Abstract

The rising global temperature poses a great threat to the environment and ecosystems due to abrupt changes in the climate [1-3]. Several investigations suggest that the rising global population and the corresponding demand for natural resources are the main cause of global warming [4-6]. The increasing population is triggering a massive burden on natural resources like food, water, and energy [7,8]. Fossil fuels are still the largest source to meet the global energy demand contributing to about 85% of the world’s energy generation [8,9]. The fossil fuels are formed in millions of years under the earth’s crust, but due to high energy demands, they (oil, gas, and coal) are exploited and mined fast enough that they will exhaust in the next 6 decades [10]. Apart from creating energy scarcity, the extraction of fossil fuels (oil, gas, and coal) at such extreme rates creates the accumulation of carbon in the atmosphere. This results in the increased concentrations of Greenhouse Gases (GHG’s) in the atmosphere [11,12]. The effects of greenhouse effects are visible on a large scale, causing havoc in the form of famines and flooding in various parts of the globe. The global temperature may rise by 2 °C if the total coal mining and consumption is stopped after 2017, as per the reports of IEA, indicating that the coal age must stop [13]. However, even after the Paris Agreement in 2015 was signed by 196 nations, the pledges made during the treaty seem unapproachable. The concentration of GHGs is rising continuously, and the rising trend can be clearly seen in Figure 1. The mining sector may significantly get affected due to the increasing warnings of climate change and governmental pressures [14].