connected to companies involved in extracting fossil fuels. [71]
Fossil fuel divestment campaigns emerged on college and university campuses in the United States in 2011 with students urging their administrations to turn endowment investments in the fossil fuel industry into investments in clean energy and communities most impacted by climate change. [72] In 2012, Unity College in Maine became the first institution of higher learning to divest [73] its endowment from fossil fuels.
By 2015, fossil fuel divestment was reportedly the fastest growing divestment movement in history. [74] As of July 2023, more than 1593 institutions with assets totalling more than $40.5 trillion in assets worldwide had begun or committed some form of divestment of fossil fuels. [75]
Divesters cite several reasons for their decisions. To some, it is a means of aligning investments with core values; to others, it is a tactic for combatting the fossil fuel industry; to others, it is a way to protect portfolios from climate-related financial risk. [76] Financial research suggests that, in the longer term, fossil fuel divestment has positively impacted investors' returns. [77] [78]In 2019, Saudi Aramco was listed and it reached a US$2 trillion valuation on its second day of trading, [79] after the world's largest initial public offering. [80]
Fossil fuel subsidies are energy subsidies on fossil fuels, and in 2023 totalled over 1 trillion dollars. They may be tax breaks on consumption, such as a lower sales tax on natural gas for residential heating; or subsidies on production, such as tax breaks on exploration for oil. Or they may be free or cheap negative externalities; such as air pollution or climate change due to burning gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. Some fossil fuel subsidies are via electricity generation, such as subsidies for coal-fired power stations.
Eliminating fossil fuel subsidies would reduce the health risks of air pollution, [81] and would greatly reduce global carbon emissions thus helping to limit climate change. [82] As of 2021 [update] , policy researchers estimate that substantially more money is spent on fossil fuel subsidies than on environmentally harmful agricultural subsidies or environmentally harmful water subsidies. [83] The International Energy Agency says: "High fossil fuel prices hit the poor hardest, but subsidies are rarely well-targeted to protect vulnerable groups and tend to benefit better-off segments of the population." [84]
Despite the G20 countries having pledged to phase-out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies, [85] as of 2023 [update] they continue because of voter demand, [86] [87] or for energy security. [88] Global fossil fuel consumption subsidies in 2022 have been estimated at one trillion dollars; [84] although they vary each year depending on oil prices, they are consistently hundreds of billions of dollars. [89]The fossil fuels lobby includes paid representatives of corporations involved in the fossil fuel industry (oil, gas, coal), as well as related industries like chemicals, plastics, aviation and other transportation. [90] Because of their wealth and the importance of energy, transport and chemical industries to local, national and international economies, these lobbies have the capacity and money to attempt to have outsized influence on governmental policy. In particular, the lobbies have been known to obstruct policy related to environmental protection, environmental health and climate action. [91]
Lobbies are active in most fossil-fuel intensive economies with democratic governance, with reporting on the lobbies most prominent in Canada, Australia, the United States and Europe, however the lobbies are present in many parts of the world. Big Oil companies such as ExxonMobil, Shell, BP, TotalEnergies, Chevron Corporation, and ConocoPhillips are among the largest corporations associated with the fossil fuels lobby. [92] The American Petroleum Institute is a powerful industry lobbyist for Big Oil with significant influence in Washington, D.C. [93] [94] [95] In Australia, Australian Energy Producers, formerly known as the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (APPEA), has significant influence in Canberra and helps to maintain favorable policy settings for Oil and Gas. [96]
The presence of major fossil fuel companies and national oil companies at global forums for decision making, like the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, [97] Paris Climate Agreement negotiations, [97] and United Nations Climate Change conferences has been criticised. [98] The lobby is known for exploiting international crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, [99] or the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, [100] [101] to try to roll back existing regulations or justify new fossil fuel development. [99] [100] Lobbyists try to retain fossil fuel subsidies. [102]A carbon tax is a tax levied on the carbon emissions from producing goods and services. Carbon taxes are intended to make visible the hidden social costs of carbon emissions. They are designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by essentially increasing the price of fossil fuels. This both decreases demand for goods and services that produce high emissions and incentivizes making them less carbon-intensive. When a fossil fuel such as coal, petroleum, or natural gas is burned, most or all of its carbon is converted to CO2. Greenhouse gas emissions cause climate change. This negative externality can be reduced by taxing carbon content at any point in the product cycle.
