Fossil fuels (oil, coal, and natural gas) are non-renewable sources of energy formed in the earth over the past 550 million years, typically from the remains of marine microorganisms and plants. Sealed off from oxygen and put under ever-increasing amounts of heat and pressure, this organic matter undergoes a thermal breakdown process that ultimately converts it to hydrocarbons.
When fossil fuels are burned, they release pollutants which contribute to global warming and acid rain.
The United States gets 80% of its total energy from fossil fuels. They heat our homes, run our vehicles, power industry and manufacturing, and provide us with electricity. Eventually, the degree to which we depend on fossil fuels will have to decline as they are non-renewable resources, as the difficulty and cost of tapping remaining reserves increase, and as the effect of their continued use on our planet grows more critical.
In 1950, nearly equal amounts of U.S. residential energy came from petroleum, coal, natural gas, and wood, and relatively little came from electricity (5%). In 2018, the U.S. residential sector consumed natural gas (43%) and electricity (42%) in nearly equal shares. Similarly, the U.S. commercial sector’s 2018 energy consumption was also mostly natural gas (38%) and electricity (50%).
By Matthew Brown Photo: AP Photo/Matthew Brown
The U.S. government this week is holding its first onshore oil and natural gas drilling lease auctions since President Joe Biden took office after a federal court blocked the administration’s attempt to suspend such sales…
By Lisa Friedman Photo: Pete Marovich , The New York Times
President Biden’s top aides are weighing whether to ban new oil and gas drilling off America’s coasts, a move that would elate climate activists but could leave the administration vulnerable to Republican accusations that it…
By Patricia Cohen Photo: Yves Herman/Reuters
The head of the International Energy Agency said high prices for fossil fuels would probably persist for years.
By David Blackmon Photo: Getty Images
This has been a week when a rift seemed to develop among global political leaders regarding the “incredible” energy transition agenda. It’s a rift that once again shows us that political elites who don’t have…
By Earthjustice and Evergreen Action Photo: David Mcnew / Getty Images
President Biden can use his legal authority to transition the U.S. away from oil, gas, and coal by aligning the federal leasing program with his climate and environmental justice commitments...
By Maxine Joselow Photo: Matthew Brown/AP
The federal fossil fuel leasing program is at odds with President Biden's commitments to tackling climate change and environmental injustices, according to a report shared exclusively with The Climate 202 before its public release...
By Ella Koeze and Clifford Krauss Graph: Energy Information Administration
Gas prices in the United States are at record highs. And even when adjusting for inflation, they are on average at levels rarely seen in the last 50 years, including during the energy crisis of…
By Maxine Joselow and Others Photo: Andrew Harnik , Reuters
Good morning and welcome to The Climate 202! Today we're worried about a shortage of Sriracha because of extreme droughts in Mexico, where the hot-sauce company sources its chile peppers. One could say it's a…
By Steven Mufson Photo: Jordan Vonderhaar , Bloomberg News
Big oil and gas companies have internal data showing that their methane emissions in the vast Permian Basin “are likely significantly higher than official data” reported to the Environmental Protection Agency, says a new report…
By Steven Mufson and Others
The exits make it far less likely that drilling will take place soon in a vast, unspoiled landscape that has achieved iconic status among environmentalists and has been fought over for half a century. An…
By Lisa Friedman Photo: Tim Gruber , The New York Times
The Biden administration on Thursday will move to restore authority to states and tribes to veto gas pipelines, coal terminals and other energy projects if they would pollute local rivers and streams, reversing a Trump-era…
By Mattea Mrkusic, Lena Moffitt and Others
This report will focus on one of the dirtiest uses of America’s federal public lands and waters: fossil fuel development. The U.S. federal government sells leases to private companies which allow them to extract oil,…
02/18/22
Is natural gas a fossil fuel? The answer to this question is a bit complicated. Natural gas is, in fact, a fossil fuel, but it is not the same type of fossil fuel as coal…
10/06/20
Net anthropogenic emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) must approach zero by mid-century (2050) in order to stabilize the global mean temperature at the level targeted by international efforts.
10/01/20
This working paper models 26 countries and finds national average emission reductions of 6 per cent from the removal of fossil fuel subsidies.
