Environmental Group: Gas Industry Association Fails to Meet Methane Reporting Requirements

The German environmental organization Deutsche Umwelthilfe (DUH) has accused the German Gas and Water Industry Association (DVGW) of failing to ensure its "GaWaS" statistics tool meets EU methane regulation requirements. DUH alleges the tool provided to its member companies leads to an underestimation of harmful methane emissions.

According to DUH's investigation, the "GaWaS" tool permits the use of outdated standard values instead of actual measurements and does not account for the full extent of identified leaks when calculating total emissions. This practice, DUH argues, systematically underestimates methane releases from the gas infrastructure.

DUH is calling on the relevant authorities to demand that DVGW revise the tool to comply with legal obligations. The organization warns that a significant number of Germany's approximately 700 gas distribution network operators may have violated reporting requirements by using the "GaWaS" tool, potentially facing penalties.

"As an industry association, DVGW's role should be to support its members in adhering to safety and environmental standards. However, it appears that DVGW is actively facilitating non-compliance," stated Sascha Müller-Kraenner, Federal Managing Director of DUH. He emphasized that the EU methane regulation is crucial for replacing the previous system of "technical self-regulation" where the industry largely set its own control rules.

Article 12 of the EU methane regulation mandates operators of fossil oil and gas infrastructure in Germany to document and publish their methane emissions, moving from estimates to actual measurements.