Description
Sustainable Citizens invites 22 Ligurian Municipalities to adhere to the proposal of the Secretary of the United Nations on advertising fossil fuels
Update: Genoa becomes first Italian city to file motion to ban fossil ads!
The association Cittadini Sostenibili presents a proposal to 22 Ligurian municipalities: the adoption of restrictions or bans on advertisements relating to fossil fuels, in the wake of the invitation launched by the Secretary of the United Nations Antonio Guterres last June on the occasion of World Environment Day.
As recently documented by LifeGate, over 30 cities around the world, from Sydney to Edinburgh, have already taken this path, sending a clear and determined signal in the fight against climate change.
The restrictions, in the cities that have already adopted it, concern billboards for SUVs, airplanes, cruises, cars with combustion engines and fossil fuels such as gas and methane, placed in public places such as bus stops, train stations, metro stops and parks .
The issue is very current: in September 2024, the Dutch city of The Hague will be the first city in the world to extend restrictions on advertising to all advertising spaces in the city, including private ones.
“Today it is completely normal that billboards at bus stops no longer promote tobacco products, and that cigarette packets carry warnings such as 'seriously harmful to health' ,” says Andrea Sbarbaro, president of Cittadini Sostenibili. “Science is unanimous in confirming that the use of fossil fuels is one of the main causes of climate change. Thirty cities have already decided for this reason not to give space to products and services that can worsen the health of our planet. We are not asking the Ligurian municipalities to invent anything, only to echo an initiative that is already consolidated and that is running quickly from city to city.”
The initiative has been presented to 22 Ligurian municipalities at the moment: Genoa Imperia, La Spezia, Savona, Alassio, Albenga, Arenzano, Bogliasco, Cairo Montenotte, Celle Ligure, Chiavari, Finale Ligure, Lavagna, Loano, Rapallo, Sestri Levante, Sanremo, Sarzana, Santa Margherita Ligure, Taggia, Vado Ligure, Varazze. Where possible, the proposal has been officially filed using civic participation tools expressly provided for in the Statutes of each Municipality, which provide for the methods of taking on board the proposals of associations and citizens and establish the maximum response times by the Municipality, usually between 30 and 60 days. In the coming weeks, the invitation work will continue in the other cities. The hope is that Mayors and Councilors of Municipalities that have been able to experience first-hand risks related to fossil fuels, such as the current debate on the regasification plant or the recent impacts of the former coal-fired power plants in Vado Ligure, Genoa and La Spezia, can prove sensitive and open to the issue.
In 2021, a coalition of associations and non-profit organizations launched a signature collection at European level, gathering over 350,000 citizen signatories and dozens of adhering associations, in asking for a ban on advertising related to fossil fuels. Today the ball is in the Municipalities' court: join the 30 cities around the world that have already taken similar initiatives!
Liguria is one of the regions most affected by the effects of climate change. The “Spiagge 2024 Report” just presented by Legambiente shows that the Liguria Region has a negative record, ranking first among the northern regions for the number of extreme weather events. And as National Geographic wrote just a few days ago, “the relationship between extreme weather events and climate change has never been so clear.” In 2019, the Liguria Region has already adhered to a declaration of climate emergency, but today it is necessary to act concretely and go beyond simple declarations. Municipalities can certainly play an important role, and the proposed initiative can have a significant impact on people's perception.