The hottest Fossil fuels Substack posts right now

And their main takeaways
Category
Top Climate & Environment Topics

Call of Duty

Doomberg • 7389 implied HN points • 27 Feb 26
🌞 Climate & Environment Fossil fuels
  1. A deadly factory collapse helped prompt a French duty-of-vigilance law that makes large companies responsible for preventing serious human-rights, health, safety, and environmental harms across their subsidiaries and supply chains, with potential civil liability.
  2. The law is vague about whether and how companies must address climate change, causing uneven corporate responses and frustration among stakeholders.
  3. A landmark Paris trial against TotalEnergies could force companies to cut oil and gas production to meet national climate commitments, setting a precedent with big implications for multinational liability and France’s energy industry.

A dark and killing cloud over Tehran

The Crucial Years • 6178 implied HN points • 09 Mar 26
🌞 Climate & Environment Fossil fuels
  1. Bombing Tehran’s oil depots created a huge, toxic smoke cloud that acted like chemical warfare, exposing civilians to carcinogens, acidic runoff, and long-term health and environmental harm.
  2. The smoke plunged the city into darkness and caused severe breathing, eye, and skin problems, trapping people who can’t safely go outside or flee and making public protest or daily life nearly impossible.
  3. The strikes reflect a deliberate, cruel strategy that worsens civilian suffering and contradicts stated goals of liberating Iranians, while also strengthening the argument for moving off fossil fuels and pushing for change in American policy.

On Technologies vs. Commodities

Construction Physics • 23383 implied HN points • 29 Jan 26
🌞 Climate & Environment Fossil fuels
  1. Manufactured technologies tend to get cheaper more reliably over time, while commodities can also fall in price but do so less consistently, especially in recent decades.
  2. The price dynamics overlap: commodities face depletion, tradability, and cartel effects, while technologies benefit from learning, scale, and process improvements, yet technologies can hit siting or resource limits and commodities can improve via better extraction methods.
  3. It’s unclear whether commodities follow learning curves because long-run cumulative production data is often missing, so analyzing specific price-driving mechanisms is more useful than relying on a simple technology-vs-commodity split.

Hard Landing

Doomberg • 8528 implied HN points • 14 Feb 26
🌞 Climate & Environment Fossil fuels
  1. The EPA's removal of the endangerment finding undercuts the legal basis for many federal greenhouse gas rules and will trigger lengthy court battles over climate regulation.
  2. California's aggressive climate policies and isolated fuel infrastructure have left its refining system fragile, with Northern California especially vulnerable to losing gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel supplies.
  3. The Benicia refinery shutdown and related supply-chain effects are likely to cause sharp fuel-price spikes and a disorderly transition, and political efforts so far have only delayed rather than solved the problem.

Surviving on Trump's Dangerous Planet

The Crucial Years • 3408 implied HN points • 28 Feb 26
🌞 Climate & Environment Fossil fuels
  1. Control of oil still drives geopolitics — recent attacks and embargoes raise prices and strengthen the fossil-fuel industry and its political backers.
  2. Small-scale solar, wind and batteries make societies harder to blackmail or bomb. Countries building decentralized renewables — like Cuba, Ukraine and China — are showing that these systems are more resilient than centralized oil infrastructure.
  3. Many leaders are still blocking clean energy and subsidizing fossil fuels, but renewables are spreading anyway through markets, activism and local projects, and public concern about climate is growing.
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The Shrinking Economic Weight of Energy

The Honest Broker Newsletter • 1177 implied HN points • 02 Mar 26
🌞 Climate & Environment Fossil fuels
  1. Since 1970 the physical energy intensity of major fossil fuels has fallen sharply—about 70% for gasoline, 64% for natural gas, and 84% for coal—driven by 1970s price shocks, policy, technology, and a shift toward services.
  2. The 1970s were a turning point: economic growth began to decouple from rising fuel use so GDP could grow while physical fuel consumption fell, but the share of GDP spent on energy still swings with volatile global commodity prices.
  3. Coal now represents a vanishingly small share of the economy (around 0.1% of GDP) despite high political attention, while electricity’s intensity has declined less because the economy is electrifying and could rise again if EVs and AI data centers boost demand.

