Fossil Fuel Advertising and Sponsorship Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Energy Security & Net Zero
Alice Macdonald
Main Page: Alice Macdonald (Labour (Co-op) - Norwich North)Department Debates - View all Alice Macdonald's debates with the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero
(1 day, 17 hours ago)
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Jacob Collier
My hon. Friend is right, and I will come on to some examples from around the world that could act as a marker for us.
At the time, the tobacco firms argued for nuance—they were exploring reduced-risk products, sponsoring arts initiatives, funding schools in developing countries—and yet we drew the line. Today, fossil fuel air pollution kills more people than smoking. It accounts for one in five deaths globally. The BMJ confirmed that in 2021. Yet fossil fuel adverts still run on our buses, on our television screens, in sports stadiums and increasingly on social media, where the targeting is opaque and the influence invisible. If tobacco’s harm justified a ban, how can we not at least ask the same of an industry whose products now threaten life on earth as we know it?
We are not alone. In France, a law passed in 2022 bans fossil fuel advertising, with exemptions only for low-carbon gas, and Amsterdam, The Hague and Sydney have introduced their own versions. The Hague’s policy was challenged in court, but the court ruled in favour of the city’s right to act in the public interest, affirming that the freedom of advertising does not override the responsibility to prevent harm.
Alice Macdonald (Norwich North) (Lab/Co-op)
Has my hon. Friend noted the call from the UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, for Governments to ban fossil fuel advertising to protect public health and address climate change? Does he feel that, alongside the examples that he cited, that is evidence of increasing momentum towards such a change?