Carbon bombs
under the spotlight

Transparent data and visualization about the world's biggest fossil fuel extraction projects, and their links with companies and banks

The
Map

Navigate through the map to explore all 425 carbon bombs and the companies involved.

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About
companies

Discover key data about companies involved in carbon bombs.

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About
banks

Discover the links between banks and companies involved in carbon bombs.

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Carbon bombs at a glance

A carbon bomb* is a fossil fuel extraction project that will generate more than one gigatonne of CO₂ (1 GtCO₂) over its remaining lifetime.

There are currently 425 carbon bombs in the world, either already operating or in starting phase. These projects significantly threaten the Paris Agreement climate targets, which call for a certain carbon budget to be respected in order to stay below 1.5°C warming compared to the pre-industrial era.

Carbon bombs are the 425 largest fossil fuel projects but represent only around 45% of oil and gas extraction projects and 25% for coal of the total emissions likely to be generated by the entire fossil fuel extraction sector. These few projects each represent a high level of emission, which makes them a priority to tackle: defusing a single bomb means stopping the equivalent of hundreds of more fragmented projects.

*as defined in the research paper “Carbon Bombs - Mapping key fossil fuel projects" by Kjell Kühne

425

Carbon bombs worldwide

425 fossil fuel projects around the world will generate more than 1 gigatonne of CO₂ emissions during their lifetime.

x2

Carbon bombs consume twice the remaining 1.5°C carbon budget

The cumulated volume of emissions generated by all the projects is twice larger than the 1.5°C carbon budget.

2021

There should be no new fossil investments from that year

IEA executive director called for a ban on new investments in oil, gas and coal after 2021.

40%

had not started in 2020

But every year, more and more carbon bombs enter into operating phase.

Discover the carbon bombs Map

Navigate through the map to explore all 425 carbon bombs and the companies involved.

Learn more about carbon bombs

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Key figures about carbon bombs

Top 10 carbon bombs by remaining lifetime emissions

Top 12 countries by lifetime emissions of domestic carbon bombs

Top 0 companies involved in carbon bombs*
*To the extent of the links we could make between companies and carbon bombs through public data
Top 10 banks financing companies involved in carbon bombs in 2022