MOSCOW, December 15. /TASS/. The term "fossil fuel" is often mistakenly used to refer to oil, and it is also often used inaccurately as a way to dismiss certain energy sources, this distorts discussions about the environment, turning them into a discussion about replacing one energy source with another, OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais wrote in a statement published on the website of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

He noted that oil itself is rarely used as a fuel, as it is processed into various products, only some of which are fuels. Al-Ghaith added that the term "fossil fuel" derives from a term meaning "obtained through excavation" and originally referred to the extraction methodology, not the chemical composition of the materials. The OPEC Secretary General stressed that there is a difference between the processes by which fossils are formed and the formation of oil.

"The imprecision of the term ‘fossil fuel’ has also given rise to many myths about oil, one of the most common being that oil comes from dinosaur bones. This is clearly not the case," he wrote.

As for those who argue that the general meaning of the term "fossil fuel" for coal, oil, and gas should simply be accepted, Al-Ghaith responded that when it comes to climate change, people are told to turn to science, but this would not reflect scientific accuracy.

"The reality is that rather than being a term of scientific precision, too often, ‘fossil fuel’ is bandied as a slur, a derogatory way of dismissing energy sources. It feeds into a narrative that some energies are morally superior to others, distorting what should be discussions on reducing greenhouse gas emissions into a misguided debate about replacing energy sources," he wrote.

For discussions on future energy pathways, it is imperative that we understand what oil is, how it forms and how we use it in daily life. Otherwise, one risks jeopardizing the present in the name of saving the future, the OPEC Secretary General believes.

"Based on this, is it not time that the world rethinks the appropriateness of the term 'fossil fuels?' he concluded.