Assisted Thinking

Doomberg • 8288 implied HN points • 20 Jan 26
🌞 Climate & Environment Fossil fuels
  1. China relies heavily on coal, with coal making up roughly 58% of its primary energy and the country burning over half of the world’s coal.
  2. Western media often praises China’s climate leadership, but that praise can be misleading because China’s emissions and coal use remain very large and have grown.
  3. Headlines saying renewables have overtaken coal or that China is leading a clean-energy revolution can depend on specific accounting choices and short-term data, so those claims need careful scrutiny against broader energy statistics.

How Reality Destroyed Europe’s Green Energy Dreams

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 811 implied HN points • 04 Mar 26
🌞 Climate & Environment Fossil fuels
  1. Europe's once-strong push for aggressive net-zero and green energy has fractured. Skyrocketing energy costs and economic realities made those plans hard to sustain.
  2. Recent geopolitical turbulence, especially the war in Iran, has driven up oil and natural gas prices and put extra pressure on European economies and energy policy choices.
  3. Early political enthusiasm for big carbon prices and rapid green transitions is now meeting resistance as voters and governments prioritize affordability and energy security over ambitious climate goals.

Thinking about lying

The Crucial Years • 2939 implied HN points • 02 Feb 26
🌞 Climate & Environment Fossil fuels
  1. The fossil fuel industry knew climate science but chose deception to protect profits, and that long campaign of denial taught political leaders to treat reality as optional and to lie shamelessly.
  2. Independent journalism and a commitment to the truth are essential; supporting trustworthy reporting and refusing to give up are key defenses against steady political falsehoods.
  3. Despite powerful obstruction, the clean energy transition is making real progress — EV adoption, cheaper renewables, local solar and battery projects, and targeted pressure on a concentrated set of polluters mean the fight is winnable.

War’s Hidden Fallout: How Conflict Fuels Climate Chaos

Adetokunbo Sees • 312 implied HN points • 08 Mar 26
🌞 Climate & Environment Fossil fuels
  1. Modern combat — from fighter jets and rockets to detonations — releases huge amounts of greenhouse gases and other pollutants during the fighting.
  2. Rebuilding and cleanup after wars add large, long‑lasting emissions and pollution, sometimes rivaling the annual output of whole countries.
  3. Multiple current conflicts together are a significant, often overlooked driver of the climate crisis, so cutting fossil fuel use in military operations could reduce that harm.

Just possibly it's the oil?

The Crucial Years • 6407 implied HN points • 03 Jan 26
🌞 Climate & Environment Fossil fuels
  1. Oil’s concentration and value drive conflict and geopolitical control, so reducing dependence on oil would cut a major motive for attacks and imperialism.
  2. Legal and political checks are currently weak against overreach, so solely relying on institutions to prevent aggression is risky.
  3. Decentralized clean energy—like rooftop solar, wind, and EVs with bidirectional charging—can shift power away from fossil-fuel holders and help make peace and energy security more achievable.

We interrupt the madness for a note from the rational world

The Crucial Years • 3537 implied HN points • 22 Jan 26
🌞 Climate & Environment Fossil fuels
  1. India looks likely to skip a big coal buildout and scale solar and electrification because new solar is cheaper than running old coal plants. That shift can cut fuel imports, clean city air, and power fast economic growth.
  2. Clean energy and new technologies are gaining ground worldwide — from big solar booms and minigrids to EVs and promising battery and smart-window innovations. That makes energy cheaper, more reliable, and less dependent on imported fossil fuels.
  3. Hostile political choices and cuts to science are raising energy costs and slowing progress at the same time climate impacts like worsening droughts and floods are growing more damaging. That mix makes the clean-energy transition both urgent and geopolitically important.

