Climate communications charity Comms Declare has made a complaint to the advertising regulator about Adelaide Metro buses showing the message ‘Natural Gas – Clean and Green’.
The ad appears on roofs of Adelaide Metro Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) buses and alleges that the fuel has no adverse environmental or health impact.
Belinda Noble, founder of Comms Declare said, “The claim that natural gas is “clean and green” is false, misleading and not substantiated. Adelaide Metro should remove these signs in order to stop misleading the public about methane gas, which is warming the atmosphere and creates toxic pollution at all stages of its production and use.”
Read the complaint to Ad Standards
CNG Bus
Comms Declare argues the ad is aimed at prospective passengers to make them feel positive towards Adelaide Metro and its environmental credentials. This could make potential passengers choose to buy tickets on CNG buses rather than take a more environmentally friendly transport option such as bikes or walking.
Noble added that the signs should be urgently removed if Adelaide hosts the United Nations Conference of the Parties (COP) talks in November 2026.
“Hosting the ‘Climate Olympics’ is a great honour and opportunity to showcase our renewable energy businesses to the world. It would be a shame if the government undermined our image by pretending that methane gas is a climate solution.”
Earlier this year Ad Standards ordered that Australian Gas Networks remove a LinkedIn ad for claims about ‘renewable gas’ and Gina Rinehart’s Hancock prospecting was found to be misleading the public with a ‘clean gas’ claim.