To start pageOil: Climate Policy’s Blind Spot
To prevent the energy and climate crisis from spiraling out of control, we must stop burning fossil fuels. How to transition former coal regions is a hot topic — meanwhile, the phase-out of coal is a done deal in Germany. There is also fierce opposition to the expansion of gas infrastructure, particularly in the form of LNG terminals on the German coast. But there is hardly any talk about oil.
But oil is booming — it is still our most important source of energy and the most widely used fossil fuel, producing over 35 percent of the world's energy. Burning oil contributes significantly to global warming, often with dramatic consequences for the regions in which it takes place and the people who live there. Oil is also linked to political power and geopolitics more than almost any other commodity — an aspect that will also play a role when the UN Climate Change Conference takes place in the United Arab Emirates this December.