10/01/20
This paper assesses whether ExxonMobil Corporation has in the past misled the general public about climate change.
08/20/20
New data shows how fossil fuel companies have driven climate crisis despite industry knowing dangers
08/20/20
We’ve long known that the big fossil fuel companies are responsible for a huge share of the world’s carbon emissions. Now the Climate Accountability Institute is publishing new data quantifying how much each of these…
02/19/20
With her trademark black humor, Maddow takes us on a switchback journey around the globe, revealing the greed and incompetence of Big Oil and Gas along the way, and drawing a surprising conclusion about why…
01/01/20
As the pressure to act on climate change builds, the industry should consider a range of options.
10/09/19
New research has shown that just 20 fossil fuel companies have allowed their relentless greed to ignore decades of warnings about what their practices were doing...
09/16/15
Top executives were warned of possible catastrophe from greenhouse effect, then led efforts to block solutions
By Clifford Krauss Photo: An Rong Xu , The New York Times 06/01/22
The European Union’s embargo on most Russian oil imports could deliver a fresh jolt to the world economy, propelling a realignment of global energy trading that leaves Russia economically weaker, gives China and India bargaining…
Analysis by Maxine Joselow Photo: David Paul Morris/Bloomberg News 05/31/22
Democratic lawmakers in two of the nation's most populous states are pushing legislation to punish the fossil fuel industry for its apparent role in causing droughts, wildfires and other disasters exacerbated by climate change.
By Steven Mufson Photo: Alastair Grant , AP 05/27/22
Five years ago, Shell chief executive Ben van Beurden sat down for an interview with The Washington Post and said “we believe that climate change is real. We believe that the threat of climate change…
By Chris Flood 05/26/22
Chief executive Tim Buckley said the group, which manages $8.1tn for more than 30mn investors and is the largest investor in coal companies globally, was determined to safeguard its clients from climate risks but this…
By Maxine Joselow Photo: Richard Drew/AP 05/26/22
Nearly two-thirds of investors in ExxonMobil and Chevron on Wednesday rejected proposals for the oil giants to align their climate strategies with the Paris agreement.
By Amy Westervelt Photo: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images 05/25/22
The industry moved quickly to capture the narrative, going from disinformation blitz to policy wins within a matter of weeks.
By Manuela Andreoni 05/24/22
At Stanford University, the question is ringing loud. This month, hundreds of students, faculty members and alumni, in an open letter, called on the university’s new climate school to decline funding from fossil fuel companies.
By Lesley Clark Photo: AP Photo 05/18/22
Climate liability lawsuits from state and local governments against fossil fuel companies are creeping closer to a new Supreme Court showdown.
By Kasha Patel Photo: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg News 05/17/22
In 2015, 1 in 6 deaths worldwide stemmed from poor air quality, unsafe water and toxic chemical pollution. That deadly toll — 9 million people each year — has continued unabated through 2019, killing more…
By Thomas L. Friedman Photo: Michael Hanschke/Reuters 05/17/22
It has long been said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. By that definition, we’re the ones detached from reality if we…
By Maxine Joselow Photo: Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images 05/13/22
Investors in three of the world's largest oil and gas companies this week rejected proposals for the firms to set stronger climate targets, as fossil fuel firms reap record profits following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
By Anna Phillips Photo: Eric Gay , AP 05/12/22
The Interior Department confirmed Wednesday that it will not hold three oil and gas lease sales in the Gulf of Mexico and off the coast of Alaska that had been scheduled to take place, taking…
By Hiroku Tabuchi Photo: Sunday Alamba , Associated Press 05/10/22
When Royal Dutch Shell sold off its stake in the Umuechem oil field in Nigeria last year, it was, on paper, a step forward for the company’s climate ambitions: Shell could clean up its holdings,…
By Clifford Krauss Photo: Jessica Lutz for The New York Times 05/06/22
Russia’s natural-gas supplies have become a tool of leverage in its conflict with Europe over the Russian invasion of Ukraine. And the stakes are high for Europe, which relies on Russia for 40 percent of…
By Ben Lefebvre 05/05/22
The actual purchases would be for deliveries after fiscal year 2023, in “future years when prices are anticipated to be significantly lower than they are today, and will represent a first tranche of purchases to…
By Matina Stevis-Gridneff Photo: Nikolay Doychinov/Agence France-Presse 05/04/22
The ban, once seen as unlikely, is a significant tightening of the squeeze on Russia’s economy, and a financial blow to Europe, too.
