To understand why the world currently burns fossil fuels, it helps to follow the money.
Energy demand has long tracked economic growth. So much so that for the past two centuries, the amounts of energy that economies need have increased virtually in lockstep with the amounts of wealth that economies create. And, to a remarkable degree, wealth creation has depended on a society’s proficiency at burning things.
In 1800, the fuel of choice was biomass, such as wood from fallen trees. Biomass was highly inefficient as fuel, as almost all of its embodied energy was lost in its burning (low conversion). Still, before widespread industrialisation, the conversion loss was bearable; generally, there was enough wood to burn to make economies grow. The resulting wealth creation wasn’t enormous, but it was pointing up.
Then, at the turn of the 20th century, rates of both energy demand and economic growth took off. From 1900 to 1950 – as horses gave way to cars, oil lamps to electric lighting, and ice boxes to refrigerators – primary energy demand nearly doubled. Economic growth rates soared as well; in the United States, GDP per capita in 1950 was more than twice that of 1900.1 For that level of wealth creation, burning trees and other forms of biomass wouldn’t quite suffice.
Enter fossil fuels, whose energy conversion was far greater than biomass. The 20th century’s embrace of petroleum and coal sent production and consumption into overdrive. Fossil fuels lose about 40-70% of their embodied energy when converted into electrical energy – a lot, but not a lot compared to the near-total loss incurred by burning wood. It was simply more efficient while also abundant. Source: McKinsey
Until renewable energy tech is widely innovated and harnessed, unfortunately it’s not as practically abundant and financially efficient as fossil fuels. However, it’s promising that electricity generated worldwide in 2020 from renewable source, grew to 29%. Its adoption has a flywheel effect, entrenching renewable energy production through economies of scale and the compounding advancements.
I think it may have always been about the economics. Once renewables are markedly cheaper and more practical than fossil fuels, we’ll have entered a new epoch. Economies will fall in line…their growth depends on it.