World Bank: Progress stalls on gas flaring cuts
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A new World Bank report finds a "disappointing" level of progress over the last decade in curtailing the burning of natural gas at oil production sites.
Why it matters: Gas flaring is a sizable source of carbon emissions.
- The report, based on satellite measurements, shows progress in decoupling flaring from oil production beginning in the mid-2000s.
- But that has largely plateaued on an aggregate global basis, despite improvements in some regions.
Zoom in: Last year 144 billion cubic meters of gas were "needlessly" flared at upstream oil and gas sites, generating 400 million metric tons of CO2-equivalent emissions, it estimates.
What they're saying: "Ending this polluting practice must be central to decarbonization efforts," Zubin Bamji, program manager of the bank-led Global Gas Flaring Reduction Partnership, said in the report.
- Bamji, in the foreword, said wasted gas should instead displace dirtier fuels and boost energy access in poor nations.
😮For a sense of scale, Bamji notes: "[T]he volume of gas flared worldwide is greater than the European Union's 27 member states gas imports from Russia."