By Halle Parker 05/04/22
To help wean Europe off Russian gas, the Biden administration wants to increase U.S. natural gas exports. But critics say that's at odds with the president's climate and environmental justice goals.
By Anya Litvak Photo: Heather Rousseau , AP 05/04/22
Equitrans Midstream Corp. has again delayed the start date for its 303-mile Mountain Valley Pipeline and raised its estimated cost to $6.6 billion, more than twice the original estimate.
By Leanna First-Arai Composite: Getty Images 05/04/22
The oil and gas industry wants to play a word-and-picture association game with you. Think of four images: a brightly colored backpack stuffed with pencils, a smiling teacher with a tablet tucked under her arm,…
By James Bruggers 04/30/22
The oil and gas industry has a new battle to fight with California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s first-of-its-kind investigation into their role in the global plastics crisis—and it looks a lot like one they’ve been…
By Lauren Leffer Photo: Ben Margot , AP 04/29/22
Today, ExxonMobil and Chevron released their earnings summaries for the first three months of 2022. And, surprise, while people in the U.S. were paying some of the highest-ever average prices at the pump, the oil…
By Matt Viser and Anna Phillips Photo: Patrick Semansky/AP 04/20/22
The president took office determined to shift the nation’s course on climate change. That legacy could be threatened by the political urgency to cut gas prices.
By Aaron Cantu Photo: Jerry Moorman 04/19/22
The California Geologic Energy Management Division so far has approved 89 in March and April, compared to 67 the first two months of the year and 35 the last three months of 2021 (most in…
By Jane McMullen and Patrice Taddonio 04/19/22
It was the 1990s, and scientific understanding of how burning fossil fuels would change the Earth’s climate was mounting. So, too, was a chorus of voices telling a different story.
By Anna Phillips Photo: Eli Hartman/AP 04/15/22
As pressure increases on the Biden administration to lower the price of fuel, the Interior Department announced on Friday plans to hold its first onshore oil and gas lease sales since President Biden took office.
By Farhad Manjoo Photo: Jessica Lutz for The New York Times 03/24/22
On one hand, it would seem uncontroversial to point out that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a war enabled and exacerbated by the world’s insatiable appetite for fossil fuels. It couldn’t not be so: Russia…
By Nate Raymond Photo: Lee Celano , Reuters 03/23/22
A Massachusetts judge on Tuesday barred Exxon Mobil Corp from arguing improper, political motives were behind the state's attorney general suing the oil company for allegedly misleading consumers and investors about its role in climate…
By Damien Gayle Photo: Mario Tama , Getty Images 03/21/22
In what is thought to be a first-of-its-kind action, the lawsuit brought by activist shareholders claims that Shell’s 13 directors are personally liable for failing to devise a strategy in line with the Paris Agreement,…
By Catrin Einhorn and Lisa Friedman Photo: Patrick T. Fallon , Getty Images 03/18/22
The war in Ukraine is setting into motion the first global energy crisis of its kind, and nations around the world should respond by reducing their use of oil and gas, the leader of a…
By Josh Slowiczek 03/17/22
Oil and gas interests spent four times as much as environmental advocacy groups and almost six times as much as clean energy firms on lobbying efforts in California between 2018 and 2021, according to a…
By Jane Mayer Illustration: Nicholas Konrad / The New Yorker 03/15/22
Biden’s nominee had publicly encouraged measures to mitigate climate change, including a transition to cleaner energy, which triggered a backlash from America’s powerful oil, gas, and coal industries.
