Why gas stoves matter to the climate – and the gas industry: Keeping them means homes will use gas for heating too

Gas stoves are a leading source of dangerous indoor air pollution, but they emit only a tiny fraction of the greenhouse gases that are warming the climate. Why, then, have they taken on such a heated role in climate policy?

That debate reignited on Jan. 9, 2023, when Richard Trumka Jr., a member of the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, told Bloomberg News that the agency plans to consider regulating gas stoves over concerns about their health effects draw. “Products that cannot be made safe can be banned,” he noted.

Politicians reacted with overheated outrage, equating gas stove ownership with the right to own guns and freedom of religion. CPSC Chairman Alexander Hoehn-Saric tried to calm the uproar by declaring that he “is not seeking a gas stove ban” and that his agency “has no procedure for doing so.” The Biden government does not support a ban either, a White House spokesman said.

Despite this, Republicans in Congress stormed the barricades, introducing bills with titles like the Guard America’s Stoves (GAS) Act and the Stop Trying to Obsessively Vilify Energy (STOVE) Act.

Don’t tread on Florida and don’t play with gas stoves! pic.twitter.com/FNETzpuANe

— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) January 12, 2023

This skirmish may seem like a storm in a teapot, but it reveals important contours of the battlefield on which climate policy is being waged. As I explain in my book, Confronting Climate Gridlock: How Diplomacy, Technology, and Policy Can Unlock a Clean Energy Future, gas stoves are important to the climate and the gas industry because they serve as gateway devices to nature’s dominant residential uses Gas: heating and hot water.

Serious health effects

Direct effects from gas stoves are a much more pressing problem for human health than for the Earth’s climate. Gas stoves are a leading indoor source of nitrogen dioxide, or NO₂, which can cause or worsen respiratory diseases in people exposed to it.

For example, scientific studies show that living in a household with a gas stove increases children’s risk of asthma by almost a third and contributes to lung disease in adults.

The climate doesn’t care what fuel we cook with. Gas stoves account for just 0.1% of US greenhouse gas emissions, even accounting for recent evidence of larger-than-expected methane leaks in homes. They also do not account for a large proportion of fuel sales, burning only 3% of natural gas used in homes.


Some experts say the health risks from gas stoves could be comparable to living with a smoker.

hinder the electrification of the house

The importance of gas stoves for the climate becomes clearer in the context of the Biden administration’s goal of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in the United States by 2050. This goal can only be achieved by reducing the use of fossil fuels throughout the economy, including households.

Installing more efficient stoves, better insulation and smart thermostats are helpful first steps, but getting close to zero will require switching to electricity for space heating and hot water. In the US, 46% of homes use natural gas as their primary heat source, 40% use electricity, 10% use other fuels such as heating oil or propane, and 4% have unheated heating. When it comes to water heating, the proportions are 47% gas, 47% electricity and 6% other fuels.

Today, electric and gas heaters have similar carbon footprints because about 60% of US electricity is generated from fossil fuels and many homes use inefficient electric resistance heaters. But the emission intensity of electricity is falling rapidly as coal-fired power plants close and solar and wind power expand.

President Joe Biden has set a goal of generating 100% clean electricity nationally by 2035. Although current federal policy falls short of this goal, a growing number of states have committed to 100% clean electricity by 2050 or sooner.

Natural gas is far more difficult to decarbonize than electricity. Lower-carbon fuels like biogas and hydrogen, which could be blended with natural gas, are likely to remain scarce and expensive.

In addition, advanced technologies allow electric heat pumps to heat both air and water much more efficiently than traditional electric or gas furnaces and water heaters. For this reason, various energy decarbonization scenarios all envisage a major switch to electric heat pumps. This transition is already well under way in Europe and is starting in the US

Replacing existing gas furnaces and water heaters with electric heat pumps can be costly and complicated, although anti-inflation law incentives can help. But when new homes are built all-electric from the start, they avoid the cost of installing natural gas connections and emit far less air pollution and fewer greenhouse gases throughout the life of the home.

Graphic shows home with features such as solar power, heat pumps, and quality insulation.

This schematic shows key components of a net-zero home that uses renewable energy to generate as much electricity as it uses. Efficiency Vermont, CC BY-ND

New York City and more than 50 California cities and counties have already banned gas connections in new buildings. Elsewhere, 20 states have banned the enactment of natural gas bans.

Gas stoves are a major reason for this.

The power of a slogan

“Most people don’t care how their water is heated or how their heating works, but the Viking stove in the kitchen, people have this visceral emotional connection,” Michael Colvin of the Environmental Defense Fund told me in an interview for my book. “Facing the climate crisis.”

This emotional bond makes stoves a focal point in battles over climate policy.

“Cooking is the hill the gas industry wants to fight on,” Climate Imperative’s Bruce Nilles told me in a 2020 interview that foreshadowed the current skirmish. “They’re going to say, ‘Do you want the government to take away your gas stove that makes you a great cook?'”

The American Gas Association has been promoting the idea that gas stoves are good cooks since the 1930’s with the slogan “Now you cook with gas”. An AGA executive implanted the phrase in writers at comedian Bob Hope. It was soon picked up by comedian Jack Benny and even Daffy Duck. The phrase has also appeared in social media endorsements and hashtags over time.

Gas burners offer more control than many electric coil ovens, especially older models that can heat up and cool down slowly. Today, however, many chefs, consumers and experts say gas is no longer the obvious choice. Magnetic induction cooktops, which cook using electricity to create a magnetic field, heat faster, regulate temperatures more precisely, and use less energy than other cookers.

“There’s this big misconception that electric stoves don’t cook as well as gas stoves,” said Shanika Whitehurst, a member of Consumer Reports’ research and testing team, in a recent article. “But technology has improved to the point where electric, and especially induction, stovetops and cooktops cook just as well, if not better than gas.” Consumer Reports ranks induction and some traditional electric stovetops among its top-rated models.

Homes built today will last well beyond Biden’s 2050 net-zero goal. And the longer the gas-is-better myth persists, the more difficult it will be to fully electrify new homes from the start. In my opinion, our health, our climate and our wallets will pay the price if “cooking with gas” keeps us connecting new houses to natural gas grids for decades to come.The conversation

This article was republished by The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article.

Teaser image credit: By Billjones94 – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=119250534

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