A group of climate watchdogs has issued a new warning after discovering that 28 huge fossil fuel extraction projects, frequently called “carbon bombs,” have began operations since 2021, even though they might have a terrible effect on the environment.
Lingo, Data for Good, Reclaim Finance, and Eclaircies revealed the results on Monday. They pointed out that these projects, which are mostly in the oil, gas, and coal industries, might potentially release more than one billion tons of carbon dioxide (CO₂) over their lifetime.
What Are These Carbon Bombs?
A research paper from 2022 first used the term “carbon bombs” to describe oil, gas, or coal projects that might produce more than a billion tons of CO₂ during their lifetime.
At that time, scientists found 425 of these kinds of projects around the world.
The latest research says that 365 of these projects are still going on today. The difference is because several facilities have either cut back on their work or been re-evaluated based on fresh information.
Timeline and Global Context
There is a lot of talk about climate change in 2021. At that time, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said that starting any new oil and gas projects would not be possible if the goals of the 2015 Paris Agreement were to be met. The agreement’s goal is to keep global warming to 1.5°C over pre-industrial levels.
Even though there was a warning, the world has seen more fossil fuel growth.
At COP28, two years later, world leaders decided for the first time to start phasing out fossil fuels. This was seen as a historic milestone, but it was still too slow to stop serious climatic breakdown.
Who’s Behind These Carbon Bombs?
The NGO report says that China has 43% of the world’s carbon bomb projects, followed by Russia with 9% and the US with 5%.
A lot of projects are run by Western oil companies, but Saudi Aramco and China’s CHN Energy are the biggest polluters. This shows that the problem is worldwide and affects many industries.
Small Projects, Big Emissions
In addition to the big carbon bombs, the research found more than 2,300 smaller extraction projects that have been approved or started since 2021. Each of these projects might release more than five million tons of CO₂.
The authors pointed out that this is about the same amount of pollution that a city like Paris puts off in a year.
The paper says that when all of these initiatives are added together, they might release 11 times the amount of carbon that is still needed to keep the global temperature rise below 1.5°C.
Support from big banks in the form of money
The world’s 65 biggest banks have kept funding fossil fuel expansion, even while more and more countries are promising to do something about climate change.
These banks gave companies connected to the identified carbon bomb projects more than $1.6 trillion in loans between 2021 and 2024.
Climate experts say that this ongoing financial support goes against the goals of the Paris Agreement and speeds up the path toward going over the 1.5°C threshold, which climate scientists think might happen within this decade.
In conclusion
The NGO analysis shows that the gap between global climate promises and the growth of fossil fuel infrastructure is getting worse. Experts warn that every new investment in high-emission energy sources makes it harder to reach international climate targets as carbon bomb projects keep going and new ones start up.