The fossil fuel dilemma

The production of fossil fuels coal, oil and natural gas jumped to a record high last year, with as much as 237 million barrels of oil equivalent produced each day.

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To avert a climate crisis, both the production and consumption of fossil fuels need to move in the opposite direction.

Fossil fuel production is dominated by oil, which accounted for about 40 per cent of the total output in 2022, followed by coal (31 per cent) and gas.

The momentum for supply growth remains strong, with three factors driving it: Pandemic rebound, safeguarding energy security, and profitability, according to BloombergNEF oil analyst Claudio Lubis.

Fossil fuel supply saw a year-on-year growth of 9.7 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2022. The increase in oil supply was led by Saudi Arabia, while the boost in gas output came from the US. China and India led the growth in coal production.

India's coal ministry aims to dispatch 1 billion tonnes of coal in the current financial year, and it managed to reach the 500 million tonnes mark in the first half of the year, setting a new record. Over 80 per cent of this supply was shipped to power plants.