Gas flaring can be defined as the process of burning off unwanted gas and liquids into the atmosphere during the process of extracting crude oil from the earth. Gas flaring not only harms the environment by emitting some 400 million tons of carbon dioxide globally, but it is also wasteful of a comparatively clean energy source- natural gas.
Gas flaring has caused a lot of environmental problems especially in regions that still practice it. Studies have shown that the chemicals that are burnt off during this process, including benzenes, sulfur oxide and nitrogen oxide, can cause diseases such as cancer, bronchitis, and skin ailments. Gas flaring consumes about 170 billion cubic meters of natural gas and it is a major contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions.
This process of gas flaring may be tolerable in remote areas where no nearby animals or plants will be exposed to these chemicals, but that is not the case in countries like Nigeria and Russia. These countries have continuously practiced it, exposing communities in places like the Niger delta to hazardous emissions. NGOs and other have suggested that oil companies and/ or government should pay for the pollution they have caused and continue to create and profit from. I feel oil companies will have the money to pay any amount we want them to pay because of the excessive profits they make. It is difficult to stick a particular price on pollution, but this is a human rights issue as well, so something needs to be done. Gas flaring should be abolished and if it continues, other coutnries should lay sanctions on the countries that practice it.
--Ike Ezekwe
