What are fossil fuels and petrochemicals?
Fossil fuels are mostly petroleum (oil), coal and natural gas, and petrochemicals are substances that are obtained from them.
How much do these three account for the world's total energy consumption?
They account for roughly 80 to 82 percent. Although renewable energy sources, especially wind and solar power, are the fastest-growing energy sources, fossil fuel use reached record levels in 2024 due to rising global energy demand.
Of this 80 to 82 percent share of total energy consumption, which is the largest power source?
Petroleum is the largest, at about 34 percent. This is followed by coal at about 27 percent and then natural gas at 23 percent.
What are the largest uses of fossil fuels in the world today?
Electricity generation is one of the largest consumers of fossil fuels globally, with approximately 38 to 40 percent of total energy content obtained from them as of 2024-2025. This energy was provided primarily by coal at roughly 62 percent, followed by natural gas at about 33 percent, and oil at about five percent.
Moreover, electricity generation is the largest consumer of both coal and natural gas, accounting for about two thirds of total coal use and 40 percent of natural gas use.
The industrial sector is the second largest consumer of energy obtained from fossil fuels at roughly 26 to 30 percent. Most of this energy is for heat and power for industrial processes, such as steel and cement production, at 18 to 22 percent.
The industrial sector also includes non-energy use, in which the fuels are not burned for heat but rather are used as the primary raw materials, or inputs, for making other products, at about 8 to 13 percent. Major examples are the production of plastics, fertilizers and synthetic fibers.
This is followed by transportation at 22 to 25 percent. The dominant type of fossil fuel is petroleum, at more than 90 percent, due to its high energy density and ease of storage in liquid form. Approximately two-thirds (about 60 to 66 percent) of all oil produced worldwide is used for transportation. (This figure refers to both volume and energy content, which are closely linked because liquid petroleum fuels have relatively uniform energy densities.)
The fourth broad category is residential and commercial use, which is mainly space heating, water heating and cooking. It accounts for about 10 to 12 percent of fossil fuel use. The dominant fuel is natural gas.
What are the main uses of oil?
In 2025, the vast majority of oil in terms of both volume (barrels) and energy content, roughly 80 to 85 percent, was still refined into combustible fuels such as gasoline, diesel fuel and jet fuel. Approximately 14 to 15 percent was used for petrochemicals, including plastics, fertilizers and industrial chemicals.
What are some examples of products obtained from fossil fuels?
The list of products obtained from fossil fuels is vast. In addition to gasoline and other fuels, which account for roughly half of all petrochemical consumption, they include agricultural chemicals, plastics, construction materials, corrosion control chemicals, lubricants, cosmetics, paints and coatings, cleaning agents, inks and dyes, electronic chemicals and materials, flavorings and other food additives, fragrances, and pharmaceuticals.
How important are fossil fuels and petrochemicals in the world today?
They have extremely large roles. The share of fossil fuels in total energy production (including electricity generation, transportation, heating and industry) is roughly 80 percent, and for electricity generation alone is about 60 percent. The total has remained around this level for decades, although the figure for electricity production has been declining.
Transportation is dominated by fossil fuels, which provide about 90 to 95 percent of all energy used to power it. Extensive use of fossil fuels is also made in the production of transportation vehicles, with some estimates in the 70 to 90 percent range, and in the infrastructure it uses (especially roads). Petrochemical-based materials (such as plastics, synthetic rubber, coatings, foams and adhesives) constitute a significant share of both vehicle mass and cost.
Petrochemicals are used as inputs in roughly 95 percent of both manufactured goods taken as a whole and common household products, at least some way, whether as materials, components or additives. Furthermore, world food production is heavily dependent on fossil fuels, at about 90 percent of the energy used coming from these fuels, and is also heavily reliant on petrochemicals, especially for fertilizers, pesticides and packaging materials.
How extensive is the use of fossil fuels and petrochemicals in road transportation?
Of fossil fuels used for transportation, road transport accounts for about 75 to 80 percent. In contrast, aviation and shipping each account for only about 10 to 12 percent, and the total for rail and pipelines is less than five percent.
The fossil fuel figure for road transportation includes not only the gasoline and diesel fuel used to operate the vehicles, but also the energy expended to manufacture the vehicles, the petrochemicals used to produce the plastics and other parts of the vehicles, and the asphalt and other materials used to make the roads and related infrastructure.
When did fossil fuels and petrochemicals assume such large roles?
Some ancient civilizations made limited use of coal, oil and natural gas for heating, lighting and construction, although such use was minuscule in comparison to the scale on which they are now used. Fossil fuels began to assume their dominant role during the Industrial Revolution in the late 18th century, as coal began replacing wood and charcoal for heating, industrial production and transportation. By 1900, coal supplied roughly half of the world's energy. Oil surpassed coal as the most used energy source in the United States by 1950, largely due to the explosive growth of automobiles.
