We’ve all been there. You’re talking to someone who says that fossil fuels aren’t causing climate change. Or that climate change is happening naturally, and not because of anything that humans do.
Maybe you know these things aren’t right, but you don’t speak up. You’re worried that you don’t know enough.
If you’d like to have more confident conversations about how fossil fuels drive climate change, read on! Talking about climate change with the facts helps correct the false information that’s out there. It can also inspire action in the people around you and build a movement for a greener future.
What are fossil fuels?
Fossil fuels come from the remains of plants, animals, and plankton that died millions of years ago. As they decayed, they created carbon-rich deposits called fossil fuels.
Fossil fuels include coal, natural gas, and oil. They supply around 80% of the world’s energy. We burn them to generate heat and electricity and power cars, trains, ships, and planes. We also use them to make plastic and many other products.
How fossil fuels change our climate
When fossil fuels are burned, they release large amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the air. Carbon dioxide is one of the main greenhouse gases. These gases in our atmosphere act like the walls of a greenhouse, trapping heat from the sun inside of them.
Human activities have added more greenhouse gas into the atmosphere since the Industrial Revolution, which lasted from around 1760 to 1890. This was a time when many countries around the world shifted from farming to machine manufacturing. Today, the atmosphere has 50% more carbon dioxide than it did in 1750.
All this extra greenhouse gas is heating up our atmosphere, leading to long-term changes in temperature and weather patterns called climate change. Learn more about climate change by reading What is climate change? What Canadians need to know.
How much do fossil fuels contribute to climate change?
Carbon dioxide isn’t just released when we burn fossil fuels. It’s also released when we cut down trees or make cement. There are other greenhouse gases that human activities add to the atmosphere, as well, such as methane and nitrous oxide.
So why are we spending so much time blaming fossil fuels? Just how much do they really contribute to global warming? And, in turn, climate change?
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), made up of some of the world’s leading climate scientists, found that fossil fuels are the main cause of global warming. In 2019, fossil fuels accounted for 75% of the greenhouse gas we release into our atmosphere and nearly 90% of the carbon dioxide.
We can also take the word of the fossil field companies and their own scientists. They were some of the first to know that burning oil, coal, and gas would cause global warming and have a catastrophic impact on human life, as early as the 1950s.
What role does Canada play?
You may be wondering what power you have to change such a big global problem. If you live in Canada, you can start right here. Canada sits on the third-largest oil reserve in the world, behind Saudi Arabia and Venezuela.
We export most of our crude oil and almost half of our natural gas. That means we’re responsible for the release of greenhouse gas around the world, not just inside our borders.
Alberta’s tar sands
Much of Canada’s oil is in Alberta’s oil sands, also known as tar sands.
The type of oil in the tar sands is bitumen. It is thick, heavy, and sticky like tar. Getting bitumen from deep in the ground is difficult and can use up large amounts of water, with even more water and energy needed to refine it. The amount of carbon dioxide released per barrel of tar sands oil over its life can be 30% higher than other oils.
Some of the fossil fuel reserves in Alberta’s tar sands, along with some in British Columbia, are called carbon bombs. These reserves would each release a billion tonnes or more of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere if their resources were fully removed from the ground and burned, challenging the world’s efforts to cool rising temperatures.
Together, we can defuse the carbon bomb
The IPCC has said that humans must cut the greenhouse gas we release almost in half by 2030 and as close to zero as possible by 2050. This will help limit global warming to 1.5 C so that the planet can avoid the worst impacts of climate change.
Reaching net zero by 2050 requires the world to shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources. The International Energy Agency warns that there should also be no investment in new fossil fuel projects.
What can you do?
For starters, you can write your MP and ask that Canada’s government create strong climate action policies, end all subsidies to the fossil fuel industry, and regulate how banks fund fossil fuel projects. In 2023, Canada’s five biggest banks ranked in the top 21 financiers of fossil fuels around the world.
You can also urge your MP to hold fossil fuel companies responsible for the cost of climate change by making them pay into a Climate Recovery Fund. The fund would support local governments and communities as they respond, rebuild, and adapt to the impacts of climate change.
It’s easier to pressure governments when you come together with other people to make your voice louder. You can join peaceful movements that push for bold climate action at all levels of government.
The planet can’t wait. Talk to your family, friends, coworkers, or neighbours about the role fossil fuels play in driving the climate crisis. And let them know everything that we can do about it.
