Fossil Fuel Ad Ban Talking Points

The document advocates for banning fossil fuel advertisements to prevent the industry from using greenwashing and disinformation to maintain its 'social license to operate'. It highlights existing partial bans in France and efforts in 10 countries, including Australia, Canada, Ireland, and South Africa, as well as over 50 cities. The text compares the fossil fuel industry to the tobacco industry, suggesting that similar regulatory tools are needed to protect public health and enable climate action. It also discusses the role of litigation, corporate campaigns like Clean Creatives, and the targeting of advertising finances to dismantle the industry's influence on public opinion.

• The fossil fuel industry uses advertising and public relations to normalize its operations and mislead the public, spending at least $1 billion on ads and another $2 billion through trade associations, which is 27 times more than climate-friendly groups.
• Efforts to ban or restrict fossil fuel advertising are already occurring in 10 countries—including Australia, Canada, Ireland, and South Africa—and more than 50 cities and municipalities. France has implemented a national partial ban specifically on gasoline advertisements.
• There is a strong parallel between the tobacco industry's past tactics and current fossil fuel greenwashing, leading health professionals and the World Health Organization to call for similar legally binding treaties and restrictions to protect public health.
• Climate-related litigation is increasing globally; between 2017 and 2022, the number of cases in the US grew to 1,522, while cases in non-US jurisdictions nearly tripled to 658.
• Corporate campaigns are targeting the 'social license' of the industry by pressuring creative agencies to stop working for fossil fuel clients; the Clean Creatives campaign has secured commitments from over 1,200 agencies across 64 countries and 2,300 individual creatives.
• Fossil fuel sponsorships in sports are extensive, with the New Weather Institute finding at least $5.6 billion in sponsorships across 205 different deals.

APA

Climate Action Against Disinformation (n.d.). Fossil Fuel Ad Ban Talking Points. https://caad.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Fossil-Fuel-Ad-Bans-protecting-the-public-from-corporate-climate-disinformation.pdf

Chicago

Climate Action Against Disinformation. Fossil Fuel Ad Ban Talking Points. n.d. https://caad.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Fossil-Fuel-Ad-Bans-protecting-the-public-from-corporate-climate-disinformation.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate Action Against Disinformation |title=Fossil Fuel Ad Ban Talking Points |url=https://caad.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Fossil-Fuel-Ad-Bans-protecting-the-public-from-corporate-climate-disinformation.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climateactionagainstdisinformationndfossil, author = {{Climate Action Against Disinformation}}, title = {{Fossil Fuel Ad Ban Talking Points}}, institution = {Climate Action Against Disinformation}, url = {https://caad.info/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Fossil-Fuel-Ad-Bans-protecting-the-public-from-corporate-climate-disinformation.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }