Stockholm aims for a fossil ad ban

Blog first published on Badvertising Sweden

The city of Stockholm today announced that it aims to introduce a ban on fossil ads, sponsorships and other collaborations that drive the use of fossil fuels. Before implementation, the architecture of such a ban will be investigated during 2023. 

New Weather Sweden and Greenpeace have been campaigning for this for more than a year.  In October 2021 we published a joint op-ed in Aftonbladet where we demanded Stockholm to take action for a fossil ad ban in the run-up to the Sthlm+50 conference. At that time there was a right wing majority in the city hall, that also included the green party. 

Since the election in September 2022 the situation has changed, and there is now a majority of green and red parties (The Social Democrats, the Left Party and the Green Party), which all have taken stand to support the idea of a fossil ad ban in Stockholm. Now these promises have become a concrete proposal in the city’s budget for 2023. 

“The municipal executive board will, together with Stockholms Stadshus AB, investigate, with the aim to introduce, a ban on advertising, sponsorship and other collaborations that drive fossil fuel use.” (our translation)

Stockholms Stadshus AB consists of all the companies owned by the municipality, such as real estate, parking spaces, ports, schools, utilities, sporting facilities etc.

The wording includes sponsorships, which is very good. At the press conference Åsa Lindhagen, representing the Green Party, also proclaimed that there will be no more negotiations nor collaborations with organisations that intend to increase air travel, instead Stockholm will be declared as a destination for train travel. 

While the formal decision is to carry out an investigation, the decision clearly states that the aim is to introduce such a ban. Now we need to make sure that the investigation is executed in an unbiased way and that the recommendations are clear and rigorous.

There is now a great chance that Stockholm will be the first city in Sweden to introduce a fossil ad ban. The city councils in Lund and Örebro are both about to process motions with proposals for a fossil ad ban, and we now urge them to take a clear stand as the city of Stockholm. They still have the chance to be the first. 

The decision in Stockholm is a great step forward, and a light in the tunnel in a situation where the Swedish right wing government is dismantling the national environmental politics.