A grinding, pivotal year ahead

The Crucial Years • 4025 implied HN points • 26 Dec 25
🌞 Climate & Environment Fossil fuels
  1. The 2026 midterm elections are pivotal and could either entrench authoritarian power or give people the leverage needed to protect democracy and advance climate policy.
  2. The federal government is actively blocking renewable projects and privileging fossil-fuel interests, using shaky national-security and political rationales that hurt jobs, energy independence, and the climate.
  3. Despite political headwinds, clean-energy momentum keeps growing — cheaper solar, rooftop adoption, booming e-bike use, and agrivoltaics are real wins — while huge fossil projects like the Alaska LNG pipeline look risky and likely to burden taxpayers.

Pretend you're running for Congress

The Crucial Years • 1783 implied HN points • 12 Jan 26
🌞 Climate & Environment Fossil fuels
  1. Keep the energy message simple: talk about affordability and the basic promise that clean energy is cheap, creates jobs, and can lower electric bills, using clear examples people understand.
  2. Policy is currently increasing electricity demand (think data centers and AI) while blocking cheap wind and solar, which drives up prices and effectively makes working families subsidize fossil fuel interests.
  3. Clean energy is winning globally — faster EV adoption, cheaper and more efficient solar like perovskites, big green finance, and new recycling tech mean we should accelerate renewables and protect public health rules now.

Pirates of the Anthropocene

The Crucial Years • 2600 implied HN points • 11 Dec 25
🌞 Climate & Environment Fossil fuels
  1. Oil still shapes geopolitics and can drive coercive, even pirate-like actions as states treat fossil fuels as concentrated sources of power and wealth.
  2. Moving to solar and wind would decentralize energy and make conflicts over resource locations far less likely, so speeding the clean-energy transition also undermines authoritarian, resource-driven power.
  3. The energy transition is making progress—court wins for offshore wind, battery recycling advances, and China's lead—but it faces big obstacles from political rollbacks, EPA denial of climate science, booming energy-hungry datacenters, and worsening extreme weather.

Tale of Two Cities

The Crucial Years • 1743 implied HN points • 26 Nov 25
🌞 Climate & Environment Fossil fuels
  1. Extreme climate impacts are happening now and escalating — cities can face Day Zero water crises, Arctic "zombie" fires are releasing ancient carbon, and ecosystems are under growing stress.
  2. Economic and political levers matter a lot — what big investors, pension funds, and city officials do can speed up or slow down the fossil-fuel era, making divestment and policy choices powerful tools.
  3. The solution requires rapid, large-scale industrial action — massive clean energy buildout and material transitions are needed fast, while rollbacks, local opposition, and risky techno-fixes could derail progress.

A low point

The Crucial Years • 817 implied HN points • 19 Dec 25
🌞 Climate & Environment Fossil fuels
  1. There’s a clear sense of being at a low point and feeling emotionally strained.
  2. There’s cautious hope that things will get better, but that optimism is tentative and uncertain.
  3. The content is behind a paywall and only available to paid subscribers, requiring subscription or sign-in to access.

A (highly visual) follow-up to yesterday's piece on the death of climate change hysteria

Unreported Truths • 52 implied HN points • 04 Mar 26
🌞 Climate & Environment Fossil fuels
  1. Global carbon dioxide emissions have risen about 60% since 2000, so the world is emitting more CO2 now than ever.
  2. The US, EU, and Japan cut emissions roughly 25% and now make up only about one-fifth of global emissions, while China emits far more and is rapidly adding coal-fired power plants.
  3. Emphasizing Western cuts while ignoring booming emissions elsewhere weakens climate messaging and breeds skepticism, and clear charts or examples of elite hypocrisy can be persuasive to doubtful audiences.

