UAE violates its own gas flaring ban as Cop28 host

Oil and gas fields which run by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have been flaring gas virtually daily, as the country is set to host for the UN Cop28 summit, which is scheduled to begin on 30 November, according the Guardian on Friday.

This occurs even though they committed 20 years ago to a policy of zero routine flaring. Furthermore, the state oil company Adnoc’s CEO, Sultan Al Jaber, will preside over the international negotiations to urgently address the climate crisis. 

The analysis evaluated flaring activities in 32 oil and gas fields in the UAE, out of which 20 are operated by Adnoc.

The data reveals that four fields experienced flaring on at least 97 percent of the days from 2018 to 2022, for which data was accessible. This accounts for most days, as measurements were only disrupted by cloud cover one day out of five.

Interestingly, the World Bank has launched an initiative aimed at achieving zero routine flaring by 2030. Despite the participation of nearby states and companies, including Bahrain and Saudi Aramco, neither the UAE nor Adnoc are members of this initiative.

The hosting of the Cop28 climate summit has brought the environmental performance of the country into the spotlight.

Al Jaber has recently communicated to the 196 countries participating in Cop28 that “the phasing down of demand for and supply of all fossil fuels is inevitable and essential”.

However, there has been no response from the Cop28 office or Dubai Petroleum regarding the data on flaring.