Secure Access to Energy is Fundamental to Economic Growth and Job Creation
Washington, D.C., June 23-Global gas flaring rose for the third consecutive year, surging to 167 billion cubic meters (bcm) in 2025 and wasting an estimated $54 billion worth of gas. As many countries, especially the poorest, face energy shortages, capturing this wasted gas could strengthen energy security, generate power, support economic activity that's key to job creation, and reduce emissions.
The annual Global Gas Flaring Tracker, released today by the World Bank Group, finds flaring volumes in 2025 nearly equal Africa's entire annual gas consumption and exceed annual LNG (liquefied natural gas) volumes transiting the Persian Gulf. Nine countries, Russia, Iran, Iraq, Venezuela, Mexico, Libya, Algeria, Nigeria, and the United States, account for more than four-fifths of global flaring while accounting for nearly half of the world's oil production.
"At a time when many countries are struggling to increase affordable and reliable energy, the economic development costs of continued flaring are simply too high," said Demetrios Papathanasiou, World Bank Group Global Director for Energy. "The gas currently flared could be captured to power industries and businesses, create jobs, and strengthen energy security."
Many countries import costly gas while also flaring vast amounts of it at their oilfields. Eliminating routine flaring globally would require an estimated $70-100 billion, less than twice the annual value of the gas currently being wasted. Countries facing high import costs and domestic energy shortfalls stand to benefit from increased energy access, new gas revenues, and lower energy bills. Yet despite the tools needed to end routine flaring being well established, it persists; what holds back progress is not technical but structural - inadequate regulation, insufficient capital, limited market infrastructure, and a failure by operators and governments to treat reduction as a priority.
Where effective policies and regulations, targeted investment, and leadership come together, flaring declines. Governments and operators that act decisively get results. For instance, Kazakhstan has reduced flaring by 87% since 2012, including a further 16% reduction in 2025 alone.
"The technologies, policies, regulations, and financing mechanisms needed to capture and utilize associated gas are available. What is missing, in too many places, is the leadership, prioritization, and governance needed to put these solutions into practice, creating access to markets and infrastructure." said Zubin Bamji, World Bank Manager for the Global Flaring and Methane Reduction (GFMR) Partnership. "The cost of inaction will be measured in wasted billions in revenue and energy insecurity for millions of people."
About GFMR
The World Bank Group's GFMR Partnership works to accelerate progress by providing catalytic grant funding, technical assistance, regulatory reform advisory services, and support for measurement, monitoring, reporting, and verification (MMRV) systems. GFMR works with governments and state-owned operators to identify projects, attract commercial financing, and build the institutional capacity needed for durable, long-term reductions.
About the Global Gas Flaring Tracker Report
The Global Gas Flaring Tracker Report is published annually by the World Bank's Global Flaring and Methane Reduction Partnership (GFMR). It draws on satellite data to monitor flaring volumes and tracks progress toward the Zero Routine Flaring by 2030 initiative.
Website: www.worldbank.org/
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