Highlights

• In 2024, flaring surged by 3 billion cubic meters (bcm) to 151bcm, the highest level since 2007. The top nine flaring countries continue to account for three-quarters of all flaring, but less than half of global oil production.
• More than half a billion people still lack reliable access to electricity. The associated gas wastefully burned each year is equivalent to Africa’s total annual gas consumption.
• 389 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (MMtCO2e) emissions, including 46 MMtCO2e in the form of unburnt methane, were released by flares in 2024.

The latest Global Gas Flaring Tracker, an independent report of gas flaring worldwide, reveals that global gas flaring volumes rose to 151 bcm in 2024 from 148 bcm in 2023. This is the highest level since 2007. Flaring Intensity, the amount of flaring per barrel of oil produced, has remained largely unchanged in the last fifteen years.

The top nine flaring countries continue to account for three-quarters of all flaring, but less than half of global oil production. If captured and used, the gas flared could have helped provide energy for some of the world’s most energy-deprived people.

The increase in gas flaring in 2024 highlights the need for oil producers to rapidly accelerate efforts to end routine flaring and minimize pollution from oil and gas operations. The World Bank’s Global Flaring and Methane Reduction (GFMR) Partnership estimates that in 2024 flaring released 389 million tonnes of CO2e, with a significant portion in the form of unburnt methane.

The report highlights that countries committed to the Zero Routine Flaring by 2030 (ZRF) initiative performed significantly better than countries that have not made the commitment. However, while some countries have made progress reducing flaring, the overall increase in 2024 underscored the need for governments and operators to prioritize flaring reduction projects.

The report calls on governments and operators to act now to end routine gas flaring and reduce methane emissions from oil and gas production.

The World Bank’s annual Global Gas Flaring Tracker is a tool for monitoring and understanding the state of flaring worldwide and the progress made towards achieving Zero Routine Flaring by 2030. GFMR, together with the Payne Institute at the Colorado School of Mines, has developed global gas flaring estimates based upon observations from a satellite launched in 2012 and operated by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The advanced sensors of this satellite detect the heat emitted by gas flares as infrared emissions.

About GFMR

GFMR is a multi-donor trust fund supported by governments, companies, and multilateral organizations committed to ending routine gas flaring and reducing methane emissions from the oil and gas sector. GFMR provides catalytic grant funding, technical assistance, policy and regulatory reform advisory services, capacity building and institutional strengthening for methane and flaring reduction projects. For example, GFMR mobilized $11 million to detect and repair methane leaks in Uzbekistan’s gas distribution network. The project has already eliminated 9,000 tones of methane emissions per year, with further reductions of 100 thousand tonnes of methane emissions expected each year.