Stockholm in Sweden has done it. Several cities in the Netherlands have done it. Cities around the world are banning advertisements for fossil fuels. The argument is the same as why Norway banned advertisements for tobacco and alcohol; fossil fuels are damaging to our health. Norway was the first country to ban advertisements on smoking. But Norway is falling behind on banning advertisement for fossil fuels, even though fossil fuels are a major health risk.
Health threat around the world
According to the Norwegian Institute for Public Health, air pollution, including gases and dust, is a major contributor to disease in Norway. According to the United Nations (UN), 8.1 million people died of air pollution in 2021, making air pollution a bigger contributor to death than tobacco and poor diet.
The burning of fossil fuels contributes to air pollution and to exacerbating climate change. The World Health Organization argues that climate change is a fundamental threat to human health. Climate change is already causing hazards all over the world. Major wildfires in Canada, floods in Bangladesh and heat waves in Southern Europe this summer resulted in deaths and human suffering.
Driven by profit?
The tobacco advertisement ban was intended to limit consumption of a harmful product. Advertisement encourages consumption. There is no doubt that fossil fuels are harmful, but it seems like it could be more painful to limit the right for advertisement for such products. Oil and gas have contributed a lot to wealth in Norway. Last year petroleum activities gave 978 billion NOK in net government cash flow. This could be one of the reasons why Norway has been so slow in banning advertisements for fossil fuels.
The UN Secretary General, António Guterres, states that the fossil fuel industry has ‘shamelessly greenwashed’ its industry through advertising. As burning of oil, coal and gas strongly contribute to climate change, he urges countries to ban advertisements for fossil fuels. The industry shouldn’t be allowed to present themselves better than they are.
Stopping greenwashing
The EU is taking steps to ban greenwashing advertisements. This legislation will make it illegal to call a product sustainable, without evidence to back it up. Greenwashing will now get trickier for businesses.
Also, outside the EU oil companies are getting called upon for their greenwashed advertisements. The Norwegian oil company Equinor is, after changing its name from Statoil, calling itself ‘an energy company’. The company has an extensive plan for how they will reach net zero emission in 2050. Equinor gladly promotes the green projects they have, claiming they have a balanced energy mix with both renewable and fossil energy. Last year the UK’s advertising regulator banned Equinor’s repeatedly green claims. The oil company didn’t have the evidence to back it up, given the main revenues came from oil and gas. Equinor couldn’t continue with its greenwashed advertisements.
A clear ban for fossil fuels marketing would be more efficient. We need to consume less petroleum products, even though companies claim they’re becoming more sustainable. As with the tobacco industry, we should ban advertisements for a harmful business with shady methods.
Learned from the best
The tobacco industry already knew the health risks before it was widely known. For years they tried to hide this from the world, to keep pushing people to smoke. The petroleum industry learned from the tobacco industry. Oil companies knew before it was common knowledge that burning fossil fuels increases CO2 in the atmosphere. Even though they had the information, they tried to lobby to prevent regulation, confuse the science and deny the problem. They also learned a valuable lesson from the tobacco industry; to put the responsibility on the individual consumer instead of on the industry.
Possibilities for a fossil fuel ban in the EU?
The EU already has a ban on advertisements for tobacco. The Tobacco Advertising Directive (2003/33/EC) came in 2003, inspired by bans already made in countries like Norway. EU Member States such as Sweden and The Netherlands are already acting on their own to ban advertisement for fossil fuels, using local laws for their capitals. France, on the other hand, is implementing a national ban on fossil fuel advertisements.
It is lawful and common in EU law to regulate advertising, and it can be justified with public policy grounds. As a member of the European Economic Area, EU law does not prevent Norway from implementing a ban. But the legislation for advertisement for fossil fuels differs, both within Member States and between them. The European Citizen Initiative for a ban for fossil fuels did not get the required 1 million signatures to get the European Commission to propose a legislative act. A ban within the European Union would coordinate already existing bans amongst the Member States. More importantly, this would ensure that all of the countries in the European Economic Area had to implement such bans.
Norway behind in the race
Norway has a long tradition for regulating advertising, having banned advertisement for alcohol and weapons. The Norwegian Government proposed an advertisement ban for unhealthy foods towards young people and kids this summer, following instruction from the Parliament. There is legal ground to regulate advertisement for harmful products in Norway, you just need the will. However, even though Norway has been in the lead for regulating advertisement before, it seems that Norway does not want to regulate advertising for its profitable oil. Clearly Sweden has more willpower to regulate advertisements for fossil fuels. It is high time for Norway to step up, too!
