Azerbaijan Hosting COP29 Fails to Report Continuously Rising Methane Emissions: Global Witness

Satellite data shows an increase in gas flaring since Azerbaijan last reported its emissions six years ago, casting doubt on promises made by BP and the state oil company SOCAR to stop methane flaring by 2030. According to a new analysis by Global Witness, the volume of associated gas flaring in Azerbaijan has sharply increased since the host country of COP29 last presented its emissions data to the UN.

Gas flaring from gas torches also worsens air quality and is considered a cause of deteriorating health for people living near power plants. Under the 2015 Paris Agreement, countries are required to provide data on their emissions every two years. However, Azerbaijan, which will host the COP29 climate summit in November, has not done so since 2018. Since then, the volume of gas flared at oil and gas facilities has increased by 10.5%. Furthermore, the rate of gas flaring from torches has increased by over 70%, with satellites recording more than 1000 individual flare incidents since September 2018.

Azerbaijan, BP, and SOCAR have made numerous commitments to eliminate gas flaring from their oil and gas production by 2030. According to an analysis of satellite data by Global Witness, collected by the Earth Observation Group at the Colorado School of Mines, BP's ACG facilities have burned nearly 1 billion cubic meters of gas since 2019. Last year, flaring at the ACG facilities nearly matched the 2014 field record. This is despite the fact that, according to an analysis of Rystad Energy data conducted by Global Witness, oil production has decreased by 46% in 2023 compared to a decade ago.

This flaring, which could be easily avoided, results in the emission of hazardous gases into the atmosphere, posing a risk to the air pollution experienced by the citizens of Azerbaijan.

For more details, refer to the source.