This study aligns with Sustainable Development Goal 7 which aims at "ensuring access to affordable, clean energy, reliable, sustainable and modern energy for all". The Gazetted Flare Gas Regulations 2018 provides a legal framework to support the policy objectives of the Federal Government for the reduction of Green House Gas emissions through the flaring and venting of natural gas. The Regulations provide the legal basis for the implementation of the Nigerian Gas Flare Commercialization Programme. This study investigates the factors contributing to gas flaring activities in Nigeria from 1970 to 2019. Using the autoregressive distributed lag error correction representation and cointegration techniques, findings reveal, among others, that in the long-run: (1) gas flaring activities is persistent; (2) economic growth induces flaring activities; (3) gas prices exert asymmetric impact; (4) gas utilization and fossil fuel are negative predictors. The result shows that gas price contemporaneously exerts positive and statistically significant impact at the 1% level. Gas price contributes 0.187 percent increase to gas flaring while its first lag induces significant reduction in gas flaring by 0.293 percent at 1 percent level of significance. This study also provides sufficient evidence on the persistency of gas flaring activities in Nigeria.

Due to the global menace caused by carbon emissions from environmental, anthropogenic, and industrial processes, it has become expedient to consider the use of systems, with high trapping potentials for these carbon-based compounds. Several prior studies have considered the use of amines, activated carbon, and other solid adsorbents. Advances in carbon capture research have led to the use of ionic liquids, enzyme-based systems, microbial filters, membranes, and metal-organic frameworks in capturing CO2. Therefore, it is common knowledge that some of these systems have their lapses, which then informs the need to prioritize and optimize their synthetic routes for optimum efficiency. Some authors have also argued about the need to consider the use of hybrid systems, which offer several characteristics that in turn give synergistic effects/properties that are better compared to those of the individual components that make up the composites. For instance, some membranes are hydrophobic in nature, which makes them unsuitable for carbon capture operations; hence, it is necessary to consider modifying properties such as thermal stability, chemical stability, permeability, nature of the raw/starting material, thickness, durability, and surface area which can enhance the performance of these systems. In this review, previous and recent advances in carbon capture systems and sequestration technologies are discussed, while some recommendations and future prospects in innovative technologies are also highlighted.

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Practically, an ideal catalyst for Formic acid-decomposition is one that best suits the reaction and significantly lowers its activation energy and improves the reaction rate under favourable conditions. Several catalysts for Formic Acid (FA)-decomposition reactions were examined. Based on the volcano curve and the potential of copper to give high hydrogen yields, emphasis was placed on a Cu-catalysed reaction as potential system for sustainable hydrogen production. Some recent advances in hydrogen production from formic acid were discussed and an effective system for FA-decomposition for hydrogen production was proposed. Since helium can be stored in weather balloons and weighs almost the same as hydrogen, a hydrogen buffer made from polyester fabric and coated with polyurethane or a hydrogen cylinder/tube was proposed for storing hydrogen for use as transportfuel. Also, due to the nature of the mechanisms/pathways describing FA-conversion reactions at the sites or surfaces of the copper-nanocatalysts, it is evident that the Cu(2 1 1) coordination site possesses the highest activation energy relative to those of Cu(1 0 0) and Cu(1 1 1), hence, the reason for the noticeable high or low hydrogen yields. Thus, the potential of Cu giving high hydrogen yields from FA spans from the reactions of FA at the Cu(1 1 1) and Cu(1 0 0) sites.