Skip to content

You are using an outdated browser

Internet Explorer is not supported by this site and Microsfot has stopped releasing updates, therefore you may encounter issues whilst visiting this site and we strongly recommend that you upgrade your browser for modern web functionality, a better user experience and improved security.

Upgrade my browser

Amsterdam to ban fossil fuel ads from the metro

4 min read

Sustainable Planet
Amsterdam to ban fossil fuel ads from the metro
Source: Unsplash

Amsterdam council is banning advertising for cheap flights and diesel cars from the city’s metro system as part of a wider scheme to discourage the use of fossil fuels.

Amsterdam bans fossil fuel ads from the metro

Advertisements for ‘fossil products’, such as air travel and cars that run on fossil fuels, will no longer be seen in the Amsterdam metro stations, GroenLinks alderman Marieke van Doorninck (Sustainability) announced on Radio 1, on Monday, 3 May 2021. Amsterdam is the first city in the world that wants to completely ban advertising from the fossil fuel industry and ads for air travel from its streets.

The agreement on advertising in the metro stations is the municipality's first step towards making advertising in Amsterdam fossil-free.
Fossil fuel advising meets its Waterloo in the Amsterdam metro The agreement on advertising in the metro stations is the municipality’s first step towards making advertising in Amsterdam fossil-free. Source: Unsplash/Aad Brinkman

First Important step

Never before has a city taken the decision to ban advertising purely on climate grounds. The agreement on advertising in the metro stations is the municipality’s first step towards making advertising in Amsterdam fossil-free. The capital is still investigating how to locally ban advertising and marketing (festivals) of fossil companies such as Shell and Exxon. 

“The need to combat climate change should also be seen in the streets,” said Alderman Marieke van Doorninck in the 7:45 am news on NPO Radio 1 . “Also in advertising. That is why we want to ban fossil advertising in Amsterdam. The metro stations are now taking the 1st step. We also enter into talks with other operators. But to arrange this properly, a national ban is needed.”

Advertisement Fossil-free, which strives for a national ban on advertising by the fossil industry and advertising for polluting transport, congratulates Amsterdam and calls it an important step. Coordinator Femke Sleegers: “The decision to ban fossil advertising from the metro comes at a crucial moment in the fight against climate disruption. We no longer have time to lose to achieve the Paris climate goals. There are no advertisements that keep fossil fuels normal and aggravate climate change.” 

Source: Verbiedfossielreclame.nl

The motion followed a letter in which Reclame Fossielvrij and 51 Amsterdam organisations called on the city to ban advertising that does not fit in with its sustainability policy.
The wish to ban fossil advertising is contained in a motion that the Amsterdam city council passed last December. The motion followed a letter in which Reclame Fossielvrij and 51 Amsterdam organisations called on the city to ban advertising that does not fit in with its sustainability policy. Source: Unsplash/Ehud Neuhaus

Part of a Global wave

Amsterdam’s decision to ban fossil advertising caused a wave of similar initiatives nationally and internationally. In answers to written questions, the colleges of The Hague , Utrecht and Nijmegen indicated that they were open to a ban on fossil advertising, although the latter two believe that such a ban should be regulated nationally. 

Motions have been filed abroad in Canada, the United Kingdom, Sweden and Finland. The New York City government takes a different approach and tries to enforce a court ban on misleading advertising from Shell, BP, Exxon and the American Petroleum Institute.

The wish to ban fossil advertising is contained in a motion that the Amsterdam city council passed last December. The motion followed a letter in which Reclame Fossielvrij and 51 Amsterdam organizations called on the city to ban advertising that does not fit in with its sustainability policy. 

Previously, after an action by Extinction Rebellion Amsterdam , the carrier GVB already decided to tighten its advertising policy in order to be able to ban greenwashing advertisements from buses, trams, metros and ferries. 

Source: Verbiedfossielreclame.nl

Could fossil fuel advertising go the same way as tobacco advertising? Should a law be implemented?
Down the tubes… Could fossil fuel advertising go the same way as tobacco advertising? Should a law be implemented? Source: Unsplash/Ehud Neuhaus

A Tobacco Act for the Fossil Industry?

Advertisement Fossil-free strives for a national ‘tobacco law’ for the fossil industry . In the fight against smoking, the advertising ban was an indispensable step for the tobacco industry. It changed social norms and removed temptation. The same approach is needed for the fossil industry, argues the campaign group.

Source: Verbiedfossielreclame.nl

Ads on billboards and bus shelters, but also large-scale events of the fossil fuel industry are a thing of the past.
The adopted motion asked the municipality to investigate how ads and marketing events of the fossil fuel industry and for air travel can be banned from the street scene. Ads on billboards and bus shelters, but also large-scale events of the fossil fuel industry are a thing of the past. Source: Unsplash/Artem Gavrysh
Make an Impact

SIGN THE PETION FOR A NATIONWIDE (NL) BAN ON FOSSIL FUEL ADVERTISING

Fossil advertising adds fuel to the fire we are trying to put out. That is an obstacle in the transition and exacerbates the climate crisis. That is why we argue for a law that bans fossil advertising. Exactly, just like for tobacco!