The UN chief has called for a ban on fossil fuel advertising – is the NZ industry listening?

By Matt Halliday, Auckland University of Technology

Can we imagine a world without fossil fuel advertising, let alone fossil fuels themselves? That was essentially the question posed by United Nations Secretary General António Guterres this week.

Calling the coal, oil and gas industries the “godfathers of climate chaos”, who had “shamelessly greenwashed” environmental issues through lobbying, legal action and advertising campaigns, he said:

I urge every country to ban advertising from fossil fuel companies.

When the head of the UN calls on your industry to take action to help prevent the catastrophic effects of climate change, it should be a wake-up call. The next question is, then, are the New Zealand advertising and public relations industries listening?

https://x.com/UN/status/1798391834734964793?t=SQt8Qvhedsm2eS0qgX_Q7w&s=19

A movement gaining momentum

In 2022, France became the first country to ban fossil fuel ads, although critics say the law doesn’t go far enough, with natural gas and sponsorship of events exempt. Medical professionals in Canada and Australia have also called for bans on fossil fuel advertising.

A private member’s bill in Canada’s parliament, aimed at curbing fossil fuel advertising, has passed its first reading. In Australia, a senate inquiry into greenwashing has heard allegations that Channel Ten blurred the line between news and natural gas advertising.

The inquiry is due to report back at the end of this month. Meanwhile, Australian independent and Green MPs have endorsed Guterres’ call for an ad ban.

Local governments have gone even further. Last week, the City of Edinburgh Council passed a ban on “high-carbon products and services”. Air travel, airports, SUVs, cruises and fossil fuel companies are specifically excluded from advertising on council-owned sites.

Amsterdam was the first city to enact similar laws in 2021, and several smaller cities and regions in the United Kingdom and Europe have done the same.

Closer to home, the Fossil Ad Ban campaign, run by Australian creative industries lobby group Comms Declare, has seen 16 local councils, including the City of Sydney, sign on to cut fossil fuel advertising in their regions.

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