Climate Change and Fossil Fuels FAQs • L I B R A R Y

“Climate change is real, and it’s our responsibility as stewards to do what we can to limit the damage done to God’s creation.”
Elder Steven E. Snow of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints General Authority Seventies

Environmental issues and impacts are increasingly being considered at every level of government. Here are some frequently asked questions about climate change and fossil fuels.

What is climate change?

Climate change refers to a long-term change in the earth’s climate and weather patterns. On a global scale, the climate has warmed by about 2 degrees Fahrenheit. While this may seem like a small amount, the earth’s average annual temperature fluctuated by only a few tenths of a degree in pre-industrial times. The 10 warmest years on record have all occurred since 1998 (nine of them since 2005!). Climate change’s effects are not uniform — some areas are experiencing unusual cold as weather patterns shift in response to warmer air in the atmosphere (see the recent temperature trends map here). Climate change also leads to more extreme weather events, such as hurricanes and cyclones, wildfires, floods, and droughts.

Hasn’t the climate always changed?

Climate shifts are part of the earth’s history. However, the increase over the last 150 years has been unusually rapid. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, it is “indisputable” that human activities are driving the earth’s current warming trend. Based on 14,000 studies by scientists in 65 countries, carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in the atmosphere are higher than at any time in human history. CO2 is a gas that traps heat and is produced by burning fossil fuels, and the increase of CO2 and the associated warming over past decades is happening faster than any such change in the past, allowing less time for ecosystems to adapt.

Who does climate change affect?

Climate change affects everyone to some degree — people everywhere are experiencing more intense and frequent weather events in the form of heat waves, wildfires, droughts, hurricanes, and flooding. In the U.S., many areas prone to climate-related disasters are increasing in population, and certain populations are more vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Vulnerable populations may experience more significant consequences of climate change and have less ability to adapt to or recover from climate events. This may be due to physical location (coastal or hotter climates) or socioeconomic conditions. For example, farming and coastal communities, outdoor workers, and marginalized populations are more likely to suffer from climate catastrophes. In particular, island nations are facing dire impacts from climate change. In 2020 alone, weather-related hazards displaced 30.7 million people worldwide, a number that is expected to increase.

What are fossil fuels?

Fossil fuels are the remains of prehistoric plants and organisms. After these plants and animals died, some of them were covered by sediment or rock. Instead of decomposing in open air, the trapped organic matter was subject to heat and pressure and was converted to coal, methane (natural) gas, and oil. Because living things are made predominantly of carbon, these substances are carbon-rich and full of energy potential.

Why do we use fossil fuels?

Fossil fuels are abundant and historically inexpensive sources of energy and have been a driving force of modern civilization — we use them for heating, transportation, and electricity. Currently, more than 80% of the world’s energy is derived from fossil fuels. Fossil fuel deposits are found all over the world, although some areas are more concentrated than others. Coal production has declined over the past decade, but oil and methane gas production has surged, thanks to more advanced extraction techniques, including fracking.

What’s the problem with fossil fuels?

There are health and environmental costs associated with burning and extracting fossil fuels. As the cost of renewable energy falls, there are additional economic costs to fossil fuels as well.

Health: Burning fossil fuels creates several forms of pollution. Particulate matter occurs in the air and is made up of various chemicals. Around eight million people worldwide died from this type of air pollution in 2018. In the U.S., more than four in ten people live in areas with unsafe air. These burdens are not equally shared — people of color are three times more likely to experience long-term exposure to air pollution than white people. Furthermore, indoor air may be two to five times more polluted than outdoor air due to burning methane (natural) gas in stoves, ovens, and heaters, especially in areas that are not properly ventilated. As a result, indoor air pollution may exceed the EPA’s standards for outdoor air, and children living in homes with methane (natural) gas stoves have a 42% higher risk of developing asthma symptoms.

Climate Change: Fossil fuel emissions are the primary drivers of climate change. When fossil fuels are burned (gas in vehicles, coal in power plants, natural gas for heating), carbon dioxide and methane are released. Methane is 87 times more powerful at trapping heat than carbon dioxide and has increased in the atmosphere 6% since 2000. Carbon dioxide and methane levels are high and continue to rise. Historically, climate changes occurred over hundreds or thousands of years. With the current rapid rate of warming, people and ecosystems have not had adequate time to adapt.

Economic: Continued fossil fuel use has a significant economic cost. Since the industrial revolution, fossil fuels drove development and broadly contributed to advances in quality of life — the benefits of fossil fuel use outweighed the perceived costs. However, the long-term impacts of burning fossil fuels are now better known, and the economic cost is recognized. For example, air pollution and related health effects cost about 5% of the U.S. annual GDP in damages ($790 billion in 2014). Experts predict increasing economic costs due to the aftermath of more frequent and intense hurricanes and wildfires, the resulting human job loss and displacement, agricultural complications due to flooding and drought, and real estate losses due to sea-level rise. The more the planet warms, the greater the economic fallout. Furthermore, renewable energy is now more economically viable — renewables are cheaper than operating existing coal plants and less expensive than building new methane (natural) gas facilities.

Will reducing reliance on fossil fuels stop climate change?

The IPCC reports that we are locked into a certain amount of warming (about 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit), with irreversible sea-level rise and changes to north/south poles. Despite our best efforts, greenhouse gases will linger in the atmosphere, and events like ice melt and wildfire, which are both caused by and contribute to more warming, will continue. If worldwide emissions can be reduced significantly and soon — net zero by 2050, as specified in the Paris Accord — we can slow warming and sea-level rise enough to give ourselves and our planet time to adapt and to reduce the number and intensity of natural disasters. If fossil fuels use continues at current rates, the climate effects will only worsen.