The municipality of Delft will ban fossil fuel advertising in public spaces. This includes advertisements for cruises, gas contracts, or airline tickets. Previously, The Hague and the municipality of Utrecht had already implemented a ban.
The Delft city council approved a motion on Thursday from GroenLinks, Volt, and PvdA, calling on the board to come up with a plan for the ban before the end of the year.
The motion was an initiative of GroenLinks. “The municipality sets goals for health and climate,” says Rinske Wessels on behalf of the party. “But in the meantime, you see advertisements everywhere on the street offering products and services that actually worsen our ill-health and climate problems.” With this motion, the board can “set limits” on that fossil advertising, Wessels states.
A ban on fossil fuel advertisements has also been in effect in The Hague since this year. That did not go without a struggle: TUI and travel industry association ANVR filed summary proceedings against the municipality because the decision would be contrary to freedom of expression and freedom of entrepreneurship. But the court did not agree. According to the court, the ban can make a positive contribution to the health of people and the environment.
In May, the council of Utrecht also voted for a similar ban. In that city, fossil fuel advertisements will be banned from 2026.
Citizens’ movement Reclame Fossielvrij welcomes the developments. Founder Femke Sleegers expects that more municipalities will follow “now that the court has made it clear that municipalities are fully entitled to ban climate-damaging advertisements.”