Critical Threats to the Global Environment: The Use of Fossil Fuels and Poverty

Critical Threats to the Global Environment
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Critical Threats to the Global Environment
The growing concern on the global environment in the recent past cannot be understated. The continued climate change has made the world acknowledge and realize the threats environmental harms bring to humanity. The United Nations (UN) plays a crucial role in highlighting vital environmental risks to attract the world’s attention on environmental issues that should be taken seriously. The risks identified by the United Nations are related to the globe in general or some certain countries like the developing nations. In my opinion, the use of fossil fuel for energy and consistent poverty in developing nations are critical threats to the world’s population. The paper provides an in-depth analysis of the use of fossil fuels and poverty as threats to the global environment by illustrating why they pose a substantial danger, the role played by humans in their distress, and policy recommendations by the worldwide community to mitigate their risks.
The Use of Fossil Fuels as a Global Environmental Threat
Applying fossil fuel as an energy source poses a substantial threat to the global population. The extensive worldwide use of fossil fuels poses a significant danger to the worldwide population. Fossil fuel is used in multiple sectors across the world. For example, buildings across the globe consume around 40% of the entire energy in the world per year (1). A more significant percentage of the energy consumed by buildings originates from fossil fuels. Buildings require energy for various purposes such as lighting, cooling, air conditioning, to mention a few. The use of fossil fuels has resulted in the emission of gasses harmful to the environment, especially the greenhouse gases that result in global warming and respiratory problems. Approximately 70% of the world’s greenhouse gases come out as carbon dioxide mainly comes from fossil fuels (1). The threat of using fossil fuel in buildings resulted in innovative new heating and cooling technologies with few environmental hazards.
Additionally, the automobile sector uses fossil fuel that threatens the global environment. The number of automobiles has increased in the past few decades, and most automobiles depend on energy from fossil fuels. The automobile sector contributes to global environmental harm through fossil fuel burning systems that powers cars (2). Diesel is an example of a fossil fuel energy source in the automobile sector. People praise diesel engines for their durability, reliability, and effectiveness. However, they are among the environmental pollution contributors due to harmful gases such as nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, and hydrocarbons. The pollutants lead to global warming and threaten people’s health.
Various industrial operations also depend on fossil fuel energy. For instance, data collected in the United States from 2019 stipulates that the industry sector used almost 35% of the nation’s end-use consumption. Despite multiple energy sources, fossil fuel is the most frequently used energy source in the United States. Fossil fuel energy in the industrial sector ha...