Climate change: Russia burns off gas as Europe’s energy bills rocket

As Europe’s energy costs skyrocket, Russia is burning off large amounts of natural gas.

Experts say the gas would previously have been exported to Germany.

They say the plant near the border with Finland, is burning an estimated $10m (£8.4m) worth of gas every day.

Scientists are concerned about the large volumes of carbon dioxide and soot it is creating, which could exacerbate the melting of Arctic ice.

The analysis by Rystad Energy indicates that around 4.34 million cubic metres of gas are being burned by the flare every day.

It is coming from a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant at Portovaya, north-west of St Petersburg. The first signs that something was awry came from Finnish citizens over the nearby border who spotted a large flame on the horizon earlier this summer.

Portovaya is located close to a compressor station at the start of the Nordstream 1 pipeline which carries gas under the sea to Germany.

Supplies through the pipeline have been curtailed since mid-July, with the Russians blaming technical issues for the restriction. Germany says it was purely a political move following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

But since June, researchers have noted a significant increase in heat emanating from the facility – thought to be from gas flaring, the burning of natural gas.

Agencies