WhatWouldBeRequiredtoEliminateFossilFuelUse?UnderstandingtheScaleoftheGlobalEnergyChallenge
What
Would
Be
Required
to
Eliminate
Fossil
Fuel
Use?
Understanding
the
Scale
of
the
Global
Energy
Challenge
Can renewable energy cater for the increasing global demand for energy? A review of the logistics of different available energy sources reveals that fossil fuels are likely to remain a major source of supply for decades to come. Today, the world consumes the equivalent of roughly four Cubic Miles of Oil (CMO) annually, with renewables contributing less than 0.1 CMO. Even with aggressive adoption of wind, solar, and biofuels, meeting the projected seven CMOs of demand by 2050 without hydrocarbons would require unprecedented infrastructure buildouts far beyond current capacity or pace. This paper frames the scale of the challenge and examines the practical limits of eliminating fossil fuels in the near to medium term.