En-en adult card 5 fossil fuels

Card #5: Fossil fuels

Fossil fuels are coal, oil and natural gas. They are used mainly in buildings, transportation and industry. They emit CO2 when burned.

Explanation

There is often a debate between placing the fossil fuels cards before or after human activities. Like the chicken and the egg, there is no definitive answer. One should not waste time on this. The graph represents the emissions of fossil fuels. In a +2°C scenario, they should reach zero by 2070.

Correction

Causes

• Industry
• Building usage
• Transportation

Consequences

• CO2 emissions
• Aerosols

Other possible links

Other consequences

• Human activities What comes first? Do human activities cause the use of fossil fuels or do fossil fuels ensable human activities? Don't waste time on this and group the two cards together if necessary. Plenty of activities, happily, do not require burning fossil fuels, like windmills and watermills grinding grains for flour.
• Marine biodiversity Oils slicks in the ocean are an example of a link between fossil fuels and marine biodiversity.
• Armed conflicts Although conflicts may occur because of resources, they are not directly caused by climate change, rather by resource depletion or scarcity. The relationship can be made, but it is due more to politics than to the climate crisis.