By Emily Cochrane and Jeanna Smialek Photo: Ken Cedeno/Pool photo 03/14/22
Senator Joe Manchin III, a key centrist Democrat, announced on Monday that he would not support Sarah Bloom Raskin for a top position on the Federal Reserve, potentially dooming her chances for confirmation as Republicans…
By Brad Plumer , Lisa Friedman and David Gelles Photo: Yevgeny Sofiychuk/Getty Images 03/10/22
As the world reels from spikes in oil and gas prices, the fallout from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has laid bare a dilemma: Nations remain extraordinarily dependent on fossil fuels and are struggling to shore…
By Marianne Lavelle Photo: Stringer , Getty Images 03/06/22
With a Russian military convoy advancing on her city of Kyiv, Ukraine’s leading climate scientist made an emotional plea at last week’s meeting of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
By Ciara Nugent Photo: Alexander Reka , Getty Images 03/01/22
Svitlana Krakovska, a Ukrainian meteorologist, was wary of speaking her mind. On Sunday, sitting next to her sons’ bunk beds in her Kyiv home, she joined a Zoom meeting of the International Governmental Panel on…
By Patricia Cohen Photo: Alexey Malgavko/Reuters 02/23/22
Energy security has gained prominence while the conflict in Ukraine raises concerns over the possible interruption in the supply of oil and natural gas.
By Lisa Friedman Photo: Chris Carmichael , The New York Times 02/20/22
The Biden administration is indefinitely freezing decisions about new federal oil and gas drilling as part of a legal brawl with Republican-led states that could significantly impact President Biden’s plans to tackle climate change.
By Neil Irwin 02/19/22
For decades, politicians have talked about the U.S. achieving energy independence, a seemingly elusive goal of producing enough fuels to avoid relying on the rest of the world to fill up gas tanks and keep…
By Mary Louise Kelly 02/18/22
NPR's Mary Louise Kelly talks with Gregory Trencher, a co-author of a report that shows, despite pledges, BP, Chevron, Exxon Mobil and Shell aren't making changes needed to transition to clean energy.
By Rick Spence 02/09/22
For the leaders of the divestment movement, which encourages institutional investors to sell off their shares in fossil fuel companies, winning isn’t everything. Eroding public support for the sector has been considered valuable work in…
By Brad Plumer Photo: Loic Venance , Getty Images 02/02/22
While world leaders have vowed to scale back the use of fossil fuels to help keep a lid on global warming, a drastic upheaval in the markets for oil, natural gas and coal could complicate…
01/21/22
After declining in 2020, the combined production of U.S. fossil fuels (including natural gas, crude oil, and coal) increased by 2% in 2021 to 77.14 quadrillion British thermal units. Based on forecasts in our latest…
By Eve Andrews Photo: Jacquelyn Martin/AP 01/13/22
Once again, the American Petroleum Institute is attempting to paint itself as a climate savior – and not doing it very convincingly.
By Niamh McIntyre 01/05/22
Fossil fuel companies and firms that work closely with them are among the biggest spenders on ads designed to look like Google search results, in what campaigners say is an example of “endemic greenwashing”.
By Clifford Krauss Photo: Angus Mordant/Reuters 12/06/21
Exxon Mobil said on Monday that it aimed to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions from its operations in oil and gas fields in West Texas and New Mexico by 2030. The announcement is part of…
By Seth Borenstein Photo: AP Photo/Caleb Jones, File 12/01/21
America needs to rethink and reduce the way it generates plastics because so much of the material is littering the oceans and other waters, the National Academy of Sciences says in a new report.
By Amy Westervelt Photo: Hy Peskin , Getty Images 12/01/21
Much has been made, and rightly so, of the Koch network’s impact on universities. Entire campus projects exist to ferret out Koch cash, which is powering everything from the Regulatory Studies Center at George Washington…
By Sarah Kaplan Photo: David Zalubowski/AP 11/26/21
The document calls for increasing the government’s royalty rate — the 12.5 percent of profits fossil fuel developers must pay to the federal government in exchange for drilling on public lands — to be more…
By Coral Davenport and Lisa Friedman Photo: Steve Nesius , Reuters 11/26/21
The Interior Department on Friday recommended that the federal government raise the fees that oil and gas companies pay to drill on public lands — the first increase in those rent and royalty rates since…
By Jon Greenberg Photo: AP 11/08/21
Streaming into a hearing days before Halloween, Rep. Katie Porter, D-Calif., held up a Mason jar full of blue, red, yellow and green M&Ms for a demonstration on Shell Oil’s capital spending.
