World heritage-listed Blue Mountains Council votes for fossil ad ban

Who: Blue Mountains City Council, Australia

What: Passed a motion for ban on fossil advertising and sponsorship on community land

When: September 2023

On September 2023, Australian Blue Mountains city council voted for a motion that stated, ‘… Council recognises that the marketing of high emissions products, such as petroleum and gas through sponsorships or advertising increases demand and delays behaviour changes in the community that are required to reduce emissions’

Councillors requested that the CEO:

1. Decline all future events where the primary objective is to promote fossil fuel use;
2. Update the Policy statement in the Community Buildings Policy to prohibit advertisements for fossil fuels on community buildings, during its next review cycle;
3. Include a statement in the Community Facility Strategic Action Plan to ban fossil fuel advertising; and
4. Review other policies and strategies when they are being renewed or updated to remove support for companies whose main business is the extraction, production or sale of coal, petroleum and gas.

Read the full motion here.

As of September 2023, fifteen Australian councils have now voted for a Fossil Ad Ban. Read more.