(GP):...I
will focus on the role of the companies that are advertising
products in terms of producing waste, pollution and environmental
harms, and ignoring human rights. Recent research published by
the Financial Times shows that Shell
one of the world’s top polluters, is estimated to have spent £220
million on advertising in 2023, much of that explicitly aimed at
younger people. I have to share a case study of one of my
favourite examples of this because its sheer uselessness and
inaccuracy has to be noted. A couple of years back, going through
the Eurostar terminal, I peered around a corner into an entirely
unused area of the terminal where there was an advert from Exxon
about plans for green energy from algae—something that Exxon has
subsequently got out of entirely. At the time, the company was
defending itself about this and its spokesperson said that the
company had spent more than $350 million trying to develop
biofuels from algae, which was more than double what it spent on
advertising—greenwashing, anybody?
...In this climate emergency, as we speak in the middle of the
COP 28 talks, we need to acknowledge that advertising is a push
factor for the generation of a massive amount of unnecessary
carbon emissions. The Green Party is calling for a ban on
high-carbon advertising—fossil fuels, flights and SUVs are major
examples, but it might also include fast fashion, meat and dairy
and the banks that are funding the likes of BP and Shell
I can feel your Lordships wincing at this point, but I would
point out that there is no right to advertise. We have a choice
to decide what our society looks like and what people are
bombarded with. We do not have to say, “It’s open slather and you
can do whatever you like”. An obvious area for this is cigarette
advertising, on which we have long had tight controls, but I also
note that Transport for London now restricts advertising on a
range of products including junk food and is close to banning
gambling promotion. France and Amsterdam are also looking at
working on banning high-carbon adverts. We can choose what the
future looks like...
