The Hague to ban fossil fuel ads

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AFP) — The Dutch city of The Hague has become the first in the world to pass local laws banning advertisements for fossil fuels, gas-fueled cars and long-distance air travel, officials said Friday.

The administrative city of over 500,000 residents late Thursday adopted groundbreaking local legislation to outlaw ads including for cheap last-minute holidays and cut-price electricity contracts.

The law comes into effect on Jan. 1.

“The City Council of The Hague adopted two proposals to ban fossil advertising in outdoor spaces,” council spokesman Jordy Kruse said.

The first proposal will inform advertising agencies that fossil fuel advertising is not permitted, while the second completely banned all fossil fuel advertising in public spaces, Kruse told AFP.

“We believe that adopting binding laws to ban fossil-fuel advertising through local legislation is a world-first,” Leonie Gerritsen, a Hague council member for the Party for Animals.

“We hope that this law will also give a signal to other cities to do the same to fight climate change,” Gerritsen, one of the main drivers of the legislation, told AFP.

Other cities in the world have moved against fossil fuel ads but The Hague is the first to enact binding legislation.

In June, U.N. chief Antonio Guterres urged every country to enact bans on ads for fossil fuel companies, which he called “the godfathers of climate chaos.”

Oil, gas and coal are the biggest contributors to climate change, accounting for the bulk of greenhouse gas emissions.

In 2022, the Dutch city of Haarlem, near Amsterdam, agreed to outlaw ads for intensively farmed meat on public places like buses, shelters and screens.

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By Agence France-Presse