{"id":490469,"date":"2022-09-05T18:07:08","date_gmt":"2022-09-05T15:07:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/why-defusing-carbon-bombs-offers-a-promising-new-agenda-for-tackling-climate-change\/"},"modified":"2022-09-05T18:07:08","modified_gmt":"2022-09-05T15:07:08","slug":"why-defusing-carbon-bombs-offers-a-promising-new-agenda-for-tackling-climate-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/why-defusing-carbon-bombs-offers-a-promising-new-agenda-for-tackling-climate-change\/","title":{"rendered":"#Why defusing &#8216;carbon bombs&#8217; offers a promising new agenda for tackling climate change"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_85 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<label for=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a413c8dc3bfd\" class=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-label\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #dd3333;color:#dd3333\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/label><input type=\"checkbox\"  id=\"ez-toc-cssicon-toggle-item-6a413c8dc3bfd\" checked aria-label=\"Toggle\" \/><nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-1'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/why-defusing-carbon-bombs-offers-a-promising-new-agenda-for-tackling-climate-change\/#%E2%80%9CWhy_defusing_%E2%80%98carbon_bombs_offers_a_promising_new_agenda_for_tackling_climate_change%E2%80%9D\" >&#8220;Why defusing &#8216;carbon bombs&#8217; offers a promising new agenda for tackling climate change&#8221;<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h1><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%E2%80%9CWhy_defusing_%E2%80%98carbon_bombs_offers_a_promising_new_agenda_for_tackling_climate_change%E2%80%9D\"><\/span>&#8220;Why defusing &#8216;carbon bombs&#8217; offers a promising new agenda for tackling climate change&#8221;<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h1>\n<div>\n<div class=\"article-gallery lightGallery\">\n<div data-thumb=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/tmb\/2022\/why-defusing-carbon-bo.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/hires\/2022\/why-defusing-carbon-bo.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Credit: Nubli Alwi AlFarisi\/Shutterstock\">\n<figure class=\"article-img\">\n            <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/800a\/2022\/why-defusing-carbon-bo.jpg\" alt=\"Why defusing 'carbon bombs' offers a promising new agenda for tackling climate change\" title=\"Credit: Nubli Alwi AlFarisi\/Shutterstock\" width=\"800\" height=\"394\"\/><figcaption class=\"text-darken text-low-up text-truncate-js text-truncate mt-3\">\n                Credit: Nubli Alwi AlFarisi\/Shutterstock<br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>A carbon bomb is a fossil fuel extraction project, such as a coal mine, that can cause over a metric gigaton of CO\u2082 emissions during its lifetime. That&#8217;s a billion tons\u2014more than twice the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/assets.publishing.service.gov.uk\/government\/uploads\/system\/uploads\/attachment_data\/file\/1051408\/2020-final-greenhouse-gas-emissions-statistical-release.pdf\">UK&#8217;s annual emissions<\/a> from a single project.<\/p>\n<section class=\"article-banner first-banner ads-336x280\">\n         <!-- \/4988204\/Phys_Story_InText_Box --><\/p>\n<\/section>\n<p>In our latest <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sciencedirect.com\/science\/article\/pii\/S0301421522001756\">research<\/a>, my colleagues and I found that there are 425 of these carbon bombs worldwide. Collectively, they can unleash over 1,000 metric gigatons of CO\u2082 emissions, which far exceeds the world&#8217;s carbon budget for staying below 1.5\u00b0C of warming (around 500 metric gigatons <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.ipcc.ch\/sr15\/chapter\/spm\/\">in 2017<\/a>)\u2014the world&#8217;s agreed target for limiting climate change.<\/p>\n<p>Even though it is now recognized, even by the conservative International Energy Agency, that <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.iea.org\/news\/pathway-to-critical-and-formidable-goal-of-net-zero-emissions-by-2050-is-narrow-but-brings-huge-benefits\">no new fossil fuel projects<\/a> must be built to avert catastrophic climate change, fossil fuel companies are working on setting off dozens of <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/environment\/ng-interactive\/2022\/may\/11\/fossil-fuel-carbon-bombs-climate-breakdown-oil-gas\">new carbon bombs<\/a> while raking in <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/australia-news\/2022\/aug\/30\/huge-profits-for-fossil-fuel-giants-woodside-and-santos-stoke-calls-for-windfall-tax\">record profits<\/a> off the back of temporarily high fossil fuel prices.<\/p>\n<p>For decades, and thanks to efforts by the US, Saudi Arabia and other countries with entrenched fossil fuel interests, UN climate talks have avoided the obvious solution: halting fossil fuel extraction and use. It seems this taboo was finally broken in Glasgow in November 2021, where phasing down coal burning was mentioned in the officially adopted text of COP26 for the first time. But a credible plan from governments to limit fossil fuel extraction is still missing.