Shameless Self-Promotion

The Crucial Years • 2869 implied HN points • 19 Jul 25
🌞 Climate & Environment Fossil fuels
  1. The last few years have shown a big rise in clean energy, like solar and wind, which is starting to replace fossil fuels. This change is important because it can help fight climate change.
  2. Even though clean energy is getting cheaper and more available, there are still challenges to overcome, like the fossil fuel industry trying to hold back progress. Sticking together and pushing for change is essential.
  3. The book promotes the idea that clean energy should no longer be seen as an 'alternative' but as the main way to power our world. It emphasizes that moving away from fossil fuels can lead to a more equal and sustainable future.

The Cleantech Revolution

Renewable Revolution • 799 implied HN points • 11 Jun 24
🌞 Climate & Environment Fossil fuels
  1. The energy system is changing fast because of renewables, electrification, and efficiency. These changes are happening more quickly than many people think.
  2. Clean technology is getting cheaper and more popular, outpacing fossil fuels. Over the last decade, costs have dropped significantly and energy generation from sources like solar has grown a lot.
  3. Fossil fuels are on the decline. Renewables are set to take over energy generation, making it clear that we need to accelerate our shift to clean energy technologies.

More from a sense of duty...

The Crucial Years • 3059 implied HN points • 30 Jun 25
🌞 Climate & Environment Fossil fuels
  1. It's important to show our duty as citizens, even if things seem tough. Making calls to our Senators about energy policies can make a difference.
  2. Legislation aimed at slowing down clean energy is harmful to everyone, risking jobs, increasing electricity costs, and making it harder to fight climate change.
  3. We need to rebuild support for renewable energy like solar power and take collective action to make our voices heard, especially in response to bad legislation.

This Week in Canada: We Changed Our Minds About Climate Change

Common Sense with Bari Weiss • 459 implied HN points • 09 Dec 25
🌞 Climate & Environment Fossil fuels
  1. Canadians have quietly shifted from seeing climate change as an existential crisis to backing new pipelines and energy projects, with support rising from about 37% to roughly 60%.
  2. That public U‑turn gives federal leaders much more political room to fast‑track big energy and infrastructure deals, and it prompted several senior climate advisers to resign in protest.
  3. The reversal builds on past fights like the cancelled Northern Gateway and shows a move toward energy independence and economic priorities that now clash with earlier net‑zero commitments.

Will they ever pay a price?

The Crucial Years • 2062 implied HN points • 25 Jul 25
🌞 Climate & Environment Fossil fuels
  1. Many people feel frustrated by the lack of accountability for powerful figures, who seem to escape consequences for their actions. However, there are signs that pressure is building for change, both globally and in the U.S.
  2. A recent ruling from the International Court of Justice highlights that countries may be held accountable for not protecting the environment. This could open the door for nations affected by climate change to seek reparations.
  3. There's a growing push for renewable energy and climate justice as more people realize the urgency of the climate crisis. The world is moving towards cleaner energy solutions, even as some resist change.

Al Gore's new TED talk is out

HEATED • 2614 implied HN points • 05 Sep 23
🌞 Climate & Environment Fossil fuels
  1. Al Gore's latest TED talk emphasizes that the climate crisis is a fossil fuel crisis.
  2. The main barriers to addressing climate change are political and financial, not technological.
  3. Regular people applying pressure can drive the needed transformative change in combating climate change.

Full Circle

Doomberg • 8635 implied HN points • 13 Feb 24
🌞 Climate & Environment Fossil fuels
  1. Germany's energy strategy has led to a self-induced mess with the dismantling of nuclear reactors and reliance on coal, showing the consequences of climate initiatives on a national scale.
  2. The destruction of Nord Stream pipelines has raised questions about the involvement of political leaders and the lack of clarity or accountability regarding the incidents.
  3. Germany's shift towards expanding gas-fired power plants to compensate for the exit from coal showcases the challenges and complexities of transitioning to sustainable energy sources.