A fossil fuel power station is a thermal power station which burns a fossil fuel, such as coal, oil, or natural gas, to produce electricity. Fossil fuel power stations have machinery to convert the heat energy of combustion into mechanical energy, which then operates an electrical generator. The prime mover may be a steam turbine, a gas turbine or, in small plants, a reciprocating gas engine. All plants use the energy extracted from the expansion of a hot gas, either steam or combustion gases. Although different energy conversion methods exist, all thermal power station conversion methods have their efficiency limited by the Carnot efficiency and therefore produce waste heat.
Climate change mitigation (or decarbonisation) is action to limit the greenhouse gases in the atmosphere that cause climate change. Climate change mitigation actions include conserving energy and replacing fossil fuels with clean energy sources. Secondary mitigation strategies include changes to land use and removing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. Current climate change mitigation policies are insufficient as they would still result in global warming of about 2.7 °C by 2100, significantly above the 2015 Paris Agreement's goal of limiting global warming to below 2 °C.
The politics of climate change results from different perspectives on how to respond to climate change. Global warming is driven largely by the emissions of greenhouse gases due to human economic activity, especially the burning of fossil fuels, certain industries like cement and steel production, and land use for agriculture and forestry. Since the Industrial Revolution, fossil fuels have provided the main source of energy for economic and technological development. The centrality of fossil fuels and other carbon-intensive industries has resulted in much resistance to climate friendly policy, despite widespread scientific consensus that such policy is necessary.
Coal pollution mitigation is a series of systems and technologies that seek to mitigate health and environmental impact of burning coal for energy. Burning coal releases harmful substances that contribute to air pollution, acid rain, and greenhouse gas emissions. Mitigation includes precombustion approaches, such as cleaning coal, and post combustion approaches, include flue-gas desulfurization, selective catalytic reduction, electrostatic precipitators, and fly ash reduction. These measures aim to reduce coal's impact on human health and the environment.
Business action on climate change is a topic which since 2000 includes a range of activities relating to climate change, and to influencing political decisions on climate change-related regulation, such as the Kyoto Protocol. Major multinationals have played and to some extent continue to play a significant role in the politics of climate change, especially in the United States, through lobbying of government and funding of climate change deniers. Business also plays a key role in the mitigation of climate change, through decisions to invest in researching and implementing new energy technologies and energy efficiency measures.
Carbon capture and storage (CCS) is a process by which carbon dioxide (CO2) from industrial installations is separated before it is released into the atmosphere, then transported to a long-term storage location. The CO2 is captured from a large point source, such as a natural gas processing plant and is typically stored in a deep geological formation. Around 80% of the CO2 captured annually is used for enhanced oil recovery (EOR), a process by which CO2 is injected into partially-depleted oil reservoirs in order to extract more oil and then is largely left underground. Since EOR utilizes the CO2 in addition to storing it, CCS is also known as carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS).
The fossil fuels lobby includes paid representatives of corporations involved in the fossil fuel industry, as well as related industries like chemicals, plastics, aviation and other transportation. Because of their wealth and the importance of energy, transport and chemical industries to local, national and international economies, these lobbies have the capacity and money to attempt to have outsized influence on governmental policy. In particular, the lobbies have been known to obstruct policy related to environmental protection, environmental health and climate action.
A coal-fired power station or coal power plant is a thermal power station which burns coal to generate electricity. Worldwide there are about 2,500 coal-fired power stations, on average capable of generating a gigawatt each. They generate about a third of the world's electricity, but cause many illnesses and the most early deaths per unit of energy produced, mainly from air pollution. World installed capacity doubled from 2000 to 2023 and increased 2% in 2023.
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.
Energy subsidies are measures that keep prices for customers below market levels, or for suppliers above market levels, or reduce costs for customers and suppliers. Energy subsidies may be direct cash transfers to suppliers, customers, or related bodies, as well as indirect support mechanisms, such as tax exemptions and rebates, price controls, trade restrictions, and limits on market access.
