Climate-friendly gas claims challenged in landmark ACCC greenwash case
As oil and gas companies talk up their initiatives to shift to less-polluting fuels of the future, the national consumer watchdog wants to draw a line in the sand limiting how far those claims can go.
On Thursday the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) launched a landmark lawsuit alleging millions of Australians were misled by a series of advertisements suggesting the gas that flows into household heaters and stovetops could be 'renewable' within a generation.
Gas distribution company Australian Gas Networks ran an advertising campaign called 'Love Gas' in 2022 and 2023, featuring a father and his young daughter using gas-powered appliances for cooking, heating and bathing.
The advertisement then fast-forwards in time to show the daughter, now an adult, engaging in the same activities.
'Some things will never change, but the flame we use will,' said the voiceover in the ad. 'It's becoming renewable.'
As the gradual switch to all-electric homes threatens to leave billions of dollars of gas pipeline infrastructure as stranded assets, the promise of cleaner fuels – such as gases made from organic waste or hydrogen – being blended with and one day replacing polluting methane gas used in homes and businesses has become one of the industry's main survival plans.
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But renewable gases are not yet commonly used nor available to residential gas customers. The ACCC alleges Australian Gas Networks' advertising overstated the likelihood it could overcome 'significant technological and economic barriers' within the time frame it suggested.
'It is not currently possible to distribute renewable gas at scale and at an economically viable price, and throughout 2022 and 2023 it was highly uncertain whether, and if so, when, this would be possible,' ACCC chair Gina Cass-Gottlieb said.
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