The Hague becomes the first city in the world to sign a ban on fossil fuel advertising

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The Hague has become the first city in the world to introduce into law a ban on ads promoting fossil fuels, petrol cars, air travel and cruise ships, the latest in a wave of crackdowns by cities around the world.

The decision by the council in the Netherlands’ administrative center and center of international law is significant because, unlike other bans, it does not rely on negotiations to end individual advertising contracts and could be harder to overturn.

It will apply to public and private spaces, such as billboards and freestanding screens, and will come into effect early next year.

The legally binding motion, voted early Friday morning, sent an “important signal”, said Leonie Gerritsen, animal welfare adviser for the PvdD and the Green Party which proposed the ban. The Hague has set a target of becoming carbon neutral by 2030, compared to the national target of 2050.

“We’re really hoping to start a snowball effect so local governments can take over if their national governments don’t do what’s needed,” Gerritsen said.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres called for a global ban on tobacco-style advertising by oil, gas and coal companies, describing the companies as the “godfathers of climate chaos” in an impassioned speech in June.

The move could be more effective than efforts by other cities, including Edinburgh and Amsterdam, over the past two years to align their advertising rules with their wider climate change strategies, campaigners said.

In May, Edinburgh council banned the promotion of high-carbon products on council-owned premises such as billboards and bus stops in the Scottish capital.

It described goods such as sports cars and cruise holidays as “incompatible with net zero targets”, echoing similar bans by councils in England including Sheffield, Cambridgeshire and Liverpool.

In Australia, councils, including the City of Sydney, have voted for a series of restrictions on fossil fuel advertising and sponsorship.

Uwe Krüger, a communications expert at Leipzig University, said advertising in the fossil fuel sector increased the sale of high-emissions products by “awakening consumers’ perceived needs”.

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