What are the differences between fossil fuels and renewable energies?

Energy is essential for human activity. All types of energy, apart from nuclear energy, can be divided into two categories: those which, once used up, can only be replenished on a geological time scale (coal, oil, gas) and those produced from a source that is constantly replenished by nature (solar, wind, biomass, geothermal, etc.). The energies in the first category are known as fossil fuels, while those in the second are referred to as renewable energies. This feature report looks at how they rank in the global energy mix and gives an overview of their respective advantages, drawbacks and development prospects.