New carbon 'bombs' threaten climate goals

The world's largest fossil fuel corporations have announced massive oil, gas, and coal projects that could blow past the planet's carbon budget and undermine global climate goals, according to a new international report released by CarbonBombs.org on Monday.

Despite the International Energy Agency's (IEA) 2021 warning that no new fossil fuel developments are compatible with a net-zero pathway, these corporations announced more than 2,300 new extraction projects expected to begin operating by 2050, which enhance the global carbon emissions, could exceed the remaining limit for keeping temperature rise below 1.5°C by 11 times.

The report names TotalEnergies, China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC), Eni, BP, and Shell as the companies most involved in these high-emission ventures. The main global hotspots for carbon bombs include China, Russia, the United States, Australia, India, and Saudi Arabia.

"This data shows that the fossil fuel industry and their financiers are sending the Paris Agreement up in smoke," said Lou Welgryn, Director of Data for Good. "If this expansion continues, we risk triggering irreversible climate breakdown."

Experts also cautioned that governments and financial institutions that continue supporting fossil fuel industries could soon face legal challenges. In 2025, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued a landmark advisory opinion linking fossil fuel subsidies directly to climate-related damages.

The report said the financial institutions are also playing a major role in driving fossil fuel expansion. 

Since 2021, the 65 largest global banks have poured US$1.6 trillion into fossil fuel companies - despite public commitments to align with the Paris Agreement.

Among them, Barclays emerged as Europe's biggest financier of such projects, lending US$33.7 billion to 62 companies, including Eni, ExxonMobil, and TotalEnergies.

The report notes that since 2020, oil and gas "carbon bombs" have already emitted more than 54 gigatons of CO2. Between 2021 and 2025, around 30 new projects have gone into operation, while only 12 were cancelled during that period.