Friends of the Earth Australia responded with profound disappointment to the news today that Channel 10’s Masterchef has accepted sponsorship to greenwash gas to an unsuspecting Australian public. The deal will force contestants to cook using a blend of hydrogen and biomethane if they intend to compete on Masterchef. Methane gas, a potent climate accelerant, is an industry facing its own demise due to concerns about its climate, human health and economic impact for Australians. Hydrogen is a highly volatile gas. The finest gas on Earth, it leaks easily from pipes and appliances and only has a third of the energy intensity of methane, making it a less efficient fuel source. When added to methane it doubles the leaks from the system – which already leaks up to 4% of the methane from the distribution network – and into our homes[1] . Biomethane is produced by capturing the methane released by decomposing organic materials, including forest products and sewerage. It’s an expensive process which will see already unaffordable gas bills skyrocket. While this might have applications for small scale niche industrial uses it is highly unlikely that Australia will ever be able to produce sufficient biomethane to fill the gas pipelines that carry methane to our homes. Recognising that public licence is waning for polluting methane, the Australian gas industry is reported by Comms Declare to have nearly doubled the number of marketing firms it engages[2] , and more than doubled the number of gas industry lobbyists in Parliaments between the years 2022-2023. Quotes attributable to No More Gas campaign coordinator Freja Leonard: “The gas industry is in a panic about the eroding social acceptability of fossil methane. You can’t turn on the television, listen to the radio or surf the internet without being bombarded with gas industry advertising lately. It’s disappointing that Masterchef has sided with this polluting industry to try and greenwash their public image.” “This is a real slap in the face to those households impacted by accelerating climate change, whether through record floods, catastrophic fire events or heatwaves at a level that Australia has never seen before. Asking them to cheer on contestants using a climate accelerant that’s over 80 times more polluting than carbon dioxide is richer than any dessert or sauce they’ll be making on the show.” “If Masterchef really wants to push the envelope and stay relevant with the latest technology, they’ll demonstrate how much more efficient induction cooktops and renewably powered electric appliances are in the kitchen – and how much cleaner they are to have in the home. Methane appliances add a chemical cocktail of airborne pollutants into the home, directly linked to a 12% increase in asthma risk.” “The gas industry is taking all of the money that they don’t pay in tax or significant royalties and throwing it at a panicked marketing blitz to try to win back customers. And they’re doing this so that households can keep paying through the nose for a fuel that is increasingly expensive and decreasingly necessary. It’s shameful that Channel 10 is prepared to promote gas at the expense of the climate, healthy households and better financial options.” “What AGIG and Masterchef are not telling the Australian public is that all of the appliances currently using gas will need to be upgraded at considerable expense to handle hydrogen, and that this gas blend will be shipped from the other side of the country to be burned in the Masterchef kitchens.” “At this point Channel 10 might as well just rename the program to Gasterchef.”
Friends of the Earth Australia responded with profound disappointment to the news today that Channel 10’s Masterchef has accepted sponsorship to greenwash gas to an unsuspecting Australian public. The deal will force contestants to cook using a blend of hydrogen and biomethane if they intend to compete on Masterchef.
Methane gas, a potent climate accelerant, is an industry facing its own demise due to concerns about its climate, human health and economic impact for Australians. Hydrogen is a highly volatile gas. The finest gas on Earth, it leaks easily from pipes and appliances and only has a third of the energy intensity of methane, making it a less efficient fuel source. When added to methane it doubles the leaks from the system – which already leaks up to 4% of the methane from the distribution network – and into our homes[1].
Biomethane is produced by capturing the methane released by decomposing organic materials, including forest products and sewerage. It’s an expensive process which will see already unaffordable gas bills skyrocket. While this might have applications for small scale niche industrial uses it is highly unlikely that Australia will ever be able to produce sufficient biomethane to fill the gas pipelines that carry methane to our homes.
Recognising that public licence is waning for polluting methane, the Australian gas industry is reported by Comms Declare to have nearly doubled the number of marketing firms it engages[2], and more than doubled the number of gas industry lobbyists in Parliaments between the years 2022-2023.
Quotes attributable to No More Gas campaign coordinator Freja Leonard:
“The gas industry is in a panic about the eroding social acceptability of fossil methane. You can’t turn on the television, listen to the radio or surf the internet without being bombarded with gas industry advertising lately. It’s disappointing that Masterchef has sided with this polluting industry to try and greenwash their public image.”
“This is a real slap in the face to those households impacted by accelerating climate change, whether through record floods, catastrophic fire events or heatwaves at a level that Australia has never seen before. Asking them to cheer on contestants using a climate accelerant that’s over 80 times more polluting than carbon dioxide is richer than any dessert or sauce they’ll be making on the show.”
“If Masterchef really wants to push the envelope and stay relevant with the latest technology, they’ll demonstrate how much more efficient induction cooktops and renewably powered electric appliances are in the kitchen – and how much cleaner they are to have in the home. Methane appliances add a chemical cocktail of airborne pollutants into the home, directly linked to a 12% increase in asthma risk.”
“The gas industry is taking all of the money that they don’t pay in tax or significant royalties and throwing it at a panicked marketing blitz to try to win back customers. And they’re doing this so that households can keep paying through the nose for a fuel that is increasingly expensive and decreasingly necessary. It’s shameful that Channel 10 is prepared to promote gas at the expense of the climate, healthy households and better financial options.”
“What AGIG and Masterchef are not telling the Australian public is that all of the appliances currently using gas will need to be upgraded at considerable expense to handle hydrogen, and that this gas blend will be shipped from the other side of the country to be burned in the Masterchef kitchens.”
“At this point Channel 10 might as well just rename the program to Gasterchef.”
