Study: Gas Flaring Kept Rising In 2024 As O&G Companies Added A Bonus 389 Million Tons Of CO2 To Our Atmosphere

The fossil fuel industry pumped an extra 389m tonnes of carbon pollution into the atmosphere last year by needlessly flaring gas, a World Bank report has found, in an “enormous waste” of fuel that heats the planet by about as much as the country of France.

Flaring is a way to get rid of gases such as methane that arise when pumping oil out of the ground. While it can sometimes keep workers safe by relieving buildups of pressure, the practice is routine in many countries because it is often cheaper to burn gas than to capture, transport, process and sell it.

Global gas flaring rose for a second year in a row to reach its highest level since 2007, the report found, despite growing concerns about energy security and climate breakdown. It found that 151bn cubic metres (bcm) of gas were burned during oil and gas production in 2024, up by 3bcm from the year before.

“Flaring is needlessly wasteful,” said Zubin Bamji, the manager of the World Bank’s Global Flaring and Methane Reduction partnership (GFMR), which wrote the report. “[It’s] a missed opportunity to strengthen energy security and improve access to reliable power.”

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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/jul/18/gas-flaring-created-389m-tonnes-carbon-pollution-last-year-report