Imagine waking up one day to a world where coal and oil no longer exist. The lights don't turn on, cars and planes are grounded, factories fall silent, and supermarket shelves grow bare. These fossil fuels, which power almost every aspect of our modern lives, are gone....vanished overnight.
The conveniences and comforts we take for granted would rapidly unravel, thrusting society into chaos. But what would this look like on a global scale? How would industries, transportation, and daily life cope with such a seismic shift? The truth is, the ripple effects would be both shocking and terrifying.
The immediate impact would be catastrophic, and society would face unprecedented challenges across multiple sectors. These energy sources are deeply intertwined with our transportation systems, industries, power generation, and daily lives. Within a month, the ripple effects would touch almost every aspect of modern civilisation.
Imagine a World Without Coal or Oil ...What Would Life Look Like?
Coal is still responsible for a large portion of global electricity generation. The sudden disappearance of coal would result in widespread blackouts, particularly in regions heavily reliant on coal power. Power plants that rely on coal would be inoperable, leaving millions without electricity.
Natural gas and oil are used for electricity generation in many countries, including oil-rich nations like Saudi Arabia and the U.S. If oil were eliminated, energy grids that use oil to produce electricity would face the same issues as those reliant on coal. Many cities would see a dramatic reduction in power availability or even complete blackouts.
Oil fuels virtually all modern transportation systems, from cars and trucks to airplanes and ships. Without oil, gasoline ( petrol ) and diesel supplies would instantly vanish, causing a transportation collapse.
Here’s what could happen within a month should this scenario unfold:
Petrol-powered cars, even the EVs, trucks, buses, and motorcycles would come to a standstill within days as fuel supplies run out. Supply chains reliant on road transport....like groceries, medicine, and other essential goods....would collapse.
Planes run on aviation fuel derived from oil, meaning air travel would stop almost immediately. This would affect both passenger travel and cargo shipping, stranding people worldwide and severely disrupting global supply chains.
The global economy relies on oil-powered shipping to transport goods across oceans. The halt of shipping would disrupt international trade, leaving countries without critical imports such as food, raw materials, and manufactured goods. Most buses and trains that run on diesel would be inoperable, leaving cities without public transportation options.
Even electric-powered trains and trams would be affected by widespread power outages caused by the elimination of coal.
The loss of oil and coal would decimate global supply chains. Factories around the world rely on both energy sources to power machinery, transport raw materials, and distribute finished products. The breakdown of transportation systems would make it impossible to move goods efficiently, leading to shortages of so many things.
Without fuel for trucks and ships, the global food supply chain would break down. Many cities and regions depend on imported food. A lack of refrigeration in blacked-out areas would exacerbate food spoilage. Grocery store shelves would empty within days, leading to potential food shortages. Medical supplies, including pharmaceuticals, are heavily reliant on global distribution networks. Critical drugs, especially those requiring refrigeration, would become difficult to obtain.
Hospitals would be in crisis, with shortages of medical equipment and supplies compounding the problem. Everything from electronics to clothing would become scarce as factories shut down and transportation grinds to a halt. Manufacturing processes that rely on oil derivatives, such as plastics, would also suffer.
Most industrial activities would grind to a halt within days, if not hours, without coal and oil. Heavy industries, such as steel production, cement manufacturing, and chemical processing, rely heavily on these energy sources. The steel industry relies on coal in the form of coke to fuel blast furnaces. Without it, steel production would stop, impacting everything from construction to manufacturing. Critical industries like construction and automobile manufacturing would be hit hard.
Cement production is another heavy industry dependent on coal. Without cement, construction projects worldwide would be halted, affecting infrastructure, real estate development, and large-scale public works projects. Oil is a vital raw material for petrochemical products like plastics, fertilisers, and synthetic fibres. The elimination of oil would result in shortages of everyday items like packaging, textiles, fertilisers for agriculture, and even medical supplies (many of which depend on plastics).
The global economy is deeply connected to the availability of coal and oil. Their sudden elimination would trigger a financial meltdown.
Energy, transportation, and industrial sectors make up a significant portion of the global economy. With entire industries crippled, stock markets around the world would collapse. Oil-producing nations and energy companies would face bankruptcy almost immediately, causing widespread panic in financial markets.
Scarcity of essential goods would lead to soaring prices. Hyperinflation could set in as food, fuel, and manufactured products become increasingly hard to find. Millions of jobs would disappear overnight as industries shut down. From truck drivers to factory workers, the sudden loss of oil and coal would result in massive layoffs across nearly every sector. oil and coal are central to global trade. With shipping and air freight crippled, international trade would collapse, leaving countries without vital imports and export markets.
