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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.
Petroleum extraction disrupts the equilibrium of earth's carbon cycle by transporting sequestered geologic carbon into the biosphere. The carbon is used by consumers in various forms and a large fraction is combusted into the atmosphere; thus creating massive amounts of the greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide, as a waste product.
Fossil fuel phase-out is the gradual reduction of the use and production of fossil fuels to zero, to reduce 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 .
This phenomenon is popularly known as global dimming, [48] and is primarily attributed to sulfate aerosols produced by the combustion of fossil fuels with heavy sulfur concentrations like coal and bunker fuel. [9] Smaller contributions come from black carbon, organic carbon from combustion of fossil fuels and biofuels, and from anthropogenic dust.
Higher temperatures are also causing more intense storms, droughts, and other weather extremes. [9] Rapid environmental change in mountains, coral reefs, and the Arctic is forcing many species to relocate or become extinct. [10] Even if efforts to minimize future warming are successful, some effects will continue for centuries.
The research suggested almost one-fifth of fossil fuel emissions are absorbed by forests across Africa, Amazonia and Asia. Simon Lewis stated, "Tropical forest trees are absorbing about 18% of the carbon dioxide added to the atmosphere each year from burning fossil fuels, substantially buffering the rate of change." [53] [obsolete source]
The depletion of resources has been an issue since the beginning of the 19th century amidst the First Industrial Revolution.The extraction of both renewable and non-renewable resources increased drastically, much further than thought possible pre-industrialization, due to the technological advancements and economic development that lead to an increased demand for natural resources.
Burning fossil fuels: Burning oil, coal and gas is estimated to have emitted 37.4 billion tonnes of CO 2-eq in 2023. [34] The largest single source is coal-fired power stations, with 20% of greenhouse gases (GHG) as of 2021. [35] Land use change (mainly deforestation in the tropics) accounts for about a quarter of total anthropogenic GHG ...