Should Gas Stoves Be Banned In Oz?
It’s been a debate that has been raging for a while now in Australia – are gas stoves a health and even a safety risk that necessitates them to be eliminated from homes?
Several experts have weighed in on the debate. Associate Professor Donna Green, Chief Investigator of the Digital Grid Futures Institute, at UNSW Sydney, says people should be concerned by the pollution emitted by gas stoves. “We cook frequently on our stoves. That means you are getting a regular dose of air pollutants quite close to your face, and that’s not good.”
As Green explains, burning gas is largely burning methane, and toxic compounds are generated as a result. Burning methane creates heat, which can enable nitrogen and oxygen to form nitrogen dioxide – which can cause serious health issues including asthma. Other emissions when burning gas can include carbon monoxide, nitrous oxides and formaldehyde.
Research from the US suggested that one in eight (12.7 per cent) current childhood asthma cases can be attributed to gas stove emissions.
Australian researchers from the University of Queensland reported similar findings back in 2018. “We found that 12 per cent of childhood asthma is attributable to exposure to gas stoves used for cooking, and eight per cent is linked to household dampness,” lead researcher Dr Luke Knibbs said of the study which was published in the Medical Journal of Australia.
Some jurisdictions in Australia are taking action. Those such as ACT and Sydney’s Waverley Council are banning the installation of gas appliances in newly built homes.
Around 80 per cent of Victorian homes are currently connected to gas, making it the state with the highest use of residential gas in the country. However, from January 1 this year, new residential dwellings built in Victoria after January 1 will not be able to install gas connections, the government announced last year.
When announcing the changes in July last year, the state’s Energy and Resources Minister Lily D’Ambrosio said residential planning permits approved from the beginning of 2024 would only allow electrical connections, while all new public buildings that have not already reached the design stage will also become all-electric.
But could legislation go one step further and specifically target gas stoves? A new bill being proposed in California requires warning labels placed on all gas stoves starting next year, thereby alerting consumers to associated health risks.
If passed, AB 2513 would mandate these labels be placed on gas stoves starting at the beginning of 2025. Under the bill, it would be illegal to sell a gas stove that is manufactured or sold online on or after January 1, 2025, or sold in a store on or after January 1, 2026, “unless the gas stove bears an adhesive label attached in a conspicuous location.”
In January last year, a US federal body too said that a ban on gas stoves is on the table. The US Consumer Product Safety Commission plans to take action to address the pollution.
“There is about 50 years of health studies showing that gas stoves are bad for our health, and the strongest evidence is on children and children’s asthma,” said Brady Seals, a manager in the carbon-free buildings programme at the nonprofit clean energy group RMI, according to Bloomberg. “By having a gas connection, we are polluting the insides of our homes.”
As the UNSW research indicates, the main alternative to gas cooking is electrical stoves, which include induction stoves. Induction stoves generate heat electromagnetically.
While switching from gas to induction can be an expensive undertaking if new wiring is needed, it’s possible to switch to cooking with an easily available and much cheaper portable induction hob that can be plugged into a normal outlet.
AT JB Hi-Fi, a Breville Quick Cook Go Induction Cooker retails for A$127, while a Tefal Express Induction Hob at The Good Guys retails even cheaper at A$99.
“It’s exactly as people say, it’s very easy to get started,” says Green. “But it takes a mental shift to do something differently.”