VICTORIA, B.C. - As world leaders gather at COP28 to strategize about reducing emissions to stave off the worst impacts of climate change, the B.C. Green Caucus is calling on the BC NDP to ban fossil fuel advertising here in British Columbia.
Every year a staggering 8.7 million people die from air pollution caused by burning fossil fuels. The climate crisis, and its impact on human health, will continue to worsen unless we take immediate action. One necessary step is to ban fossil fuel advertising. Just as tobacco advertising was banned because of its impacts to human health, it’s time to ban fossil fuel advertising.
The B.C. Green Caucus is proud to add their voice to a growing call to ban fossil fuel advertising, of which the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) has taken a leadership role.
“Fossil fuel ads are everywhere in British Columbia - on public transit, the front page of the newspaper, all over social media,” said Sonia Furstenau, Leader of the B.C. Greens and MLA for Cowichan Valley. “The Premier and the Minister of Energy and Mines’ photos are in these advertisements, contributing to a spread of misleading and inaccurate information. How can the BC NDP justify being the face of LNG in the midst of a climate crisis?”
Fossil fuels are by far the largest contributor to climate change. British Columbians are already experiencing the devastating impacts of global warming - from more frequent and intense wildfires, to flooding, droughts and heat waves. These climate events severely impact our physical health and safety and our mental health. Many parents have to keep their children inside as wildfire smoke fills the skies each summer.
“The International Energy Agency repeatedly warns that we need to reduce emissions to limit global warming. Allowing misleading fossil fuel ads contradicts our climate goals and misguides the public,” continued Furstenau.
France and Amsterdam have effectively banned fossil fuel ads, showing that similar actions are possible in B.C. These bans, along with efforts to curb greenwashing in other places, play a key role in educating the public and ensuring political accountability in climate action.
The way fossil fuels are marketed can heavily influence people's decisions and behaviors, potentially steering them away from necessary changes towards more sustainable practices. Fossil fuel advertising increases demand for the products that exacerbate the climate crisis and negatively impact our health.
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Media contact
JoJo Beattie
Press Secretary
B.C. Green Caucus
+1 250-882-6187 | [email protected]