Amsterdam is set to ban climate-damaging advertising in public spaces, following a trend spreading across Dutch cities.
The capital of the Netherlands will prohibit both fossil fuel and meat adverts under the new measure.
Amsterdam initially proposed the move in 2020, becoming the first city in the world to do so.
Since then, France has also enacted legislation outlawing adverts from non-renewable energy companies, and one Italian city has plans to do the same.
The Dutch cities leading the fight against climate-damaging advertising
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’s public transport network.
The measure will prohibit advertising for air travel, cruises and petrol-powered cars.
“The decision to ban fossil fuel advertising […] comes at a crucial moment in the fight against climate change,” Femke Sleegers, coordinator of Reclame Fossielvrij (Fossil Free Advertising) initiative, said when the ban was first proposed.
“Adverts that portray fossil fuels as normal worsen climate disruption and have no place in a city − or a country − that has complied with the Paris Agreement.”
The official start date of the regulation will be 1 May, despite pushback from some city authorities.
Deputy mayor Alderman Melanie van der Horst said that introducing the ban in May would be too soon. She called instead for a “reasonable transition period”.
Amsterdam follows several other Dutch cities that have enforced similar bans, including Utrecht, The Hague, Zwolle, Delft and Nijmegen.
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.
“Just as anti-smoking policies are ineffective when tobacco ads are everywhere, we can’t have effective climate policy while fossil fuel products are promoted on every street corner,” Sleegers said.
The Netherlands focuses on local action while France goes national
According to Dutch news site NLTimes, climate minister Sophie Hermans is opposed to a nationwide rule, preferring local action.
In contrast, France became the first European country to ban adverts for fossil fuels under a new climate law in 2022.
The legislation prohibits advertising for all energy products related to fossil fuels, such as petrol products, energy from the combustion of coal mining, and hydrogen-containing carbons.
Companies that go against the new law could face fines of between €20,000 and €100,000, with repeat offenders paying double the amount.
The latest move comes from Florence, where a motion passed in early February means it will soon become the first Italian city to ban fossil fuel advertising in public spaces, targeting ads for flights, cruises, fossil energy contracts and cars.