Carbon Bombs and The Greed of Fossil Fuel Companies

Last month, the Guardian revealed, in a shocking report, that the world’s biggest fossil fuel companies are devising plans to unleash unprecedented amounts of “carbon bombs” with their new oil and gas projects. This jeopardises the target set out in the Paris Agreement to limit global warming to 1.5C.

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So what is a carbon bomb? Already employed widely in climate activism to label widescale fossil fuel projects, the Guardian specifies a carbon bomb as “an oil or gas project that will result in at least a billion tonnes of CO2 emissions over its lifetime.” Companies such as ExxonMobil, Gazprom, Shell and BP are investing vast amounts in colossal expansion projects and together, these “carbon bomb" projects would produce 646bn tonnes of CO2 emissions. These companies are gambling on the well-being of the planet for short-term profits. 

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I remember reading this report on a hot and stuffy train in Morocco. Although I was horrified and dismayed, I had the naive and all-to-familiar thought: well, this is horrible, but people (politicians) won’t let this (the end of human civilisation) happen; surely we, as a society, won’t stand for this. I remember thinking this after the publication of the IPCC report and during Cop26. But lo and behold, not only did governments let this happen, but they gave their seal of approval for these “carbon bomb” projects mere months after engaging in talks to reduce the impact of the climate crisis during Cop26 in Glasgow. It is worth noting that the final Cop26 deal included no mention of oil and gas and committed only to the watered-down compromise of “phasing down” coal. This investigation highlights the complete disaccord between the placating words and the disastrous actions of world leaders, revealing yet again their hypocrisy when faced with the climate crisis. 

So how to defuse these carbon bombs? Activists are fighting these projects, such as a project for an offshore pipeline in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique: a project in which the UK government has invested more than £1bn. The organisation Leave it in the Ground Initiative (LINGO) lists all the carbon bombs on its website and supports resistance efforts, including gas extraction at Bowland Shale in the UK. Allowing fossil fuel companies to remain unchecked would be a grave mistake, and we can combat their nihilistic greed through collective activism and education.