Environmental group: Gas industry association fails methane reporting duties

The environmental organization Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH) has accused the German gas and water industry association, DVGW, of failing to meet its reporting obligations under the EU's methane regulation. DUH claims that DVGW's statistical tool, GaWaS, provided to its members, does not adhere to legal requirements for tracking climate-damaging methane emissions.

According to DUH, the GaWaS tool allows companies to use outdated standard values instead of conducting their own measurements. Furthermore, the tool reportedly does not require the extrapolation of discovered leakages to the entire network. This, DUH argues, systematically underestimates the actual methane emissions from gas infrastructure in Germany.

DUH is calling on the responsible authorities to demand that DVGW redesign its statistical tool to comply with the law. The organization warns that without such adjustments, many operators could face potential fines and that the true extent of methane emissions will continue to be underestimated. DUH estimates that a significant portion of Germany's gas distribution network operators may have used this tool, potentially violating reporting requirements.

The EU's methane regulation, implemented to replace the industry's previous self-regulation system, mandates the documentation and publication of methane emissions from fossil oil and gas infrastructure. DUH points to this regulation and urges authorities to closely monitor the industry's compliance and enforce rules, if necessary, through sanctions.