Īquatic phytoplankton and zooplankton that died and sedimented in large quantities under anoxic conditions millions of years ago began forming petroleum and natural gas as a result of anaerobic decomposition. The Oxford English Dictionary notes that in the phrase 'fossil fuel' the adjective 'fossil' means 'btained by digging found buried in the earth', which dates to at least 1652, before the English noun 'fossil' came to refer primarily to long-dead organisms in the early 18th century. The first use of the term 'fossil fuel' occurs in the work of the German chemist Caspar Neumann, in English translation in 1759.

The theory that fossil fuels formed from the fossilized remains of dead plants by exposure to heat and pressure in Earth's crust over millions of years was first introduced by Andreas Libavius 'in his 1597 Alchemia ' and later by Mikhail Lomonosov 'as early as 1757 and certainly by 1763'.

Since oil fields are located only at certain places on earth, only some countries are oil-independent the other countries depend on the oil-production capacities of these countries In 2021, the International Energy Agency concluded that no new fossil fuel extraction projects could be opened if the global economy and society wants to avoid the worst impacts of climate change and meet international goals for climate change mitigation. International policy, in the form of United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 7: Affordable and Clean Energy, Sustainable Development Goal 13: Climate Action and the Paris Climate Agreement, is designed to facilitate this transition at a global level. Many stakeholders argue that this change needs to be a just transition and create policy that addresses the societal burdens created by the stranded assets of the fossil fuel industry. However, because the fossil fuel industry is so heavily integrated in the global economy and heavily subsidized, this transition is expected to have significant economic impacts. Recognition of the climate crisis, pollution and other negative impacts caused by fossil fuels has led to a widespread policy transition and activist movement focused on ending their use in favor of sustainable energy. It is estimated that this costs over 3% of global GDP and that fossil fuel phase-out would save millions of lives each year. Additionally, most air pollution deaths are due to fossil fuel particulates and noxious gases. Although methane leaks are significant, : 52 the burning of fossil fuels is the main source of greenhouse gas emissions causing global warming and ocean acidification. Therefore, there is a net increase of many billion tonnes of atmospheric carbon dioxide per year. Natural processes on Earth, mostly absorption by the ocean, can only remove a small part of this. Over 80% of the carbon dioxide (CO 2) generated by human activity comes from burning them: around 35 billion tonnes a year, compared to 4 billion from land development. The large-scale burning of fossil fuels causes serious environmental damage. In 2019, 84% of primary energy consumption in the world and 64% of its electricity was from fossil fuels. The conversion from these materials to high-carbon fossil fuels typically require a geological process of millions of years.

The origin of fossil fuels is the anaerobic decomposition of buried dead organisms, containing organic molecules created by photosynthesis. Some fossil fuels are refined into derivatives such as kerosene, gasoline and propane before burning.

Fossil fuels may be burned to provide heat for use directly (such as for cooking or heating), to power engines (such as internal combustion engines in motor vehicles), or to generate electricity. The main fossil fuels are coal, crude oil and natural gas. The main fossil fuels: gas, oil and coal.Ī fossil fuel is a hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the earth's crust from the remains of dead plants and animals that is extracted and burned as a fuel.

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