Why Do We Still Use Fossil Fuels Instead Of Renewable Energy?

Renewable energy is generally promoted as a key type of energy for the future.

But, fossil fuels still serve an important role in society, and are still heavily used across society.

Below, we outline why fossil fuels might still be used instead of renewable energy in some parts of the world, and across society in general.

Firstly, How Much Do We Still Use Fossil Fuels Across Society?

There might be two ways to express how much we still use fossil fuels – by looking at it’s use for energy, and also looking at it’s other uses.

– % Share That Fossil Fuels Make Up Of The Energy Mix’s Of Different Countries Globally

Some major countries across the world predominantly use fossil fuels in their energy mix.

– The % Of Everyday Things That Use Fossil Fuels Across Society

We’ve listed the % of everyday things that use fossil across society in this guide

Some reports indicate that we use fossil fuels in over 90% of everyday products and things

Why Do We Still Use Fossil Fuels In General?

We might generally still use fossil fuels for a whole range of reasons

Some of those reasons might include:

– It’s been a cheap/affordable energy source in the past to help countries build their economies and quality of life

Part of this might be because fossil fuels haven’t paid the upfront cost for the externalised environmental impact they’ve had

This might be changing somewhat now though in some countries where new power plants and cleaner technology might be making coal energy more costly

– It’s been profitable for investors, energy producers, and other groups and companies in the past

– There hasn’t been as much accountability, pressure or requirements imposed on companies involved with fossil fuels in the past

Now there’s more social dialogue and pressure, but also government controls and tools are being used – energy portfolios, ‘polluter pays’ and carbon taxes, fines, and so on

– Fossil fuel resources are far more abundant and accessible in some countries compared to others

In these countries, fossil fuels might be used in greater shares domestically

– The technology, infrastructure and systems for fossil fuel energy sources is well developed in some countries

– Fossil fuels have been subsidised, and their use incentivised heavily in the past in many countries

Consider this from cleantechnica.com:

‘… fossil fuels have received government subsidies for 100 or so years. These days, fossil fuel subsidies reportedly total approximately $5 trillion globally each year … Renewable energy also receives subsidies, but not to the same degree.”

reneweconomy.com.au also outlines the potential extent of subsidies for fossil fuel in Australia

Why Do We Still Use Fossil Fuels Instead Of Renewables In Some Cities & Countries?

In addition to the reasons outlined above, fossil fuels may have some uses, and provide some benefits that renewable energy might not

There may also be some challenges specifically in using more renewable energy in the future (as opposed to using existing fossil fuels in an energy mix)

Uses

The range of important uses for fossil fuels can be found in the linked guide we mentioned above when discussing ‘uses’

Benefits

Some of the notable benefits that some fossil fuel energy sources might have over some renewable energy sources might be:

– Not being a variable/intermittent energy source like solar and wind can be

There’s can be a range of flow on effects to this, but, a few key effects might be that some fossil fuel energy sources are better at meeting base load and also peak energy demand within a power grid than some renewables (without additional support or provisions in the energy system)

This might especially be the case in highly populated areas, or areas where there is a high demand for energy.

Fossil fuels like natural gas (that can ramp up and down) might be able to be used today in an energy mix with renewables to help meet baseload and peak energy demand when renewables can’t by themselves.

– Fossil fuels generally have better power density than some renewable energy, along with some other potential performance benefits

We provide more detail on the ways that some fossil fuels may outperform some renewable energy sources in these guides:

Renewable Energy vs Fossil Fuels vs Nuclear: A Comparison

Which Energy Source Is ‘The Best’?

Potential Challenges & Issues With Using More Renewable Energy

We put together a separate guide outlining the potential challenges and issues with using more renewable energy in the future.