‘Get your dirty hands off our kids’: fossil fuel industry’s presence in schools and sports clubs sparks concern

‘Children should go to school to get evidence-based education, not to be brainwashed by fossil fuel corporations’: Greens resources spokesperson Steph Hodgins-May. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP View image in fullscreen ‘Children should go to school to get evidence-based education, not to be brainwashed by fossil fuel corporations’: Greens resources spokesperson Steph Hodgins-May. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP ‘Get your dirty hands off our kids’: fossil fuel industry’s presence in schools and sports clubs sparks concern Greens and David Pocock accuse industry of using programs and sponsorships to ‘build social licence’, push for parliamentary inquiry Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email , free app or daily news podcast The Greens and David Pocock have backed calls for a parliamentary inquiry into the alleged “petro-grooming” of children after an investigation exposed the extent of the fossil fuel sector’s presence in schools, sports clubs and other educational institutions. The resources minister, Madeleine King, has defended industry sponsorships of grassroots and elite sports and said it was fortunate so many companies were prepared to support clubs. A new report from climate advocacy group Comms Declare identified at least 260 industry-backed programs or sponsorships that were reaching children and teenagers from early childhood centres and schools to sporting clubs, museums and career pathway programs. Queensland Museum accused of misleading teachers and children about the cause of climate change Read more Examples included an education program at the Queensland Museum, sponsored by Shell and its subsidiary Queensland Gas Company, that produced learning materials for young students and free professional development courses for teachers. A school’s Stem program sponsored by a major fossil fuel company encouraged pupils aged eight and nine to build models of offshore drilling activities using bread, Vegemite and sprinkles. Often, the report said, educational materials backed by fossil fuel sponsorship would accentuate the supposed personal steps people could take to reduce emissions, while underplaying the role of major corporations in producing and selling fossil fuels. The report also includes sports sponsorship programs and community development grants where, in one instance, applicants were asked how they would promote the company that was giving them money. View image in fullscreen Senator David Pocock. Photograph: Hilary Wardhaugh/Getty Images Comms Declare is using the findings to push for a Senate inquiry to examine the “scale, nature and impact of fossil fuel engagement” with children and to renew calls for a national ban on advertising and sponsorships from coal, oil and gas companies. “The coal oil and gas companies are profiteering [and] polluting, while simultaneously petro-grooming our kids,” the organisation’s founder, Belinda Noble, told a press conference at parliament house on Monday to