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Environment & Climate vocabulary · Emissions and Carbon

Fossil fuel

Meaning in environment & climate, with examples

/ˈfɑːsəl ˌfjuːəl/nounCore term

In environment & climate, fossil fuel means: A fuel such as coal, oil or natural gas, formed underground over millions of years from the remains of plants and animals. Burning it releases carbon dioxide.

In Turkish: fosil yakıt

How it is used

Usually plural: fossil fuels. Common in policy and energy discussions: reliance on fossil fuels, fossil fuel subsidies, transition away from fossil fuels. The word 'fossil' alone is also used as an adjective: fossil power plants, fossil energy.

Example sentences

  1. Fossil fuels still supply most of the world's energy.

  2. The bank has stopped financing new fossil fuel projects.

Common collocations

  • burn fossil fuels
  • reliance on fossil fuels
  • fossil fuel subsidies
  • transition away from fossil fuels
  • carbon dioxideA colorless gas, written CO2, released when coal, oil, gas, wood and other carbon-based materials burn. It is the main greenhouse gas produced by human activities.
  • renewable energyEnergy from sources that are naturally replaced and do not run out, such as sunlight, wind, flowing water and the Earth's heat.
  • decarbonizationThe process of reducing the carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions of an economy, sector or company, for example by switching to clean energy and electrifying processes.
  • phase outTo stop using, producing or allowing something gradually, step by step over a planned period, for example coal power or harmful chemicals.
  • emissionsGases or particles released into the air, for example from vehicles, factories, power plants or farms. In climate work the word usually means greenhouse gases.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Emissions and Carbon

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