<\/p>\n<p>This next vital step in climate policy might become more tractable by framing each new mine or oilfield as a potential carbon bomb. It&#8217;s not hard to figure out that if some countries set off their bombs, others won&#8217;t be able to, because carbon space in the atmosphere is <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/articles\/nature08047\">limited<\/a>. This simple insight into the physics of climate change has so far been ignored by world leaders.<\/p>\n<p>The carbon bombs concept helps us understand that rich countries like Germany digging lignite or Canada cooking tar sands to extract some of the world&#8217;s dirtiest oil takes up carbon space which means Saudi oil and Qatari gas will have to stay in the ground. Roughly 80% of all carbon bombs are concentrated in just 12 countries: China, US, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Qatar, Canada, Iraq, India, Brazil, Iran and the United Arab Emirates. Any one of these could convene talks on defusing carbon bombs. <\/p>\n<p>Or perhaps another government that has similar projects under its belt, say Germany, Norway, Colombia or the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.co.uk\/news\/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-62291095\">UK<\/a>, which is poised to <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thenational.scot\/news\/20757731.petition-delivered-downing-street-demanding-halt-approval-jackdaw-gas-field\/\">increase drilling for gas<\/a> in the North Sea. A <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tandfonline.com\/doi\/full\/10.1080\/14693062.2019.1636759\">fossil fuel non-proliferation treaty<\/a>, akin to the cold war nuclear non-proliferation treaty which aimed to halt the spread of nuclear weapons, could bind national commitments in a global agreement.<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-gallery lightGallery\">\n<div data-thumb=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/tmb\/2022\/why-defusing-carbon-bo-1.jpg\" data-src=\"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/2022\/why-defusing-carbon-bo-1.jpg\" data-sub-html=\"Coal is the most carbon-rich fossil fuel. Credit: Kemdim\/Shutterstock\">\n<figure class=\"article-img text-center\">\n            <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/scx1.b-cdn.net\/csz\/news\/800a\/2022\/why-defusing-carbon-bo-1.jpg\" alt=\"Why defusing 'carbon bombs' offers a promising new agenda for tackling climate change\" title=\"Coal is the most carbon-rich fossil fuel. Credit: Kemdim\/Shutterstock\"\/><figcaption class=\"text-left text-darken text-truncate text-low-up mt-3\">\n                Coal is the most carbon-rich fossil fuel. Credit: Kemdim\/Shutterstock<br \/>\n            <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><b>The fuses not yet lit<\/b><\/p>\n<p>When we compiled our list of carbon bombs to understand the global picture of fossil fuel extraction, we learned that 40% of these projects hadn&#8217;t started yet. This means that there is still time to scare away investors of new carbon bombs through campaigning and lawsuits. <\/p>\n<p>Because these projects are so huge, they take years to prepare and operate on a timescale of decades\u2014and their breakeven points, where they start generating a profit, invariably lie many years in the future. <\/p>\n<p>For the climate movement, these huge, slow-moving targets are a constructive challenge which offer many opportunities for intervention, as recent sanctions against Russia have made clear: some Russian carbon bombs look unlikely to proceed without <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.leave-it-in-the-ground.org\/resources\/investors-in-russian-carbon-bombs\/\">support from other countries<\/a>. <\/p>\n<p>Thanks to the interconnectedness of the fossil fuel industry globally, very few carbon bombs can go ahead without any foreign involvement, be it through <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/bankonourfuture.org\/\">finance<\/a>, <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/global.insure-our-future.com\/\">insurance<\/a> or equipment manufactured abroad.<\/p>\n<p>While the term &#8220;carbon bomb&#8221; sounds frightening, it bears great potential for transforming the way people look at the effort to mitigate climate change. The call to &#8220;reduce emissions&#8221;\u2014a mantra that&#8217;s been repeated by governments for the past 30 years\u2014isn&#8217;t sparking an emergency response on par with the challenge of the climate crisis. Meanwhile, talking about carbon bombs makes no secret of the fact that global heating kills people, just as bombs do.<\/p>\n<p>Time to get to work. <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.leave-it-in-the-ground.