With transportation disrupted and agricultural inputs (like fertilisers) in short supply, food production and distribution would suffer. Countries heavily reliant on imported food would experience famine-like conditions. Even access to clean water could be compromised as treatment plants shut down due to energy shortages. Hospitals and medical systems would be overwhelmed. The lack of fuel would prevent ambulances from operating effectively, and power shortages would impact medical equipment, from ventilators to life-saving machines. In remote areas, health clinics would become inaccessible.
Shortages of basic necessities such as food, water, and medical supplies would lead to widespread civil unrest. Protests, riots, and crime could rise dramatically as people compete for dwindling resources. Governments would be hard-pressed to maintain order without adequate energy supplies for law enforcement and emergency services.
The sudden elimination of oil and coal would create power vacuums and resource conflicts across the globe. Oil-producing countries, whose economies are almost entirely dependent on oil exports, would face economic collapse. Resource wars could erupt over remaining energy supplies (such as natural gas and biofuels), leading to geopolitical instability.
The sudden elimination of coal and oil would plunge the world into an unprecedented crisis.
Are we not already seeing the signs?
I have given you what I believe would happen if Oil and Coal were removed from our resources sector... in one month. For you climate change zealots out there, are you prepared for this? And before you get all smarty greenie pants on me, saying that wind and solar are the answer, both oil and coal play critical roles in the production, transportation, and installation of these renewable energy technologies.
-
Wind turbine towers are made primarily of steel, which is produced using coal in the form of coke to fuel blast furnaces. Even though there are emerging technologies to produce steel with hydrogen or electricity, the vast majority of steel today is made using coal.
-
The blades of wind turbines are often made from composites that include plastics or synthetic materials. Plastics, as well as many of the resins used in turbine blade manufacturing, are derived from petrochemicals, which come from oil. Solar panels also require plastic components, including protective coatings and encapsulation materials. Without oil, creating these plastics would be difficult, if not impossible.
-
Solar panels rely on high-purity silicon to function. Producing purified silicon for solar cells requires extremely high temperatures, which are typically achieved using electricity generated from fossil fuels or from burning coal directly. While it might be possible to use electricity from renewable sources to power the silicon purification process, doing so on the large scale required today would be highly challenging.
-
Both wind turbines and solar panels require significant amounts of copper for wiring and electronic components. Additionally, wind turbines often require rare earth metals. Mining these materials is a highly energy-intensive process, usually powered by fossil fuels like oil and coal. Without these energy sources, mining and refining these materials would become much more challenging, drastically slowing production.
Extracting and transporting the raw materials needed to build turbines and solar panels typically requires fossil fuels. Mining equipment, trucks, and ships that move iron ore, copper, silicon, and other critical materials are usually powered by diesel or other petroleum-based fuels. Eliminating oil would mean losing the ability to efficiently transport these materials over long distances, drastically slowing the production and construction of renewable energy infrastructure. Many components used in wind turbines and solar panels are produced in different parts of the world. For instance, rare earth metals might be mined in China, shipped to a factory in Europe, and then assembled in the U.S.
These global supply chains rely heavily on oil-powered ships, planes, and trucks to transport materials and components. Without oil, the complexity and speed of global logistics would break down, making it extremely difficult to manufacture and distribute these technologies. The installation of wind turbines, especially offshore turbines, requires heavy machinery like cranes and ships, which are typically powered by diesel. Even onshore turbines require large construction equipment for transporting and assembling the turbine components, most of which rely on oil-based fuels.
Solar panel farms also require heavy machinery for installation, which similarly depends on diesel fuel. Preparing the ground for wind farms or solar farms often involves clearing land, constructing roads, and leveling surfaces, all of which require machinery that typically runs on oil. Without oil-powered equipment, the physical construction of these sites would slow to a crawl, or potentially become impossible in some areas. Wind turbines and solar panels need to be connected to the electricity grid through cables and inverters, which often involve complex materials and manufacturing processes. Many of these components, such as the insulation around cables, rely on petrochemicals derived from oil. While there are alternatives, such as bio-based plastics, they are not currently produced at the scale required to replace oil-based materials.
Both wind turbines and solar panels require significant amounts of energy to produce. From refining silicon for solar panels to forging the steel for turbine towers, these processes are energy-intensive. While it’s theoretically possible to use renewable energy to power factories, the transition to a fully renewable-powered industrial sector has not yet been achieved. Most manufacturing facilities still rely on electricity from coal, oil, or natural gas.
Coal and Oil are ESSENTIAL for modern life.
Let us get back to embracing our modern life and consider the alternative: it is not pretty.
