Extinction Claims
100 major fossil fuel producers around the world have generated over 70% of greenhouse gas emissions, therefore they are the main responsible for the damages to ecosystems and their endangered species.
About / Press / Species / Ecosystems

Press release and material on the Extinction Claims project

Press kit with images, texts, and videos of the Extinction Claims project.

Press Release – October 2021

The conceptual artist, Paolo Cirio created an algorithm that computes data of over 40,000 endangered species with data on fossil fuel emissions from major oil, gas, and coal companies to calculate a justified financial compensation to the species.

Cirio composed the web-based artwork Extinction-Claims.com with aggregated datasets of endangered species and invites the public to participate in their protection. The online platform automatically generates financial claims for each species as the “plaintiff” to be indemnified financially and proposes that the companies issuing the greatest harm be held accountable in court for their environmental crimes that are causing the current mass extinction.

In this project, Cirio explores the legal concepts of environmental personhood, attribution science, and existence value. He investigated recent cases of climate change litigations; particularly data on emissions from the fossil fuel industries. Cirio’s biological research allowed him to aggregate data of several species to create a new conceptualization of climate justice, in which the devastated natural world is able to claim financial reparations from the top Carbon Majors that contribute to over 70% of the climate crisis.

Read more about this project in the text Extinction Plaintiff and on Cirio’s new large body of work Climate Tribunal addressing the economic, legal and geopolitical implications of climate justice.

Our planet now faces a global extinction crisis never witnessed by humankind. Scientists predict that more than 1 million species are on track for extinction in the upcoming decades. The database of species in danger of extinction composed by Cirio contains over 40,000 records and 20,000 images of animals, insects, plants, and ecosystems with their names, classes, and status, including additional information provided from the IUCN Red List, an international union dedicated to wildlife conservation, aggregated with data from Wikidata and iNaturalist. The imagery composed by Cirio is used to campaign for improved legal rights, funding, and policies that will help protect the growing list of endangered species and advocates for the conservation of biodiversity worldwide.

For the Dutch Design Week in Eindhoven, Netherlands, the project will also take form with an interactive installation of printed images of the species displayed on the walls accompanied by data regarding their financial claim for compensation toward protection from extinction.

The Extinction Claims peoject is created by the artist and activist Paolo Cirio and it is a co-production between the art institutions Baltan Laboratories in Eindhoven and MediaMatic in Amsterdam.

Browse by type of species:
ACTINOPTERYGII
ray-finned fishes
tunas, cods
AGARICOMYCETES
fungii
fly amanita
AMPHIBIA
amphibians
frogs, salamanders
ANDREAEOPSIDA
mosses from rocky habitats
lantern mosses
ANTHOCEROTOPSIDA
hornworts
dandroceros
ANTHOZOA
marine invertebrates with planktonic larvae
sea anemons, corals, jellyfish
ARACHNIDA
arachnida
spiders, scorpions
ARTHONIOMYCETES
sub-tropical and tropical lichens
ASTEROIDEA
star-shaped echinoderms
sea stars
AVES
birds
hummingbirds, ostrich
BIVALVIA
bivalves
mussels, oysters
BRANCHIOPODA
crustaceans
fairy shrimps, triops
BRYOPSIDA
mosses
haircap mosses
CEPHALASPIDOMORPHI
jawless fishes
CEPHALOPODA
cephalopods; head-feet
squids, octopus
CHILOPODA
centipedes
CHONDRICHTHYES
cartilaginous fishes
rays, sharks
CLITELLATA
annelid worms with clitellum
earthworms
CYCADOPSIDA
cycad
sclavos cycad
DIPLOPODA
millipedes
giant african millipedes
DOTHIDEOMYCETES
fungi
ENOPLA
worms having tubular mouthparts with spines or plates
Enoplan nemerteans
ENTOGNATHA
wingless arthropods
proturans
EUROTIOMYCETES
lichens
Verrucaria nigrescen
FLORIDEOPHYCEAE
red algae
GASTROPODA
gastropods
snails, slugs
GEOGLOSSOMYCETES
fungii
earth tongues
GINKGOOPSIDA
ginko biloba
GNETOPSIDA
plants
tree tumbo, mormon-tea
HOLOTHUROIDEA
sea cucumbers
giant sea cucumber
HYDROZOA
hydras
Portuguese man o war
INSECTA
insects
wasp, mosquitos, butterflies
JUNGERMANNIOPSIDA
non-vascular land plants
LECANOROMYCETES
lichenized fungi
orange sea lichen
LEOTIOMYCETES
fungi
LILIOPSIDA
monocotyledon plants
lilys
LYCOPODIOPSIDA
lycopods; vascular plants
staghorn clubmoss
MAGNOLIOPSIDA
flowering plants
magnolias
MALACOSTRACA
crustaceans
crabs, lobsters
MAMMALIA
mammals
squirrels, zebras, whales
MARCHANTIOPSIDA
non-vascular land plants
hepatics, liveworts
MAXILLOPODA
crustaceans
copepods, barnacles
MEROSTOMATA
xyphosura
horseshoe crabs
MYXINI
eel-like marine fishes
hagfish
ONYCHOPHORA
velvet worms
OSTRACODA
ostracod
seed shrimps
PEZIZOMYCETES
fungi
PHAEOPHYCEAE
brown algae
giant kelp
PINOPSIDA
conifers
cedars, cypresses
POLYCHAETA
polychaetes
lugworm
POLYPODIOPSIDA
ferns
ferns, maidenhair spleenworts
REPTILIA
reptiles
turtle, lizzards, crocodiles
SARCOPTERYGII
lobe-finned fishes
Australian lungfish
SORDARIOMYCETES
fungi
SPHAGNOPSIDA
mosses
peat mosses
TAKAKIOPSIDA
mosses
TURBELLARIA
flatworms
tiger flatworms
USTILAGINOMYCETES
smut fungi
corn smut
Suggest an existence value for the press
Please suggest an existence value in USD dollars. This value will be used for statistical evaluation of a yearly financial compensation for the preservation and protection of the press. Optionally include your email if you're willing for us to contact you about your submission:
Please confirm here:      type "yes"

The data and images of the Extinction Claims were aggregated from IUCN Red List, iNaturalist, and Wikidata.
The Extinction Claims peoject is created by the artist and activist Paolo Cirio and it is a co-production between the art institutions Baltan Laboratories in Eindhoven and MediaMatic in Amsterdam.