In a new review published in Oxford Open Climate Change, scientists issue an urgent warning that fossil fuels and the fossil fuel industry are at the core of interlinked crises that threaten people, wildlife, and a livable future.
The review synthesizes the extensive scientific evidence showing that fossil fuels and the fossil fuel industry are not only driving the climate emergency — they're also harming public health, worsening environmental injustices, accelerating biodiversity extinction, and fueling the plastics and petrochemical pollution problem. The review focuses on the United States as the world’s largest oil and gas producer and dominant contributor to these fossil fuel crises.
It presents the solutions already available to phase out fossil fuel production and use and to transition rapidly and fairly to affordable clean, renewable energy and materials across the economy.
