Fossil fuels are major sources of energy, and have several advantages over
other primary energy sources. Without extensive dependence on fossil fuels, it
is questionable whether our economic prosperity can continue or not. This paper
analyzes cointegration and causality between fossil fuel consumption and
economic growth in the world over the period 1971--2008. The estimation results
indicate that fossil fuel consumption and GDP are cointegrated and there exists
long-run unidirectional causality from fossil fuel consumption to GDP.