16th century energy revolution can help fossil fuels exit Lessons from that transition can help us speed the switch back to renewables, writes Roland Ennos published : 13 Mar 2021 at 04:00 7 As we contemplate the problems of fossil fuels and climate change, we might look to the 16th and 17th centuries, when people broke free from dependence on our original energy source -- wood--and started burning our first fossil fuel -- coal -- instead. This energy revolution fuelled economic capacity and human ingenuity, launching a 300-year-long boom we're still enjoying today. It's useful to see how and why the transformation occurred, so that we might repeat this feat and transition from fossil fuels back to renewables.