World Bank 2025 Gas Flaring Tracker: Global Flaring Hits Highest Level Since 2007, Wasting $63 Billion

The environmental cost is significant. The World Bank’s Global Flaring and Methane Reduction (GFMR) Partnership estimates that flaring in 2024 released 389 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalent, with a substantial portion coming from unburnt methane, a potent greenhouse gas. The Guardian reported that this volume of emissions is equivalent to the annual carbon output of France.

Nine Countries Produce 75% of Global Flaring

The report identifies a stark concentration of flaring activity. The top nine flaring countries accounted for three-quarters of all flaring in 2024, while producing less than half of the world’s oil. These nine countries are:

• Russia
• Iran
• Iraq
• United States
• Venezuela
• Algeria
• Nigeria
• Libya
• China

Note: While source lists the ninth country as Mexico, source lists China. Source is the World Bank's dedicated flaring data page, which may reflect a more up-to-date or specific data cut.

The concentration of flaring among the top three countries — Russia, Iran, and Iraq — has intensified over time. Their combined share grew from 33% of global flaring in 2012 to 46% in 2024. Meanwhile, the remaining 70+ flaring countries accounted for only 24% of total flaring in 2024, down from 35% in 2012, indicating that the problem is becoming more concentrated in a smaller number of major emitters.

$63 Billion Worth of Gas Wasted Annually

The economic waste is staggering. The 151 bcm of gas flared in 2024 had an estimated market value of approximately $63 billion, calculated using Henry Hub natural gas pricing as the reference basis. To put this in perspective, the volume of gas lost to flaring is nearly equivalent to Africa’s total annual natural gas consumption of about 162 bcm.

No Single Cost to Eliminate Routine Flaring, But ZRF Shows Progress

The 2025 report did not provide a single globally aggregated cost estimate for eliminating routine flaring. However, it highlights the performance of countries committed to the Zero Routine Flaring by 2030 (ZRF) initiative. Launched in 2015, the ZRF initiative commits governments and oil companies to end routine flaring no later than 2030 through regulation, technology, and financial arrangements.

The data is revealing: since 2012, ZRF endorsers achieved an average 12% reduction in flaring intensity, while non-endorsers saw a 25% increase. But with only five years remaining until the 2030 target, achieving ZRF would require an almost 40% reduction in routine flaring every year, an ambitious pace given current trends.

Structural Barriers Prevent Flaring Reduction

The report identifies several persistent structural barriers that hinder progress, even when the economic and environmental case for action is clear:

• Regulatory and policy gaps: Weak enforcement, insufficient fiscal incentives, and unclear gas rights can deter investment in flaring reduction projects across countries.
• Lack of infrastructure: In remote oil fields, limited pipeline networks or gas-processing capacity make it difficult to capture associated gas.
• Market and contractual barriers: In many oil-producing regions, limited local gas markets or unattractive commercial terms make capture projects uneconomical.
• Measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) challenges: The World Bank relies on satellite-derived estimates to track flaring, underscoring the need for consistent, reliable measurement for planning and accountability.
• High upfront capital cost: Flaring-reduction projects often require significant initial investment, and the ZRF framework emphasizes the need for financial arrangements as part of the solution.

Exceptions and Bright Spots

Despite the overall negative trend, there are notable exceptions. Countries that endorsed the ZRF initiative consistently outperformed their peers, demonstrating that commitment and policy action can produce measurable results. The ZRF initiative remains the primary framework for coordinating global efforts, aiming to end routine flaring through a combination of regulation, technology deployment, and financial instruments.

In summary, the 2025 World Bank report documents a worsening global flaring crisis: volumes up, concentrated among a few major oil producers, with $63 billion in gas wasted annually and no single cost estimate for solving the problem. The structural barriers are well understood — weak regulation, infrastructure gaps, and high costs — while the ZRF initiative provides a proven but time-constrained pathway for the countries willing to commit.