Dear <MP>,

With COP28 coming up in at the end of November this year, I appeal to you to raise the issue of unabated flaring and venting from oil and gas fields around the world. The World Bank has an existing campaign to phase out routine flaring and venting by 2030. But it needs more support and indeed needs accelerating right now. This is why I am writing.

You may have seen the critically acclaimed BBC documentary called “Under Poisoned Skies” following the ill children near Basra, Iraq. Around the oil fields there is a level of atmospheric pollution that we would rightly not tolerate in the UK. Toxic and carcinogenic compounds are at unsafe levels. Children are dying of leukaemia (indeed the two children followed in the documentary, Ali and Fatima, have sadly now died of their illnesses). The pollution is coming from the flaring in the largest oil fields. These same oil fields that export their oil to the world, including us.

The oil companies have had decades to improve their operational environmental footprint voluntarily. The technology exists to capture the gases routinely burnt or vented and generate power relatively cleanly from it. Surprisingly the communities around the pollution hotspots are very often lacking power, so doing the right thing could simultaneously improve air quality and provide power to these marginalised communities.

The World Bank estimates that it could cost around half the profits of the five biggest oil companies from 2022 to install equipment to eliminate routine flaring and venting for all oil and gas extraction sites worldwide. It is affordable. It is needed. It is the right thing to do.

Voluntary measures or “self-regulation” has not worked. We need a global agreement at COP28 to fast-forward the World Bank proposals and end routine flaring and venting within the next year.

By the industries own figures, routine flaring is responsible for 1% of global emissions, about the same amount as the UK. And routine venting is responsible for 4.4% of global emissions, about the same amount as the EU. However, recent independent satellite analysis suggests that, perhaps not unsurprisingly, some fields are emitting “as much as three times higher than self-reported data”. So could we be talking about more than 10% of global warming emissions are coming from this one problem? If this is so, then this underlines why this single issue must be at the top of the agenda at COP28.

Yours sincerely

Dear <Big Oil>,

We must end unabated flaring and venting from oil and gas fields and upstream facilities around the world. The World Bank has an existing campaign to phase out routine flaring and venting by 2030. However, it needs accelerating to make a bigger difference right now. This is why I am writing.

You may have seen the critically acclaimed BBC documentary called “Under Poisoned Skies” following the ill children near Basra, Iraq. If you haven’t seen it, I would recommend you watch it. Around the oil fields there is a level of atmospheric pollution that we would rightly not tolerate in the UK. Toxic and carcinogenic compounds are at unsafe levels. Children are dying of leukaemia (indeed the two children followed in the documentary, Ali and Fatima, have sadly now died of their illnesses). The pollution is coming from the flaring in the largest oil fields.

The World Bank estimates that to end routine flaring and venting globally would cost a one-off cost of $100 billion. Official figures show that routine flaring is responsible for 1% of global emissions and routine venting is responsible for 4.4% of global emissions. Our global carbon dioxide equivalent emissions total 50 billion tonnes in 2019. So 5.4% of that is 50*0.054 = 2.7 billion tonnes – in just one year $100/2.7 = $37/tonne. Recent satellite data analysis indicates that some emissions from flaring and venting are being underreported. So the true cost may be even lower. And that was for a single year only!

Now today the carbon price is $30 (California) to $100 (EU). So it clearly makes economic sense to eliminate flaring and venting right now. It is affordable. It is needed. It is the right thing to do.

I was surprised to learn that quite a few communities around the pollution hotspots are very often lacking power, so doing the right thing could simultaneously improve air quality and provide power to these marginalised communities.

Yours sincerely

Dear <Fund Manager>,

Support the World Bank initiative on ending routine flaring and venting

We must end unabated flaring and venting from oil and gas fields and upstream facilities around the world. The World Bank has an existing campaign to phase out routine flaring and venting by 2030. However, it needs accelerating to make a bigger difference right now. This is why I am writing.

Flaring and venting accounts for 1% and 4.4% of global greenhouse gas emissions using official reported data. Recent independent analysis using satellite data from climate TRACE suggests real emissions may be “as much as three times higher than self-reported data” from main oil and gas producing countries. This activity, done by very few companies, is probably the number one activity (in terms of volume per emission source) contributing to global warming. It is possible to fix and has been for some time. In jurisdictions with strong environmental regulation, no routine flaring and venting is the norm. The cost to fix it is one off and the benefits will be for as long as the fields are operational. Even if it is just for a year, it is worth it because the World Bank estimates the total cost as $100 billion and since our global emissions are around 50 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, it means that even at 5.4% emissions reduction we are talking about $100 cost for 2.7 tonnes or a carbon price of $37 per tonne of CO2. Using real emissions rather than self-reported would lower it even more. Even using the self-reported figures, this is substantially lower than the current EU carbon price ($100/tonne) and around the California carbon price ($30/tonne). When considered over more than one year then the cost soon becomes cheaper than the price of commercial carbon offsets. It really is one of the lowest hanging fruit!

Furthermore, the cancer hotspots around sites where flaring and venting is taking place is alarming. This uncomfortable fact requires us to take our responsibilities seriously as investors, even if the large oil and gas companies are still in denial about this harm. It was sad day recently when Ali, the leukaemia sufferer who was featured in the critically acclaimed BBC documentary “Under Poisoned Skies” died before he could raise a question at this year’s BP shareholder meeting. His marginalised community does not have reliable power so turning the waste gas into electricity would be a welcome improvement.

Please don’t forget Ali. Be a responsible investor.

Yours sincerely