Copublished with Data for Good, LINGO and Éclaircies
Planned fossil fuel extraction projects and carbon bombs would emit eleven times the world’s remaining 1.5°C carbon budget, according to new data published by Eclaircies, Data for Good, LINGO and Reclaim Finance. The consortium of nonprofit researchers identified 176 additional mega projects known as “carbon bombs” bringing the total number of carbon bombs identified to 601 since the first release of CarbonBombs.org two years ago.
In 2021, the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) warned that further investment in new oil, gas and coal supply was not needed in a net zero pathway. Yet, roughly 2,300 additional new extraction projects worldwide have also been planned by the fossil fuel industry since 2021 and will become operational by 2050.
CarbonBombs.org is the first global tool mapping all carbon bombs – large-scale gas, oil and coal projects, set to emit more than 1 gigatonne of CO₂ over their remaining lifetime – and new fossil fuel extraction projects planned through 2050, their projected emissions, and the financial links between the companies developing these projects and the banks supporting them. The tool also maps transport infrastructures for LNG. Since 2021, the consortium of nonprofit researchers has identified 119 new LNG export terminal projects, marking a substantial surge in development.
This new data shows that the fossil fuel industry and their financiers are sending the Paris Agreement up in smoke. Their financial interests continue to prevail over irreversible climate breakdown.
Lou Welgryn, Data for Good’s director
The five companies active in the largest number of new fossil fuel projects and carbon bombs globally are TotalEnergies, China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), Eni, BP and Shell. Hotspots for carbon bombs include China, Russia, the United States, Australia, India, and Saudi Arabia.
Carbon Bombs: Steady March Toward Climate Chaos and Legal Risks
Since carbon bombs were first identified in 2020 and described as such in the public domain, oil and gas bombs have alone emitted more than 54 Gt of CO₂. Nearly thirty new carbon bombs started operating between 2021 and 2025, and only 12 prospective carbon bombs have been cancelled.
Fossil fuels need to be phased out, and carbon bombs are the litmus test of the international community’s resolve to move beyond fossil fuels. Yet, fossil fuel companies, banks and wealthy countries still pour billions into digging more dirty fuel out of the ground.
Dr. Kjell Kühne, LINGO director and author of the academic work on carbon bombs.
In July 2025, the International Court of Justice raised the spectre of illegality for continued state support of fossil fuels. Governments that keep granting licences and subsidies to high-emitting industries could face international legal liability for climate-related damages.
Banks Support for Climate-wrecking Fossil Fuel Expansion
Despite their climate pledges, the 65 largest banks worldwide support continued fossil extraction with US$1.6 trillion channeled into the fossil fuel companies involved in carbon bombs and new fossil fuel projects since 2021.
Barclays is the European bank most involved in supporting companies behind carbon bombs and new projects from 2021 to 2024. The British bank provided US$33.7 billion to 62 companies, including Eni, ExxonMobil and TotalEnergies.
Major global banks are exacerbating climate change and future emissions by continuing to give carte blanche to these fossil fuel companies that are destroying the planet. It is now critical that banks stop supporting the expansion of fossil fuels, including the current boom in new LNG projects around the world. These resources should be flowing to sustainable energy and to projects needed for the transition.
Louis-Maxence Delaporte, energy research manager at Reclaim Finance