The modern petrochemical industry can be traced back to the early 1920s in the United States, when Standard Oil began production of isopropyl alcohol, considered the world's first commercial petrochemical. World War II accelerated petrochemical technology as the Allies needed massive quantities of synthetic rubber, aviation fuel, explosives and specialty plastics.
What is the relationship between fossil fuels and the deterioration of the environment?
The pollution of the air, water and land from the use and disposal of fossil fuels and petrochemicals on a massive and ever-increasing scale has been a leading cause of the rapid deterioration in the earth's environment. Moreover, the obtaining of fossil fuels, including the surge in the use of fracking in recent years, mainly in the U.S., and the mining of tar sands in Canada, is also contributing to this destruction.
What are some examples of this pollution?
One of the most important examples is undoubtedly the release of enormous quantities of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere from the burning of coal and gasoline. This is the dominant cause of global warming and rising sea levels, and is also a major factor in the current wave of mass extinctions.
Another is the accumulation of vast quantities of plastic in the oceans and on the land. Currently, over 150 million metric tons of plastic pollute the oceans, with at least eight million tons added annually. Some sources project that the amount will exceed the total weight of all fish in the oceans by 2050 if current trends continue.
Could our civilization survive without the use of fossil fuels on a massive scale?
Yes, but it will take time as well as some major changes to our lifestyles and economies. The equally important question that should be asked is: "Can our civilization survive with the continued large-scale use of fossil fuels?"
Can our civilization survive with the continued massive use of fossil fuels?
If it survives, it will be with an accelerating deterioration of the environment accompanied by significant risks to the quality of life, particularly for the most vulnerable communities.
How can we drastically reduce our production and use of fossil fuels and petrochemicals?
In short, it will be necessary to greatly curtail products and activities that use a lot of them while making increased efforts to develop good substitutes for them. But care must be taken that these substitutes do not create new environmental, health and other problems or just shift the problems to other regions or countries.
What are the most effective ways to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels?
The most promising areas for greatly reducing consumption of fossil fuels are electric power generation and transportation because they are by far the largest users and they may be among the easiest to replace. Of total fossil fuel consumption, electric power generation accounts for about 35 to 40 percent and transportation accounts for 20 to 25 percent.
Are there good substitutes for fossil fuels for these applications?
Yes. The cost of generating electricity from renewable sources, specifically wind and solar, is now generally competitive with, or lower than, electricity generated from fossil fuels. Moreover, the costs of producing electricity with these alternative energy sources are continuing to decline as a result of both advances in the technology and economies of scale from larger volumes of output.
What about substitutes for transportation?
Road transportation is another promising area in which to cut fossil fuel consumption, both because it currently accounts for about one fifth to one quarter of fossil fuel use globally and because good substitutes are available for much of it. Moreover, it could offer social and economic benefits beyond the environmental ones.
Road transport accounts for 70 to 80 percent of total transportation fossil fuel use, or 20 to 25 percent of total global fossil fuel use. The most effective way to reduce this is to provide good alternatives, which are lacking in much of both the developed and the developing countries. These alternatives include adding or improving public transportation and making walking safer and more attractive.
Would some people prefer to use public transportation or walk instead of drive?
Yes. Some people would. For example, good public transportation can be faster than driving because it can avoid traffic congestion by operating on exclusive rights of way. It can help families save money by reducing the number of cars they own. It can allow people to read or just relax while riding.
Would some people prefer to walk instead of drive?
Yes. For many people, walking is neither practical nor safe because of poor or lacking walking infrastructure, traffic congestion, long distances to destinations, etc. Improving land use patterns, developing more compact cities, and providing better walking infrastructure could make walking safer and more practical.
Are there also ways that road traffic could be 'tamed' to reduce fossil fuel use?
Road traffic can be managed or 'tamed' in several ways to reduce fossil fuel use. In addition to expanding alternatives to driving, key strategies include: (1) developing alternative and low-carbon fuels, (2) promoting driving behaviors that improve fuel economy, such as moderating speeds and avoiding rapid acceleration, (3) enforcing stricter efficiency and emissions standards for new vehicles and ensuring proper maintenance, for example keeping tires properly inflated, (4) reducing vehicle weights and (5) continuing to improve the efficiency of internal combustion engines.
Given the urgency of reducing carbon dioxide emissions and the large share of emissions from road transportation, what are some of the quickest and most effective ways in which internal combustion engine emissions could be cut?
