The Western Australia government will introduce a plan to phase out flaring by petroleum companies by 2030.
The state government announced WA would join the World Bank’s Zero Routine Flaring by 2030 initiative in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The initiative is focused on routine wellhead flaring during production, not exploration testing and emergency situations, or at oil refineries such as Kwinana.
“Capturing the gas that would normally be flared reduces greenhouse gas emissions and makes better use of our energy resources,” said WA Environment Minister Stephen Dawson.
“Signing up to this initiative further demonstrates this government’s commitment to addressing climate change, and will contribute to the state’s new climate policy, which is currently being developed.”
WA Mines and Petroleum Minister Bill Johnston said the initiative was important for the industry to battle climate change.
“This is another first for WA as a world-leading mining jurisdiction,” he said.
“At the heart of all the research and consultation that led to this recommendation is a simple premise: if you’ve got gas, either sell it or inject it back into the ground, but don’t burn it.”
WA, which lifted its moratorium on fracking in November last year, is the first state in Australia to join the World Bank initiative.
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