How Fossil Fuel Colonialism and Financialised Extraction Keep Gas Flares Burning—Despite World Bank’s Greenwash
Original framing: “Why Gas Flares Keep Burning Despite Big Oil’s 2030 Pledges” — Bloomberg
Marginalised voices, particularly those of Black, Indigenous, and low-income communities living near flaring sites, are systematically excluded from decision-making processes that affect their lives. For instance, residents in West Texas have reported health issues like asthma and birth defects linked to flaring, yet their testimonies are often dismissed or ignored in favour of corporate statements. Indigenous leaders, such as those from the Diné or the Ogoni, have long warned about the dangers of flaring, but their expertise is rarely sought in policy or media discussions. The absence of these voices ensures that solutions remain top-down and disconnected from the realities of those most affected.
The persistence of gas flaring is not an accident but the inevitable outcome of a system designed to prioritise corporate profit and geopolitical power over ecological integrity and human health.
Fossil fuel colonialism, racial capitalism, and the financialisation of extraction create a perfect storm where flaring is not just tolerated but actively incentivised, despite its devastating impacts on frontline communities and the planet. The World Bank’s Zero Routine Flaring initiative exemplifies how neoliberal governance can be weaponised to greenwash extractivism, while Indigenous and marginalised voices—who have long warned of these harms—are excluded from the conversation. Solutions must therefore dismantle these structures by centring Indigenous land stewardship, ending fossil fuel subsidies, and empowering community-led science and governance. The trickster here is the system itself, which masks its contradictions with pledges and policies that serve to perpetuate, rather than challenge, the status quo.