ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) issued a set of preventive measures on Sunday to curb environmental pollution, including ending gas flaring.
“Any refinery, individual, or party will be prevented from producing dirty motor fuel or smuggling them in, that have detrimental health consequences,” according to a decision issued by the KRG on Sunday. “We will limit gas flaring at the oilfields.”
Gas flaring, a practice where natural gas is burned off during oil extraction, has drawn criticism for its environmental impact and waste of valuable resources.
Despite producing 3.1 billion cubic feet of natural gas daily, Iraq continues to flare substantially due to inadequate processing infrastructure.
Iraq spends nearly $4 billion annually on gas and electricity imports from Iran while struggling to efficiently utilize its resources.
Iraq has planned to eliminate gas flaring by 2028, emphasizing sustainable resource use and environmental responsibility. Iraq flared more than 17.9 Bcm of natural gas in 2022, the second highest amount globally, just behind Russia, according to World Bank data.
The KRG issued several other measures to target environmental pollution that will be implemented “starting from tomorrow,” according to Peshawa Hawramani, spokesperson of the KRG.
“Factories also have to abide by world standards and standards that prove the factory's harmlessness to the environment. There will be no flexibility,” Hawramani quoted PM Barzani as saying. “If a factory needs time to comply with these standards, it has to be shut down until they apply the standards.”
Other measures include avoiding irrigation with wastewater, according to the premier.
The Ministry of the Interior has been tasked with following up on the preventive measures against environmental pollution.
"Automobiles that are not up to date on their environmental requirements and cause pollution have to be dealt with by traffic police forces starting today,” adding that “People who sell low-quality fuel that causes pollution will be severely dealt with”
The interior ministry will also be responsible for regulating private power generators and ensuring the use of high-quality fuel to operate the generators.
Private generators keep the light on when the power cuts across the Kurdistan Region. The generators, however, are a major source of air pollution. The government has previously taken several other measures against the diesel-burning generators, but they were largely ineffective
Hawramani warned that anyone who does not abide by the new rules will face “harsh punishment.”
“The well-being and health of our people is more important than financial profits for some people,” Hawramani said, quoting the PM Barzani.
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