{"id":5576,"date":"2019-10-10T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-10-10T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www-prod.greenpeace.org\/usa\/a-world-beyond-fossil-fuels\/"},"modified":"2025-09-23T10:31:20","modified_gmt":"2025-09-23T10:31:20","slug":"a-world-beyond-fossil-fuels","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/usa\/a-world-beyond-fossil-fuels\/","title":{"rendered":"A World Beyond Fossil Fuels"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
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Fossil fuel phase-out<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

A sustainable future for people, wildlife, and the climate cannot include fossil fuels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Join in<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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The science is clear<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To avoid the worst impacts of climate change, we need to keep the majority of the world\u2019s remaining fossil fuels in the ground. It\u2019s time to phase out coal, oil, and natural gas \u2014 and instead, invest in workers, communities, and a renewable energy future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The assessment of recent national energy plans and projections in the 2021 Production Gap Report<\/a>\u2019s uncovered that governments plan to produce around 110% more fossil fuels in 2030 than would be consistent with limiting global warming to 1.5\u00b0C, and 45% more than would be consistent with limiting warming to 2\u00b0C, on a global level. In short, if governments extract and burn the amount of oil, gas, and coal that they are currently planning to, we will not stand a chance at avoiding a climate catastrophe.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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There are solutions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The US government can start by no longer allowing fossil fuel companies to drill and mine on our public lands. A 2018 report<\/a> by the Department of the Interior estimated that between 2005-2014 emissions from fossil fuels produced on Federal lands represent, on average, 23.7% of national emissions for carbon dioxide, 7.3% for methane, and 1.5% for nitrous oxide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Congress must stop funding climate destruction with our hard earned tax dollars. Our government gives away $15 billion in public money every year<\/a> to fossil fuel corporations through tax breaks, subsidies, and handouts. It\u2019s time to shift that investment to the clean, just energy system of the future and to support communities in the transition away from oil, gas, and coal. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n

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It’s time to quit coal<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There is no such thing as clean coal. There\u2019s a reason that coal has been singled out in the fight to keep fossil fuels in the ground. It\u2019s one of the most polluting energy sources out there<\/a>, the single largest contributor to global warming, and makes us sick by polluting our air and water with toxic pollution, like mercury.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coal production and jobs are at its lowest levels in over 50 years<\/a>. In 2020 there were less than 45,000 coal miners in the U.S.<\/a> That same year over 230,000 Americans worked in solar<\/a> and wind energy is cheaper than coal power in many U.S. states. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As we complete the transition off of coal, we must ensure that the workers and communities are not left behind by greedy coal barons who try to cut and run. <\/p>\n<\/div>

\"\u201cGrey<\/figure><\/div>\n\n
About coal<\/div>

Coal was once king in the United States, accounting for more than 40 percent of our electricity as recently as 2014. The good news is people around the world are moving away from dirty, polluting coal in favor of clean, renewable, affordable energy. Right now, we have the chance to quit coal for good and keep remaining U.S. coal reserves in the ground.<\/p>More about coal<\/a><\/div><\/div>

About oil<\/div>

The last thing the world needs is more oil. As with other fossil fuels, our reliance on oil is fueling climate change, polluting priceless landscapes, and costing billions of dollars. The US government has subsidized coal, oil, and gas for decades, despite the fact that a\u00a0majority of voters<\/a>\u00a0want to end fossil fuel subsidies. Fossil fuel companies are fighting to keep oil on life support, but we\u2019re fighting back.

We\u2019ve got great opportunities today to build a cleaner energy system in time to avoid the worst impacts of climate change \u2014 and oil has no part in it.<\/p>More about oil<\/a><\/div><\/div>

About fracking<\/div>

Fracking is the fossil fuel industry\u2019s latest false solution to our energy challenge. It\u2019s more expensive, more polluting, and more dangerous than clean, renewable energy. Fracking is diverting money and attention from the real long-term solutions we need for a sustainable energy system, while adding to greenhouse gas pollution and environmental degradation.

So why are we pursuing fracking in the first place?<\/p>More about fracking<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/section>\n\n

No Offshore Drilling<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n

Our public lands<\/a> aren\u2019t the only critical battleground in the fight to phase out fossil fuels \u2014 offshore oil and gas drilling is a growing threat to our health and climate.<\/p>\n\n

Big oil companies have profited from the exploitation of U.S. public land and water for decades. Their activities have not only devastated land and water that belongs to American taxpayers, but also pushed us steadily closer to climate chaos.<\/p>\n\n

The industry\u2019s greed only grows, fed by a clamor to exploit oil and gas reserves and continue to profit at the expense of people, wildlife, and the climate.<\/p>\n\n

Take the Arctic, for example. <\/strong>Due to global warming and melting sea ice, the oil deep in Arctic waters is now accessible for the first time. Corporations like Shell, ExxonMobil, and BP want to drill for it.<\/p>\n\n

That\u2019s right \u2014 oil that was once out of reach in frozen areas of the Arctic is now accessible because of the climate crisis. And the very companies responsible for the ice melting<\/a> want more oil to make the climate crisis worse.<\/p>\n\n

The good news is that your resistance has kept Arctic oil safe thus far. An incredible global movement forced Shell out of the Arctic in 2015<\/a> and prompted President Obama to make the U.S. Arctic off limits to oil drilling for two years. The Trump administration rolled back many of the protections. It is now up to President Biden to not just restore Obama era protections, but install a lifetime ban on arctic drilling. Things look to be trending in the right direction, in 2021 a federal district court decision halted the ConocoPhillips\u2019 Willow Master Development Plan<\/a> in the Alaskan Arctic.
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Learn more about…<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Frimmersdorf, Germany’s most polluting ‘brown’ coal-fired power station, operated by RWE.\n<\/figcaption>
\u00a9 Greenpeace \/ Sabine Vielmo<\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
Ending subsidies<\/a><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
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Greenpeace USA activists held a street theater performance demanding members of Congress endorse the End Polluter Welfare Act which was just reintroduced today and eliminate all fossil fuel subsidies via the American Jobs Plan. \nThe satirical game show \u201cThe Big Oil Cash Grab\u201d featured \u201cfossil fuel industry CEOs\u201d as contestants as they grabbed \u201ctaxpayer-funded handouts\u201d from inside a cash booth near the US Capitol.<\/figcaption>
\u00a9 Tim Aubry \/ Greenpeace<\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
The climate emergency<\/a><\/h5>\n\n\n\n
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Related news and updates<\/h2>\n
  • See all stories<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n \n <\/div>\n \n\n

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