Why fossil fuels continue to dominate

Despite the massive investment and soaring capacity of renewable energy, wind turbines and solar panels haven’t made a dent in the demand for fossil fuels, prominent Canadian energy economist Peter Tertzakian notes in his latest blog—global oil consumption is on the brink of surpassing 100 million barrels a day for the first time (of which Canada supplies around four million). Mostly, this is a function of economic growth. Renewables are chipping away at coal’s market share, but oil and gas are more than keeping pace. “In fact, the percentage of fossil fuels in the world’s energy mix—coal, oil and natural gas—is still lingering well above 80 percent, a figure that has changed little in 30 years,” Tertzakian writes. An important factor that must be accounted for in any imagined energy transition to combat climate change is the increasing competitiveness and innovation in the hydrocarbon sector—it will go down swinging, if it goes down at all. We can’t count on improving renewable technology alone to displace fossil energy, Tertzakian hints. It will take political will.