There has been a growing concern about changes in the environment stemming from emissions and pollution over the past several years, and the general public is beginning to disagree with the use of fossil fuels as a primary source of energy as a result.

Society’s solicitude for climate change has, in turn, grown into much larger problems for the oil and gas businesses behind the collection and distribution of these resources.

Decrease In Demand For Non-Renewable Resources

In efforts to preserve the environment, many consumers have made the switch to renewable energy sources, including solar, wind, and water power, in place of oil and gas. With fewer cars running on gasoline, especially, big companies in the fossil fuel space have experienced sizable cuts in oil and gas use.

Clean resources have become a more widely available alternative in recent years. This has contributed to a significant rise in the percentage of the global energy demand that is being satisfied using these methods.

With entire countries running on renewable power exclusively, fossil fuel companies no longer account for one hundred percent of energy usage in the world, nor do they profit from it.

Decline In Industry Funding Following a Major Divestment Movement

Oil and gas companies took another huge hit following the impact of the Fossil Fuel Divestment Movement. For several years, environmental enthusiasts have joined forces in efforts to pull money out of non-renewable resources.

This was done by convincing energy consumers and large, influential organizations to take their money out of all fossil fuel investments entirely. Movement supporters managed to influence entire charities, churches, and universities to participate, gaining the commitment of Stanford University, the World Council of Churches, and the Rockefeller Brother’s Fund among many others.

Fossil fuel businesses lost billions of dollars from the divestment movement alone, also causing talks of bankruptcy within one of the leading gasoline companies. Even though these organizations were able to regain control of their finances, there is no doubt that the concept of fossil fuel divestment continues to shake the industry.

Constant Battles Against New Climate Change Policies

The fossil fuel industry has long been facing pushback from environmentalist agencies looking to implement new climate change policies. These regulations, if passed, could be detrimental to oil and gas businesses by placing restrictions on how they operate and generate revenue.

With strict controls on what these companies are allowed to do in terms of drilling products and production numbers, these implementations must be prevented by oil and gas corporations to maintain dominance over the energy market.

This knowledge has resulted in millions of dollars being placed behind lobbying against these policies every year. In spite of the fact that many of these efforts are successful, they contribute to a massive expense for each of these companies.

Regardless of the challenges that the fossil fuel industry is facing due to the increased consideration for climate change, non-renewable energy giants remain confident that their businesses will continue to overcome these difficulties in the years to come.