Greenhouse gases (notably CO2, CH4, and N2O) have increased in their atmospheric concentration since pre-industrial era [1]. Although there can be natural causes to an increased atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases, the current increase in concentration has been attributed to anthropogenic emissions [1]. Such an increase is a serious problem as an elevated concentration of greenhouse gases will lead to an increase in average temperature [1]. An increase in average temperatures will lead to many problems such as the melting of glaciers and subsequent rising of sea-levels as well as thawing of the permafrost that contains twice the amount of carbon found currently in our atmosphere [1]. A notable producer of greenhouse gases is the burning of fossil fuels [1]. Due to the necessity of fossil fuels, renewable sources of energy such as biofuels have been investigated as an alternative to biofuels. Biofuels are not always the best alternative to fossil fuels as seen in the case of palm oil [3].

Oil companies are currently looking to extract fossil fuels from the Arctic [2]. It is currently believed that the Arctic holds up 13% of the planet’s recoverable oil and 30% of its gas [2]. The current issue with extracting fossil fuels from the arctic is that spills would be harder to control and remediate in comparison to warmer regions [2]. An example of such a spill would be the Exxon Valdez offshore spill that occurred in Prince William Sound, Alaska on March 1989 [5].

Meanwhile, in the southern hemisphere, the biofuel palm oil is causing the deforestation of the rainforest and impeding conservation as well as bringing exotic species to extinction [6]. Converting rainforests into agricultural land also results in the significant emission of greenhouse gases as tropical ecosystems hold up to 340 billion tonnes of carbon, which is 40 times the emissions resulting from fossil fuels [6, 7]. Every time a tropical forest is converted into a agricultural land, the carbon the forests hold is released into the atmosphere [6,7]. Although there are benefits to using palm oil instead of fossil fuels (e.g. palm oil production in itself releases very little greenhouse gases), the disadvantages poses as serious of a problem as the burning of fossil fuels.