One effective measure would be to implement enhanced bus service in urban areas to attract travelers who would otherwise drive. Unlike conventional buses that are often slow because they get stuck in traffic and make frequent stops, enhanced services would operate in dedicated lanes with signal priority at intersections. These features allow for higher travel speeds, lower operating costs, and more frequent service. Combined with low fares and convenient schedules, such improvements can significantly increase ridership and reduce car use and emissions.
Wouldn't it be better to use rail on these routes because it can have lower emissions than buses?
Enhanced bus service has the advantage of being much faster and cheaper to implement, since it uses existing streets rather than requiring new infrastructure. Rail systems, while offering lower long-term emissions, greater capacity and improved comfort, typically take several years and require much higher investment to build. For this reason, cities can start with enhanced bus corridors to achieve quick results and later transition high-demand routes to rail as funding and ridership grow.
Could increased use of electric automobiles play a major role in reducing the use of fossil fuels in transportation?
Electric vehicles could eventually play a major role in reducing fossil fuel use because they are more energy efficient than internal combustion engine vehicles and produce no tailpipe emissions, which improves local air quality and reduces greenhouse gas emissions over their lifetimes, even after accounting for battery production.
However, they also pose challenges, including environmental and social effects from mining battery materials, the need to boost responsible recycling and disposal of the batteries, and the requirement for massive investments in electrical grid capacity, charging networks, and other infrastructure. Moreover, it could take several decades to achieve a mass conversion worldwide, especially considering that many users prefer internal combustion engine vehicles.
How effective would a large reduction in the use of private jets and cruise ships and be on reducing fossil fuel use?
Private jets burn many times more fuel per passenger than commercial flights, and cruise ships power systems operate continuously to power their onboard amenities. However, these luxury forms of travel constitute only a small fraction of total fossil fuel use. Private aviation represents roughly 1.8 to 2 percent of global aviation emissions, which is about 0.04 to 0.08 percent of total carbon dioxide emissions. The cruise industry contributes a few percent of global shipping emissions, and international shipping accounts for about 2 to 3 percent of global carbon dioxide overall. Taken together, private jets and cruise ships likely produce less than half a percent of global carbon dioxide emissions.
While a large reduction in their use would have only a modest direct effect on overall emissions, it could have an important indirect effect. Visible cuts in luxury travel might help the public accept strong climate policies, such as higher carbon taxes and expanded investments in clean energy and low-carbon transportation alternatives.
How could emissions from road freight transportation be reduced?
There are a number of ways in which emissions from road freight (mainly trucks and delivery vans), which is responsible for roughly one third of the total road-transport globally, could be reduced. They include improvements in vehicle technology, fuels and logistics together with a partial modal shift.
A major area of potential improvement is increasing fuel efficiency through such means as developing more efficient engines, improving aerodynamics, using low-rolling-resistance tires, reducing weight, and using hybrid powertrains.
Another is switching to zero- or low-carbon energy sources. These include electric trucks for urban and short-haul routes and hydrogen or fuel cells for heavier and longer routes. For situations where these sources are not practical, use could be made of sustainable, renewable diesel fuels.
Also important is the implementation of strategies aimed at making a partial modal shift from road transportation to rail (and inland waterway where available) transportation because the energy efficiency for the latter is far greater than the former. An important part of such strategies is investing in rail capacity and reliability by adding or upgrading tracks, sidings, terminals and signaling so more freight trains can run without conflicting with passenger services. It also includes building or expanding intermodal terminals where containers can transfer efficiently between trucks and trains.
What about substitutes for petrochemicals?
This is an immense challenge, given that petrochemicals play a role, directly or indirectly, in roughly 95 percent of manufactured goods and household products. The problem is not insoluble, but replacing or reducing their use will take far longer than cutting carbon emissions from vehicles in urban areas.
Several broad strategies could help promote workable substitutes. Governments can support research and early-stage development through targeted subsidies or tax credits that encourage companies to design and develop efficient production processes for alternative materials made from renewable sources such as plant-based substances or captured carbon.
At the same time, investment in advanced recycling and chemical recovery technologies could help reduce demand for virgin petrochemicals by keeping existing materials in circulation longer. Collaboration between industry, academia and policymakers will also be crucial for setting standards, improving production efficiency, and ensuring that new materials are both sustainable and economically competitive.
Some of the easiest and quickest products from which to eliminate petrochemicals are single-use plastics and certain packaging materials. Bio-based alternatives, such as paper composites, molded fiber containers, or bioplastics derived from corn or sugarcane, can often replace petroleum-based plastics in these applications with minimal changes to manufacturing processes. Personal care items, such as soaps, lotions and detergents, also offer near-term potential, since natural oils and plant-based surfactants can often substitute for petrochemical ingredients without major performance losses. These early transitions could serve as visible proof that progress is possible while paving the way for more complex shifts in textiles, electronics and industrial products.