A fuel is any material that can be made to react with other substances so that it releases energy as thermal energy or to be used for work. The concept was originally applied solely to those materials capable of releasing chemical energy but has since also been applied to other sources of heat energy, such as nuclear energy.
The environmental impact of the energy industry is significant, as energy and natural resource consumption are closely related. Producing, transporting, or consuming energy all have an environmental impact. Energy has been harnessed by human beings for millennia. Initially it was with the use of fire for light, heat, cooking and for safety, and its use can be traced back at least 1.9 million years. In recent years there has been a trend towards the increased commercialization of various renewable energy sources. Scientific consensus on some of the main human activities that contribute to global warming are considered to be increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases, causing a warming effect, global changes to land surface, such as deforestation, for a warming effect, increasing concentrations of aerosols, mainly for a cooling effect.
The environmental impact of the petroleum industry is extensive and expansive due to petroleum having many uses. Crude oil and natural gas are primary energy and raw material sources that enable numerous aspects of modern daily life and the world economy. Their supply has grown quickly over the last 150 years to meet the demands of the rapidly increasing human population, creativity, knowledge, and consumerism.
Energy consumption per person in Turkey is similar to the world average, and over 85 per cent is from fossil fuels. From 1990 to 2017 annual primary energy supply tripled, but then remained constant to 2019. In 2019, Turkey's primary energy supply included around 30 per cent oil, 30 per cent coal, and 25 per cent gas. These fossil fuels contribute to Turkey's air pollution and its above average greenhouse gas emissions. Turkey mines its own lignite but imports three-quarters of its energy, including half the coal and almost all the oil and gas it requires, and its energy policy prioritises reducing imports.
Substitutional fuels are fuels that can replace, either partially or completely, conventional fuels. It includes biodiesel, biogas, alcohol, myco-diesel, algal fuel, and metal fuel. They have applications to replace conventional fuels in functions such as transportation, although they still compose a small proportion of global fuel sources. Lots of substitutional fuel use is the result of government-enforced mandates, exemptions, or subsidies.
An energy transition is a major structural change to energy supply and consumption in an energy system. Currently, a transition to sustainable energy is underway to limit climate change. Most of the sustainable energy is renewable energy. Therefore, another term for energy transition is renewable energy transition. The current transition aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from energy quickly and sustainably, mostly by phasing-down fossil fuels and changing as many processes as possible to operate on low carbon electricity. A previous energy transition perhaps took place during the Industrial Revolution from 1760 onwards, from wood and other biomass to coal, followed by oil and later natural gas.
The carbon bubble is a hypothesized bubble in the valuation of companies dependent on fossil-fuel-based energy production, resulting from future decreases in value of fossil fuel reserves as they become unusable in order to meet carbon budgets and recognition of negative externalities of carbon fuels which are not yet taken into account in a company's stock market valuation.
Fossil fuel subsidies are energy subsidies on fossil fuels, and in 2023 totalled over 1 trillion dollars. They may be tax breaks on consumption, such as a lower sales tax on natural gas for residential heating; or subsidies on production, such as tax breaks on exploration for oil. Or they may be free or cheap negative externalities; such as air pollution or climate change due to burning gasoline, diesel and jet fuel. Some fossil fuel subsidies are via electricity generation, such as subsidies for coal-fired power stations.
Coal, cars and lorries vent more than a third of Turkey's five hundred million tonnes of annual greenhouse gas emissions. They are mostly carbon dioxide and part of the cause of climate change in Turkey. A quarter of the emissions are from electricity generation.
the potential benefits of a phaseout .... can avoid an excess mortality rate of 3.61 (2.96–4.21) million per year
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: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)Throughout the most recent U.S. spike in inflation in 2022, the energy category alone was responsible for around half of total inflation. And that's just counting the direct effects. Indirectly, a good portion of the food price increases ever since are also due to higher energy costs. If the farmer pays more to harvest the crop, soon those commodity prices increase as well. Of course, it isn't all fossil fuels...The IRA has not and will not cut inflation overnight. But that fight is indeed a big part of the bill's legacy: Play the long game of tackling all three types of climate-related inflation — fossilflation, climateflation, and greenflation — at their very core, and indeed justify the law's name.
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