According to a leading environmental think-tank, the UK government is allowing fossil fuel companies to waste gas.
According to the Green Alliance, oil and gas companies waste enough methane to power more than one million homes.
More of the gas should be used because of high energy prices.
A UK oil and gas company spokesman said it was not profitable to take all of it.
Methane is one of the main contributors to global warming according to scientists.
The Green Alliance said it was a scandal. These companies should be forced to capture methane.
Methane emissions have fallen in the UK but progress has slowed.
Professor Dave Reay from the University of Edinburgh said that reducing methane would give you a big bang for your buck.
If we cut emissions quickly, we will see a reduction in warming in the atmosphere.
Farming and waste disposal are the main sources of methane in the UK. Low-hanging fruit is cutting down on methane in the oil and gas production that accounts for 9% of emissions.
The majority of the UK's oil and gas industry can be found in the North Sea. Production involves bringing methane to the surface. It can be flared, released, or leaks out of pipes.
Methane emission guidelines have been published by the North Sea Transition Authority. The goal of "zero routine flaring and venting" by the year 2030 is included in the plan. Critics say there isn't enough monitoring.
According to the IEA, 45% of global methane emissions could be stopped at no cost to the oil and gas companies.
According to the Green Alliance, Russia's invasion of Ukraine has caused gas prices to go up, meaning that it should be cost-effective to capture and use all the wasted gas.
If we stopped flaring and piped the gas into people's homes, we could heat around 750,000 homes.
It's not clear how many homes are being lost into the atmosphere, but we believe it to be between 100,000 and 150,000.
The fossil fuel industry and the government say that it's not that simple and that the reductions in methane emissions are proof of progress.
Charles McAllister from UK Onshore Oil and Gas says that the volumes being vented and flared are not large in comparison to the UK's greenhouse gas emissions.
The facilities are old. Volumes of methane are not economically viable to be captured.
The government is working diligently with regulators to drive down methane emissions from oil and gas operations.
The majority of the UK's methane emissions come from fossil fuels.
The Clean Air Task Force went on a hunt for gas in Hampshire.
Theo Humann pointed a camera through a metal fence at a small oil well.
The camera measures heat and energy.
The methane appeared on Mr Humann's screen as a bright colored mess.
The old well is not connected to a gas grid or a processing facility. The easiest option for the site operator is to just let it go.
James Turrito, campaign manager for the Clean Air Task Force, said outside the gate to the oil well that the technology exists to capture the gas that is being released. This is not possible.
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