Advertising and climate groups from all continents have joined together to demand that restrictions on fossil fuel advertising must be included in fossil fuel phase-out plans being drawn up at the First Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels at Santa Marta, Colombia.
Fifty nations, including Australia, are attending the conference, which ends on the 29th of April.
More than 60 jurisdictions around the world, including France, Sydney, The Hague and Edinburgh, have enacted laws or policies to stop the promotion of fossil fuels and fossil fuel products.
Phasing out drivers of demand for fossil fuels is one of the goals of Santa Marta. Advertising restrictions are a proven method of reducing consumer demand, as demonstrated by bans on tobacco and junk food. Additionally, fossil fuel advertising is a tool for maintaining the industry’s social license to operate, shaping public opinion, and delaying policy action. Restrictions on fossil fuel advertising remove a key mechanism of political and cultural influence.
Leah Temper, Director of Health and Economic Policy, Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment, said “A viable fossil fuel phase-out plan has to address demand as well as supply. Advertising exists to sustain and grow demand. And it works. A roadmap without an advertising ban is like trying to empty the bath while leaving the tap running – it allows the industry causing the harm to keep driving consumption while actively undermining the public and political will needed to accelerate transition.”
“Meanwhile the health cost compounds. Today, fossil fuel air pollution kills more people than smoking. We banned tobacco advertising because we accepted that promoting a product that kills people is indefensible, and it worked. Ad restrictions are considered a tobacco control best buy to protect health – proven, low cost and effective.”
“The case is even more overwhelming for fossil fuels, whose products pose an existential threat to life on this planet. An ad ban belongs at the heart of the Santa Marta roadmap and we are calling on every country here to commit to implementing one,” Temper added.
Femke Sleegers, Founder Reclame Fossielvrij said, “A ban on fossil fuel advertising and sponsorship is essential to the Santa Marta agenda. Phasing out fossil fuels without such a ban is like having a tobacco policy while the Marlboro Man is still everywhere. Banning ads for air travel holidays, cruises, and energy-intensive cars will reduce the influence of and demand for fossil fuels. It will also help change social norms and increase support for more far-reaching policies to phase out fossil fuels.”
Belinda Noble, Founder of climate communications charity, Comms Declare said; Stopping fossil fuel advertising is a fast, easy and cheap method to slow down demand for fossil fuels. It’s the obvious first step to give cultural support to economic and technological phase-out measures.”
Shweta Narayan, Campaign Lead, Global Climate and Health Alliance said, “Fossil fuel advertising is not merely marketing; it is a powerful tool that sustains the industry’s social license despite overwhelming evidence of harm. Throughout their lifecycle, fossil fuels function as health-harming products, generating air pollution, toxic exposures, and climate impacts that affect nearly every organ in the body and contribute to millions of premature deaths each year. Still, advertising and public relations actively promote, play down, and twist these harms, replacing them with stories of progress and transition that are not true.
“It is encouraging to observe that, for the first time, conflicts of interest are being taken seriously at the Santa Marta conference. This represents a critical step forward. If we are committed to protecting public health and advancing a just transition, we must address not only the harms caused by fossil fuels themselves but also the influence of mechanisms such as advertising that legitimize these harms.”
Samantha Costa, Communication Officer at Clima de Política said, “Banning fossil fuel advertising reinforces that a truly just transition goes beyond the energy sector, it requires a broader cultural and paradigm shift, where it is no longer acceptable to normalize the promotion of industries that harm public health, cause an increasing number of deaths and affect the Earth’s conditions to sustain life. Over 75% of Brazilians support investment in renewable energy, and 94% of them have already experienced the impacts of climate change in their daily lives.”
Noxolo Mfocwa, Fossil Ad Ban Advocacy Campaigner, Fossil Free South Africa said, “Fossil fuel advertising doesn’t just sell products — it sells a false idea of development. This greenwashing actively drives climate obstruction by delaying real solutions, while also undermining free, prior and informed consent by denying communities honest, transparent information. If we are serious about a just transition, we must end the narratives that mislead our people and protect an industry that harms our land, our rights, and our future.”
Signed and supported by the following organizations:
- Comms Declare
- Global Climate Health Alliance
- Reclame Fossielvrij (Fossil Free Advertising)
- Creatives for Climate
- Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment
- Magamba Network
- ACT Climate Labs
- Badvertising
- Adfree Cities
- Clean Creatives
- Culture Unstained
- Clima de Política
- Fossil Free South Africa