Environmental lawyers, investigative journalists, and campaigners have formed a group to oppose the "carbon bomb" fossil fuel projects revealed in a Guardian investigation.

Following a May meeting, more than 70 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and activist groups from around the world formed a "carbon bomb defusal" network to share expertise and resources in the fight to stop the projects and prevent the catastrophic climate breakdown they would cause.

195 carbon bombs, massive oil and gas projects that would each emit at least a billion tons of CO2 over their lifetimes, amounting to roughly 18 years of current global CO2 emissions, according to The Guardian.

 Approximately 60% of these have begun pumping, it added.

US, Saudi Arabia: Leading source of emissions 

With 22 carbon bombs spanning the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico to the foothills of Colorado's Front Range and the Permian Basin, the United States is the leading source of emissions from these megaprojects. They have the potential to emit 140 billion tons of CO2, nearly four times what the entire world emits each year.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia, with 107 billion tons, is the second-largest potential emitter after the United States, followed by Russia, Qatar, Iraq, Canada, China, and Brazil.

It is worth noting that the new campaigning network will coordinate legal challenges and activist campaigns against these projects, as well as the companies and politicians who support them.

See more: The Cost of Climate Change