Media reports today that Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan has "backflipped" on a ban on cooktops are inaccurate and an unhelpful distraction from gas heaters which guzzle half of the gas used in Victoria and the pipeline system which leaks more gas than is used in cooking statewide.
Friends of the Earth Melbourne is dedicated to seeing gas removed from all homes in Victoria over the coming decade but believes that the scaremongering of some elements of the media over gas cooktops skews debate and draws public awareness from where it is most needed.
The latest figures from Harvard Medical School[1] show that gas cooktops are implicated in a 42% increase in asthma risk and other respiratory illnesses so getting off gas cooking is important for health reasons. But in terms of overall demand the truth is that gas stoves only use about 2% of the gas in a typical Victorian household. Heaters use about 38 times more gas than cooking appliances and water heating uses about 11 times more.
Quotes attributable to Freja Leonard, No More Gas campaign coordinator for Friends of the Earth:
"If we are to really tackle gas use to avoid these winter shortfalls that we keep hearing about, we'll focus on switching space heating from gas to electric as the most urgent priority. In many cases this doesn't even need installation of a new heater – people can just use their existing split system air conditioner if they already have one in the home."
"People are waking up to the health impacts of cooking with gas and making their own decision to switch to induction which is quicker, cleaner and more efficient – despite the heavy marketing push by the gas industry lately to try to promote dirty, air polluting gas as 'clean'."
"Victorian gas use is entering a death spiral through people choosing electric appliances over gas, supported by the State Government subsidies offered under the Victorian Energy Upgrades and Solar Homes programs. From 2022 to 2023 Victoria's overall gas use dropped from around 200Pj to 175Pj. As more people abandon expensive, polluting gas we will quickly get to the point where we don't need the gas pipeline system anymore."
"The truth is that about three times more gas is leaked from the pipeline system into the open air every day than is used by all of the gas cooktops across Victoria combined. What we need is a plan to move the heavy gas using appliances to renewable electricity and shut down the gas mains system."
Key Facts:
Victoria has never pledged to ban gas cooktops although more people are choosing to switch to induction for health and efficiency reasons.
Three times more gas leaks from the pipeline system than is used in cooking statewide, and heating uses about 38 times more gas than the stoves and oven combined.
About us:
Friends of the Earth Melbourne is an environmental and social not for profit organisation with over 50 years' experience advocating for social and environmental justice for Victoria
