I’d like to explore fossil fuels from the perspective of Laudato Si’ over a few articles. I want to highlight some of the positive results that are being delivered. First, let’s set the stage with some background on fossil fuel consumption. It’s good to start with reputable scientific data, since this is such a charged topic right now. As Catholics, we always seek the truth and reality of the world around us, and science informs us about the physical world in which we live.
From the standpoint of Laudato Si’, the climate crisis is a root cause of all the issues we face related to the environment: biodiversity loss, poverty, war, migration, and other social problems. Global warming is driven by greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and most greenhouse gases are coming from fossil fuel consumption. This is why both Laudato Si’ and Laudate Deum are focused on reducing fossil fuel usage as a main element of our response to the climate crisis.
Source: US EPA (1)
Carbon dioxide is the primary GHG, but the data shows that other compounds are also significant contributors. Methane comes from agriculture and energy production, and nitrous oxide is primarily from burning fossil fuels and fertilizers that are manufactured from fossil fuels.
Source: US EPA (2)
Global usage of fossil fuels has grown rapidly in the last 70 years and continues to grow. This correlates directly with GHG concentrations and global temperature increases in the atmosphere, land, and oceans.
This chart shows global fossil fuel consumption over the last 120 years, including the enormous growth of oil and gas usage.
Currently about two-thirds of GHG emissions are coming from ten emitters:
2020 GHG emissions by country, billion tons. Source: US EPA (3)
Comparing fuel consumption on a per capita basis allows us to compensate for the size of each country. This shows that people in the United States consume twice as much energy per person as the Chinese, even though China’s GHG emissions are higher than the USA’s.
The United States is currently the world’s largest oil producer, as it has been for most of the last 120 years. Saudi Arabia did not enter the global market for oil in a significant way until the 1960’s. This explains the powerful business interests in the United States invested in continuing to produce fossil fuels. The US is also a major producer of natural gas and coal.
In the United States, the breakdown of GHG emissions shows transportation, buildings, and industrial uses are the primary sectors of concern:
Total 2022 U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions by Economic Sector Including Electricity End-Use Indirect Emissions. Source: US EPA (3)
This brief overview helps us understand the scope and magnitude of our use of fossil fuels and its connection to our Catholic concerns for the environment. The United States of America is in a leading position with respect to the climate for several reasons. We are the largest producer of fossil fuels, we consume the most fossil fuels and generate the most GHGs per person by a wide margin, and our national successes in the last century are predicated on our pace of consumption. We are in the best position economically to address this challenge of any nation in the world. Those facts give us a moral responsibility to act and lead in addressing the climate crisis.
We approach this challenge with hope and trust that God is with us. Reducing our greenhouse gas emissions will take time and focused effort, but we can do it together. We have a moral obligation to do so. In future articles I’d like to dig into this topic further and highlight some of the good ideas and solutions that are becoming a reality.
Notes
(1) US EPA, Global Greenhouse Gas Overview, https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/global-greenhouse-gas-overview, 2024
(2) Ibid.
(3) Ibid.
(4) US EPA, Sources of Greenhouse Gas Emissions, https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/sources-greenhouse-gas-emissions, 2024