Amsterdam is set to ban climate-damaging advertising in public spaces, following a trend spreading across Dutch cities. <\/p>\n
The capital of the Netherlands will prohibit both fossil fuel and meat adverts under the new measure. <\/p>\n
Amsterdam initially proposed the move in 2020, becoming the first city in the world to do so. <\/p>\n
Since then, France has also enacted legislation outlawing adverts from non-renewable energy companies, and one Italian city has plans to do the same. <\/p>\n
The Dutch cities leading the fight against climate-damaging advertising<\/p>\n
On 22 January, Amsterdam city council approved a bid by green political party GroenLinks and animal welfare party Partij voor de Dieren to ban fossil fuel and meat adverts in public spaces and on the city\u2019s public transport network. <\/p>\n
The measure will prohibit advertising<\/a> for air travel, cruises and petrol-powered cars.<\/p>\n \u201cThe decision to ban fossil fuel advertising […] comes at a crucial moment in the fight against climate change,\u201d Femke Sleegers, coordinator of Reclame Fossielvrij (Fossil Free Advertising) initiative, said when the ban was first proposed<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cAdverts that portray fossil fuels as normal worsen climate disruption and have no place in a city \u2212 or a country \u2212 that has complied with the Paris Agreement.\u201d<\/p>\n The official start date of the regulation will be 1 May, despite pushback from some city authorities.<\/p>\n Deputy mayor Alderman Melanie van der Horst said that introducing the ban in May would be too soon. She called instead for a \u201creasonable transition period\u201d. <\/p>\n Amsterdam follows several other Dutch cities that have enforced similar bans, including Utrecht, The Hague<\/a>, Zwolle, Delft and Nijmegen. <\/p>\n Groups behind the campaigns for the rulings have argued that fossil fuel adverts should be regulated in a similar way to those for tobacco and alcohol.<\/p>\n \u201cJust as anti-smoking policies<\/a> are ineffective when tobacco ads are everywhere, we can\u2019t have effective climate policy while fossil fuel products are promoted on every street corner,\u201d Sleegers said. <\/p>\n The Netherlands focuses on local action while France goes national<\/p>\n According to Dutch news site NLTimes, climate minister Sophie Hermans is opposed to a nationwide rule, preferring local action.<\/p>\n In contrast, France<\/a> became the first European country to ban adverts for fossil fuels under a new climate law in 2022.<\/p>\n