Fossil fuel

Coal

Coal is especially abundant and by itself could sustain the current energy consumption of the entire planet for 60 years. This was the fuel that launched the industrial revolution and has continued to grow in use; China, which already has many of the worlds most polluted cities, was in 2007 building about two coal fired power plants every week. Coal is the fastest growing fossil fuel and its large reserves would make it a popular candidate to meet the energy demand of the global community, short of concerns of global warming. With the Fischer-Tropsch process it is possible to make liquid fuels such as diesel and jet fuel from coal.

Oil

It is estimated that there may be 57 ZJ of oil reserves on Earth (although estimates vary from low of 8 ZJ, consisting of currently proven and recoverable reserves, to a maximum of 110 ZJ) consisting of available, but not necessarily recoverable reserves, and including optimistic estimates for unconventional sources such as tar sands and oil shale. Current oil consumption is at the rate of 0.18 ZJ per year.

There is growing consensus that peak oil production may be reached in the near future, resulting in severe oil price increases. A 2005 French Economics, Industry and Finance Ministry report suggested a worst case scenario that could occur as early as 2013. There are also theories that peak of the global oil production may occur in as little as 2-3 years. The ASPO predicts peak year to be in 2010. Some other theories present the view that it has already taken place in 2005.

Sustainability

There is a broad consensus among scientists that we are not close to running out of fossil fuels. Despite this abundance, political considerations over the security of supplies, environmental concerns related to global warming and sustainability might move the world's energy consumption away from fossil fuels. The concept of peak oil shows that we have used about half of the available petroleum resources, and predicts a decrease of production.

A government led move away from fossil fuels would most likely create economic pressure through carbon emissions trading and green taxation. Some countries are taking action as a result of the Kyoto Protocol, and further steps in this direction are proposed. For example, the European Commission has proposed that the energy policy of the European Union should set a binding target of increasing the level of renewable energy in the EU's overall mix from less than 7% today to 20% by 2020.