UAE Hosts World Bank’s Global Flaring and Methane Reduction Steering Committee Meeting in Abu Dhabi

The United Arab Emirates (UAE), hosted the World Bank’s Global Flaring and Methane Reduction (GFMR) Steering Committee Meeting on 29–30 April 2025 at the Abu Dhabi Energy Center.

The high-level meeting convened over 40 participants representing 12 countries and more than 25 international organizations, including ministerial delegations, national oil companies, multilateral development banks, and technical experts from across the global climate and energy community.

The UAE, as a founding member to the Global Flaring and Methane Reduction (GFMR) Partnership and the largest contributor with a $100 million pledge, reaffirmed its global leadership in tackling one of the most potent and short-lived climate pollutants: methane. Methane has over 80 times the warming potential of carbon dioxide in the short term, making its reduction one of the fastest and most effective ways to slow global warming. GFMR exists to confront this challenge—by funding high-impact projects that eliminate routine flaring and reduce methane emissions from oil and gas operations worldwide.

This year’s Steering Committee Meeting in Abu Dhabi served as both a checkpoint and a launchpad: reviewing the impact of existing interventions while shaping the next generation of financing, governance, and technology deployment. The UAE is not only helping to fund this transformation—it is also shaping its future. His Excellency Abdulla Balalaa, Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs for Energy and Sustainability, and UAE Board Member for GFMR, led the UAE participation, which included senior representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs , Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology and the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), who championed calls for transparent funding, equitable regional allocations, and the integration of cutting-edge technologies such as AI-based methane detection and blockchain verification systems.

H.E. Abdulla Balalaa underscored the UAE’s conviction that methane mitigation is both a climate necessity and an economic opportunity. The UAE is committed to ensuring that the GFMR remains a high-impact, transparent, and future-proof initiative, aligned with the UAE Consensus and the goals of the Paris Agreement.  For its part, ADNOC has announced the investment of USD 23 billion in landmark decarbonization projects, supported by advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, and is working towards near-zero methane emissions and zero routine flaring by 2030.

The UAE also announced its intent to propose a dedicated "High-Impact Methane Regions Program" at the next GFMR Steering Committee, aimed at accelerating implementation in underfunded geographies with the highest potential for rapid emissions reductions.

This milestone meeting builds on the momentum of the UAE’s climate diplomacy leadership, reinforcing its role as a driving force in global methane abatement.