Description
Who: Municipality of Leiden, the Netherlands
What: Motion that prepares a fossil ad ban through the ordinance
Which ads: Air travel, cruise travel, fossil fueled cars, hybrid cars, fossil gas, fossil electricity, gasoline,
When: 12 June 2025
Leiden also to ban fossil advertising via regulation
The Leiden city council just voted in favour of a plan by Party for the Animals and GroenLinks to ban fossil advertising through the ordinance.
Advertisements for air travel and cruise travel, among others, must disappear from Leiden's streetscape by 1 January 2026. Leiden's decision follows shortly after that of Utrecht, Delft and Nijmegen after the court gave the green light to municipalities to ban fossil advertising via ordinance. The motion by the Party for the Animals and GroenLinks calls on the city council to include a ban on fossil advertising in the Physical Environment Regulation. The motion was co-sponsored by SP and ChristenUnie and passed by a large majority.
No place for fossil advertisements
‘In a city where we have the best intentions for our residents and are doing everything we can to improve our living environment for the health of Leiden residents, there is no place for fossil advertisements,’ said Martine van Schaik of PvdD Leiden, who co-sponsored the motion with Emma van Bree of GroenLinks Leiden. "Advertisements for products that are harmful to your health like tobacco are already banned. But why does this not apply to products that are harmful to the environment?", Van Bree wonders.
Green light
Advertising Fossil-Free is happy that Leiden too wants to ban fossil advertising in the ordinance. ‘The ball is rolling heavily,’ says Femke Sleegers. "It shows that municipalities have really been waiting for the green light from the court. Logical, because it cannot be explained that in the middle of the climate crisis we still hang advertisements everywhere that further stoke the fire."
Summary proceedings
The Hague was the first city in the world to ban fossil advertising via the General Local Bye-Law (APV). Thereupon, the travel industry (TUI, ANVR, D-reizen and Prijsvrij) instituted summary proceedings. However, the court ruled in favour of the municipality of The Hague on all points: a municipality may place restrictions on advertisements if they harm public interests such as health and climate. The travel industry did not appeal the ruling.
2039
In 2021, Leiden was one of the first cities in the Netherlands to pass a motion banning fossil advertisements through contracts. However, the longest-running contract would not expire until 2039. With the new amendment, climate-damaging advertisements will disappear from the streets much faster and everywhere at the same time.
UN reiterates call: ban fossil advertising
Today, the Special Rapporteur on Climate Change for the United Nations published the report The imperative of defossilising our economies that calls on countries to ban fossil advertising.
What happened earlier
The Council of the Municipality of Leiden, meeting on 16 September 2021, adopted a motion put forward by the Dutch Green party (GroenLinks), Socialist party (SP) and Animal party (PvdD) and supported by ChristenUnie and D66. As no satisfactory outcome is presented yet, the process to ban fossil ads in Leiden is still ongoing.
Passed motion
Noting that
- Leiden has the ambition to be a climate-neutral city by 2050. Fossil advertisements, such as advertisements by oil companies and airlines, do not fit this ambition because they encourage more fossil fuel use;
- Advertisements for fossil products tempt and encourage Leiden residents to make purchases that contribute to climate change;
Whereas
- Answers to technical questions revealed that a municipality can exclude specific advertisements;
- Reducing advertisements for fossil products can contribute to the fight against climate change;
Requests the municipal executive committee to
- Engage in discussions with advertising operators about reducing advertising for fossil products in public spaces;
- Inform the council about this no later than 1 March 2022.
