Energy Futures: Reducing Reliance on Fossil Fuels
A Tipping Point for Energy
For two centuries, fossil fuels — coal, oil and gas — have powered economic growth. They are still 80% of the world’s primary energy supply. But the climate cost is now too high to ignore. The big question is no longer whether to switch but how fast, with what technologies, and at whose expense. The answers depend on physics, politics and economics in equal measure.
New Frontiers for Fossil Fuels
Even as the world talks about transition, oil and gas companies are pushing into new, more difficult environments. Unconventional fossil fuels include Canadian tar sands (oil mixed with sand and clay, extracted by strip mining or steam injection), shale gas (released from rock by hydraulic fracturing or ‘fracking’), and Arctic offshore oil (only accessible as sea ice retreats). The Athabasca tar sands of Alberta produce around 3 million barrels a day. They are economically valuable but environmentally costly: producing one barrel of tar-sand oil emits 3× more CO₂ than conventional oil and uses huge volumes of water.
Tar sands produce 3× the CO₂ per barrel vs conventional oil. Fracking has been linked to groundwater contamination and small earthquakes. Arctic drilling threatens fragile ecosystems. Each unconventional source extends fossil fuel use but at higher environmental cost.
Renewable Alternatives
The clean alternatives have grown faster than predicted. Solar photovoltaic panels are now the cheapest source of new electricity in most countries; the price per kilowatt-hour fell 90% from 2010 to 2024. Wind — both onshore and offshore — has scaled rapidly, with the UK alone generating about 30% of electricity from wind in 2024. Hydroelectric power (HEP) remains the largest renewable source globally, though new dam projects raise issues of displacement and ecosystem disruption (Three Gorges Dam displaced 1.3 million people).
Biofuels — ethanol from sugarcane (Brazil), biodiesel from palm oil — are renewable but require large amounts of land that could grow food. Green hydrogen is the future-fuel candidate: when made from renewable electricity (‘green hydrogen’), it can power steel furnaces, ships and lorries that batteries struggle with. Nuclear, technically not renewable, produces almost no operating CO₂ emissions but raises long-term waste storage concerns and high upfront costs.
The cheapest energy is the energy you don’t use. Energy efficiency measures — LED lighting, insulating homes, electric heat pumps, electric vehicles, smart meters — cut demand without people noticing. The International Energy Agency estimates efficiency could deliver 40% of the carbon cuts needed to meet the Paris Agreement target. The UK’s ECO scheme has insulated millions of homes since 2013, lowering bills and cutting CO₂. Efficiency is unglamorous but works.
Changing Attitudes
In many developed countries, public attitudes have shifted markedly since 2010. Polls in the UK, Germany and California now show majorities backing aggressive climate action. Younger generations — especially Gen Z — are more willing to change diet, transport and consumption habits. Companies are responding: most major car manufacturers have announced electric-only timelines, and many investors avoid fossil-fuel stocks. But change is uneven: emerging economies still building coal power stations argue that they need cheap energy now to grow, just as today’s wealthy countries did in their industrial revolutions.
Solar photovoltaic costs fell 90% from 2010 to 2024. Wind delivered roughly 30% of UK electricity in 2024. China is both the world’s largest builder of new coal plants AND its largest installer of solar — the transition is happening unevenly.
Carbon Footprints
A carbon footprint measures total greenhouse-gas emissions caused by a person, household, company or product. The average UK person has a carbon footprint of about 7 tonnes CO₂ per year — roughly half from home energy and transport, half from food, clothes and goods. Cutting your footprint involves both individual choices (less meat, fewer flights, electric vehicles) and supporting bigger structural changes (renewable electricity grids, public transport investment). Personal action alone won’t solve climate change, but combined with policy it shapes what businesses and governments do.
Different groups have different views on energy futures. Consumers want low bills and reliable supply. TNCs like Shell or BP want returns for shareholders — some now invest heavily in renewables, others continue to expand fossil fuels. Governments balance climate commitments with growth and jobs. Climate scientists warn that the window to avoid 1.5°C warming is closing fast. Environmental groups push for rapid divestment from fossil fuels. Indigenous communities often resist projects on their land. The 12-mark decision-making question on Paper 3 typically asks you to weigh these competing perspectives.