1887

Abstract

Summary

Coal, hewn from the Earth, spawned the Industrial Revolution and it along with petroleum, also from the Earth, powered the 20th Century and the current century. The consequences of fueling society, and population growth, with fossil fuels is climate change. Emission of greenhouse gases liberated through unabated combustion of carbon-based geoenergy has already caused a global temperature rise, since the Industrial Revolution, of 1.5 °C.

Coal oil and gas are but a small part of the Earth’s energy resources. In human terms, the Earth holds an unlimited supply of accessible heat and pressure (differences) as well as copious quantities of storage space, non-hydrocarbon gases and valuable solutes. These resources can be targeted to provide sustainable energy sources with low to zero greenhouse gas emissions.

Here we review how the Earth can deliver sustainably energy for today and for generations to come whilst minimizing environmental impacts. We show that society needs to look at the whole system which combines chemical, thermal, potential, kinetic, gravitational, and other geoenergy forms that could be used from individual developments to minimize waste, maximize efficiency and reduce unwanted impacts.

Geoenergy will continue to play a core role in decarbonized energy systems for centuries to come.

© EAGE Publications BV
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/content/papers/10.3997/2214-4609.202510467
2025-06-02
2026-02-16

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