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/05\/Global-Carbon-Bombs-list.pdf\">Pick your carbon bomb<\/a> and help <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.leave-it-in-the-ground.org\/projects\/defusing-carbon-bombs\/\">cut the fuse<\/a>. There are 425 of them smoldering.<\/p>\n<hr\/>\n<div class=\"article-main__explore my-4 d-print-none\">\n<p>                                            Existing oil, gas and coal extraction sites need to be closed down to stay within 1.5 C, findings show\n                                        <\/p><\/div>\n<hr class=\"mb-4\"\/>\n<div class=\"d-inline-block text-medium my-4\">\n                                                Provided by<br \/>\n                                                                                                    The Conversation<br \/>\n                                                                                                        <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"icon_open\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\"><br \/>\n                                                        <svg>\n                                                            <use href=\"https:\/\/phys.b-cdn.net\/tmpl\/v6\/img\/svg\/sprite.svg#icon_open\" x=\"0\" y=\"0\"\/>\n                                                        <\/svg><br \/>\n                                                    <\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"article-main__note mt-4\">\n                                                This article is republished from <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\">The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/why-defusing-carbon-bombs-offers-a-promising-new-agenda-for-tackling-climate-change-185619\">original article<\/a>.<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/counter.theconversation.com\/content\/185619\/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced\" alt=\"The Conversation\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\"\/><\/p>\n<p>                                        <!-- print only --><\/p>\n<div class=\"d-none d-print-block\">\n<p>                                                 <strong>Citation<\/strong>:<br \/>\n                                                 Why defusing &#8216;carbon bombs&#8217; offers a promising new agenda for tackling climate change (2022, September  5)<br \/>\n                                                 retrieved  5 September 2022<br \/>\n                                                 from https:\/\/phys.org\/<a href=\"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/category\/news\/\" data-internallinksmanager029f6b8e52c=\"2\" title=\"News\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">news<\/a>\/2022-09-defusing-carbon-agenda-tackling-climate.html<\/p>\n<p>                                            This document is subject to copyright. 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Follow us on\u00a0<span style=\"color: #ff0000;\"><a style=\"color: #ff0000;\" href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/publications\/CAAqBwgKMLG0nwswvr63Aw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">Google News<\/a><\/span>\u00a0too, click on the star and choose us from your favorites.<\/span><\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\">For forums sites go to <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/forum.buradabiliyorum.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Forum.BuradaBiliyorum.Com<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>If you want to read more Like this articles, you can visit our <span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/science\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Science category.<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"color: black;\"><a style=\"color: #ff9900;\" href=\"https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2022-09-defusing-carbon-agenda-tackling-climate.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Why defusing &#8216;carbon bombs&#8217; offers a promising new agenda for tackling climate change&#8221; Credit: Nubli Alwi AlFarisi\/Shutterstock A carbon bomb is a fossil fuel extraction project, such as a coal mine, that can cause over a metric gigaton of CO\u2082 emissions during its lifetime. That&#8217;s a billion tons\u2014more than twice the UK&#8217;s annual emissions from&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":490470,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/scx2.b-cdn.net\/gfx\/news\/hires\/2022\/why-defusing-carbon-bo.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-490469","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sciencee"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/490469","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=490469"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/490469\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/490470"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=490469"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=490469"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=490469"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}