Question to the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero:

To ask the Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, what assessment he has made of the cost-effectiveness of unsupported flaring, in terms of cost per tonne of CO₂ equivalent abated, compared with other methane abatement measures.

The term 'unsupported flaring’ is not used by the government. Oil and gas operators are required to deliver zero routine flaring on their assets by 2030 and submit costed Emissions Reduction Action Plans to the North Sea Transition Authority. Flaring activity accounts for approximately 16% of offshore upstream oil and gas greenhouse gas emissions. Emissions from flaring are primarily carbon dioxide.

In its Emissions Monitoring Report 2025, the NSTA estimated that flaring from UK oil and gas production fell by 51% between 2018 and 2024, and that absolute methane emissions from oil and gas production fell by more than 60%.