According to Zubin Bamji, from the World Bank’s Global Flaring and Methane Reduction Partnership, harnessing the wasted gas is very important in terms of securing energy and creating jobs. The Global Gas Flaring Tracker by the World Bank indicates the amount of gas being wasted by flaring. Since 2013, flaring has increased, burning 167 billion cubic meters of gas in the past three years.
Bamji argues that all unreliable forms of energy are detrimental to the people’s livelihood, reducing investments and decreasing the number of hours for work. This expert states that countries with high flaring rates are also the biggest importers of gas, and this is why, despite having resources, they are more vulnerable. By using gas for electricity production and cleaner cooking, thus reducing the pressure on women that collect biomass, the society would be able to create jobs in technical and engineering areas and enhance public health.
He mentions in this respect the examples of the successful decrease of flaring gas in Kazakhstan and the improvements in infrastructure in Vaca Muerta, Argentina. It is estimated that putting an end to routine flaring around the globe would cost between $70 billion and $100 billion but would recoup these costs within 2 years through the benefits of reduced expense, increased tax revenue, and new jobs, thus treating flaring as a good energy source as well as a sound financial solution, particularly for import-dependent countries like Egypt, India, and Iraq.
