The global economy depends heavily on fossil fuels (Getty)

Much of the world is talking about the possibility of abandoning fossil fuels, but given the heavy reliance on them in global economic activity, large sectors will collapse if they are abandoned.

With talk of the world abandoning fossil fuels (oil, coal and gas) to prevent climate change, practically no one is talking about how heavily the global economy depends on them, Oil Price notes.

The economy is extraordinarily dependent on fossil fuels, and if there are not enough of them, conflict over what is available will likely erupt, and some countries may get much more than their fair share, while the rest of the world's population will get very little of it. Or they don't get it.

The website concerned with natural resources listed 10 reasons why the world cannot abandon fossil fuels:

Bank collapse

The report suggests that banks will collapse in regions without fossil fuels, hyperinflation will occur, and governments will likely increase the money supply dramatically in a “desperate” attempt to make people believe that more goods and services will be produced.

The report expected that governments would resort to this approach, because people equate having more money with the ability to buy more goods and services, but unfortunately, without fossil fuels it will be very difficult to produce many goods, according to the report.

An increase in the money supply will increase inflation, because it takes physical resources, including the right types of energy, to run machines of all kinds to make goods.

Developing services also requires fossil fuels, but generally to a lesser extent than manufacturing goods, according to the report.

The same source expected that banks would collapse, in the event of a lack of fossil fuels, because a large number of borrowers would not be able to repay their debts with interest, and part of the problem would be that the price levels of goods and services would rise more than the rise in wages, which would make it difficult to afford the costs of goods. .

According to the report, another part is that service economies (reliant on services), such as the United States and the Eurozone, will be disproportionately affected by the deteriorating economy, as people in these economies are likely to resort to spending on necessities such as food and water, while refraining from spending. On others, which will push companies that provide other services to collapse, and thus lead to them defaulting on their debts.

Collapse of governments

As the banks fail, today's governments will collapse as well, partly because of their attempts to bail out the banks. Another problem, according to the report, is the decline in tax revenues, due to the production of fewer goods and services.

Oil Price predicts that, if fossil fuels are abandoned, pension programs will become more difficult to finance, leading to increasingly divisive politics, and in some cases, central governments may be dissolved, leaving states and other smaller units, such as provinces, to continue. At work alone.

The report suggested that intergovernmental organizations, such as the

United Nations and NATO

, would find that their voices became less important before they collapse.

Corporate collapse

Fossil fuels are essential for all businesses. They are used to extract raw materials, transport goods, pave roads and build. Without these fuels, even simple repairs to existing infrastructure would be impossible. Without adequate fossil fuels, international companies are particularly at risk of fragmenting into smaller units. You will likely find it impossible to work in parts of the world that have almost no supply of fossil fuels.

Fossil fuels are also used in the manufacture of solar panels, wind turbines, and electric car parts, so - according to the report - talking about solar and wind energy as “renewable sources” is largely misleading, and at best, they can be described as fuel enablers. Fossil resources may help solve the problem of the slight decline in its supply, but they are far from being sufficient substitutes.

No electricity or internet

Fossil fuels are important to maintaining the electricity transmission system. For example, restoring downed power lines after storms requires the use of fossil fuels, as does connecting solar panels or wind turbines to the electrical grid.

Fossil fuels are important to maintaining every part of the Internet system, and furthermore, without the electricity grid, it becomes impossible to use computers to connect to the Internet, according to the report.

Contraction in international trade

Without fossil fuels - according to the report - some parts of the world would have little to offer in exchange for goods made using them, and countries that use these fuels will likely quickly discover that the government debts owed by those countries that do not use them are not worth much in exchange for the price of goods and services. .

As a result, trade will be reduced to match available exports, and exports of goods are likely to be very limited for parts of the world that do not use fossil fuels, according to the report.

Declining agricultural efficiency

Agriculture today has become very efficient using large, diesel-powered equipment, in addition to a large number of chemicals, including herbicides, pesticides, and fertilizers. Fences and netting made from fossil fuels are also used to prevent unwanted animal pests. In some cases, Greenhouses to provide a controlled climate for plants, using fossil fuels, developing specialized hybrid seeds that emphasize characteristics that farmers find desirable, all of these “aids” will tend to disappear, according to the report.

Without this aid, agriculture would be much less efficient.

Varied labor needs

Future labor needs are likely to be disproportionately in the agricultural sector, according to the report.

Some hope that switching to sustainable agriculture will solve the problem of agriculture’s dependence on fossil fuels, but the report believes that this will lead to expanding dependence on it, as it assumes the use of many devices based on fossil fuels, such as greenhouses and modern tools.

According to the report, there is a wide gap between the share of agriculture in employment in the United States compared to the least developed countries located in sub-Saharan Africa, and these countries use very little fossil fuels.

Scarcity of home heating

Without fossil fuels - the report says - the demand for wood would increase for its calorific value, and it would be needed to cook food, as it would be difficult to rely on a diet consisting of all raw foods.

Wood will also be needed to make charcoal, which in turn can be used to smelt certain metals. With the demand for timber, deforestation is likely to become a major problem in many parts of the world, and wood in general will become very expensive, due to the great cost of harvesting it and transporting it over long distances without benefit. from fossil fuels.

Don't live alone

Without enough heat, and with barely enough wood to cook with, people and their animals will have to huddle together more, and multi-generational homes, built on top of farm animals, may become common again.

Even in warm parts of the world, people will live together in groups, simply because maintaining a home for one person will become impossibly expensive - according to the report - and the food and fuel needed for cooking will consume a large share of the family's income, leaving little for other expenses.

No laws

Governments have made dozens of promises, but in the absence of increased supplies of fossil fuels (or a suitable alternative), they will not be able to deliver on them. Pensions will disappear, as will the ability of governments to enforce property laws. And in the absence of any good alternative to fossil fuels, mass chaos ensues. A possible outcome, according to the scenario drawn by the report.

Source: Oil Price