Fossil fuels have helped mankind experience and expand industrial and technological revolution, generate and consume unforeseen quantities of goods and services, and facilitate the economic and social development. However, extracting and consuming these carbon-based energy sources have also caused unprecedented environmental and ecological impacts. In addition to releasing various pollutants, such as nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, volatile organic compounds and heavy metals, harmful to air, water and human health, combustion of fossil fuels also caused rapidly increasingmass amount of CO2 emissions, causing unprecedented atmospheric temperature rise since 1950 and climate change. In addition, massive extraction of finite fossil fuels will ultimately lead to depletion of these energy sources. Both anthropogenic CO2 emissions and fossil fuel depletion endanger the sustainability of the ecosystem that humankind depends on.

化石燃料帮助人类经历和扩大了工业和技术革命，产生和消费了大量不可预见的商品和服务，促进了经济和社会的发展。然而，开采和消费这些碳基能源也造成了前所未有的环境和生态影响。化石燃料的燃烧除了释放出氮氧化物、二氧化硫、挥发性有机化合物和重金属等对空气、水和人体健康有害的污染物外，还导致二氧化碳排放量迅速增加，造成1950年以来前所未有的大气温升和气候变化。此外，大规模开采有限的化石燃料最终将导致这些能源的枯竭。人为的二氧化碳排放和化石燃料的消耗都危及人类赖以生存的生态系统的可持续性。