Description
Who: Municipality of Nijmegen, 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, fish, animal products from big agro
When: 28 May 2025
Nijmegen also wants to ban fossil advertising via ordinance
The Nijmegen City Council just passed a motion to prepare an amendment to the General Local Bye-Law (APV) to ban fossil advertising. (source: verbiedfossielereclame.nl)
Nijmegen's decision follows shortly after those of Utrecht and Delft. The motion for fossil advertising is an interim step toward an APV amendment later this fall. The city council also passed a motion to investigate whether advertising for meat, dairy and eggs from non-organic livestock farming and for fish can also be banned through the APV.
“In Nijmegen we want to tackle climate change, climate-damaging advertising absolutely does not belong to that,” said Eline Lauret (PvdD) and Diede Beumer (GroenLinks) who submitted both motions together with the CDA. “We are pleased that these advertisements will soon no longer be visible in our city.”
Advertising Fossil Free is pleased that Nijmegen too wants to ban fossil advertising in the ordinance. “According to scientists, a ban on fossil advertising can increase support for other climate policies,” says Femke Sleegers of Fossil Free Advertising. “Very nice that one after another fossil advertisements will now really be banned from the streetscape.”
Nijmegen is following the example of The Hague, Utrecht and Delft. The Hague was the first city in the world to ban advertising through its General Local Bye-Law (APV). The travel industry then initiated summary proceedings. However, the court found for the municipality of The Hague on all points: a municipality may place restrictions on advertising if it damages public interests such as health and climate. Subsequently, Utrecht and Delft adopted motions to ban fossil advertising through the APV.
In 2022, Nijmegen passed a motion banning fossil advertisements and advertisements of animal products from the bio-industry through concessions. With the APV amendments, climate-damaging advertisements will disappear from the streetscape faster and everywhere at the same time.
Motion passed 2022
What: Motion passed stating
- A fossil ad ban and a ban on ads for industrial agriculture products for new contracts.
- The municipality should talk with advertising agencies about banning these ads in the mean time.
When: November 2022
The motion was initiated by the Green party (GroenLinks), the Labour party (PvdA), the Animal party (PvdD), the Christian-democratic party (CDA) and the Socialist party (SP). It requests the college to:
- In contract renewals and future new contracts for advertising in public spaces, to make it a condition that no advertising of fossil products and services and products from industrial agriculture be displayed which in any case include:
air travel, cruise ship holidays, fossil fuels, vehicles with fossil fuel engines, meat products and products from the intensive livestock industry; - Engage as soon as possible with all advertising operators who have a current agreement with the municipality of Nijmegen, as well as with the applicants for licence-required outdoor advertising (advertising on buildings), and on a voluntary basis reach agreements on the rapid reduction of advertising for fossil products and products from industrial agriculture in public spaces, if necessary with an update of existing agreements;
- If necessary, investigate and bring to the Council's attention what it means financially to encourage advertising operators to update the aforementioned ongoing contracts along the lines mentioned above.
Read the full motion here (in Dutch).