The Incredible Inefficiency of the Fossil Energy System

Renewable Revolution • 339 implied HN points • 04 Jun 24
🌞 Climate & Environment Fossil fuels
  1. Fossil fuel energy systems are really inefficient, wasting about two-thirds of energy before it even provides any benefit. This waste amounts to around $4.6 trillion every year.
  2. The main reason for this inefficiency is fossil fuels themselves, particularly in power plants and gas engines, which are responsible for almost half of the total energy waste globally.
  3. New technologies like renewables, local energy sources, and electric vehicles are becoming more efficient. They're replacing fossil fuels because they’re cost-effective and significantly reduce energy waste.

Chartbook 347 The trouble with transitioning: putting energy history back on its feet.

Chartbook • 1759 implied HN points • 22 Jan 25
🌞 Climate & Environment Fossil fuels
  1. Traditional views say that moving away from fossil fuels will solve climate issues and that renewable energy will become cheaper. But this view may not be correct.
  2. An analysis of energy use shows that instead of switching from one energy source to another, we tend to use more energy from different sources at the same time.
  3. Decarbonizing our energy systems is a complicated task that is influenced by history and requires new approaches, especially as countries like China play a significant role in renewable energy technologies.

Got Milk?

Doomberg • 6819 implied HN points • 13 Jun 23
🌞 Climate & Environment Fossil fuels
  1. Energy efficiency advances often lead to increased demand for resources.
  2. The Jevons Paradox states that improved energy efficiency may not reduce carbon emissions as expected.
  3. Efforts to restrict energy consumption in one area may simply shift consumption to another location.

Um, I think we all just won

The Crucial Years • 3816 implied HN points • 24 Jan 24
🌞 Climate & Environment Fossil fuels
  1. Biden's decision to halt the biggest fossil fuel expansion on earth is a major win in standing up to the fossil fuel industry.
  2. Exporting natural gas can raise prices for American consumers, and Biden's stance could help in reducing inflation.
  3. The decision is seen as both brave and strategic, aiming to gain support from young climate-conscious voters and addressing concerns about future impacts on greenhouse gas emissions.

The Democrats finally come clean on gas

The Crucial Years • 1315 implied HN points • 17 Dec 24
🌞 Climate & Environment Fossil fuels
  1. The Democrats have finally acknowledged the negative impacts of natural gas and its exports on climate change. This honesty is an important step for addressing environmental issues moving forward.
  2. Past policies favored natural gas as a cleaner alternative to coal, but high methane leak rates from fracking have shown that it's not a perfect solution for the climate crisis.
  3. The shifting energy landscape is pushing for a focus on renewable sources like wind and solar, instead of relying on natural gas exports, which could harm national and global climate efforts.

Expanding liquefied natural gas: A bad, short-sighted strategy

The Climate Brink • 412 implied HN points • 29 Jan 24
🌞 Climate & Environment Fossil fuels
  1. Expanding LNG infrastructure may reduce emissions short-term by displacing coal, but it locks in higher emissions in the long run.
  2. U.S. consumers now pay global prices for natural gas due to increased LNG exports, exposing them to international price fluctuations.
  3. Exporting LNG compromises U.S. energy security, as global pricing allows foreign powers to influence prices and threaten economic stability.

Data Dump: Oil and Gas Spills

The Land Desk • 432 implied HN points • 19 Jan 24
🌞 Climate & Environment Fossil fuels
  1. Headlines often focus on calamities related to clean energy, overlooking the more deadly impacts of oil and gas infrastructure.
  2. Oil and gas incidents, like hazardous material spills and pipeline failures, occur regularly and have significant environmental and societal consequences.
  3. Media coverage tends to sensationalize clean energy accidents while downplaying the frequent and impactful mishaps in the oil and gas industry.

An odd silence

The Crucial Years • 2630 implied HN points • 28 Dec 23
🌞 Climate & Environment Fossil fuels
  1. The global climate crisis is not receiving the attention it deserves in mainstream media.
  2. Record-high temperatures and other alarming climate events are being overshadowed by more 'headline-friendly' news stories.
  3. The urgency and scale of the climate crisis require swift and unprecedented action, even though these changes may not fit into traditional news narratives.