Ban in the European Union the advertising of anything that uses coal, gasoline, kerosene and diesel fuel. That’s the goal of the European Citizens Initiative, announced Monday by environmentalists. “Greenpeace and 20 other environmental organizations accuse the energy, auto and civil aviation industries of trying to hide their harmful effects on the climate by buying airtime to improve their image. A Greenpeace spokesman said its experts analyzed more than 3,000 television spots with such content in 2019:
“Almost 2/3 of the time, ads by fossil fuel companies mislead the public,” Paul Musiol said. – “They do this by presenting their industries as more ‘green’ than they really are, they exaggerate their investments in things like renewable energy. These companies are touting things that we think, and research shows, are actually hurting the fight to save the atmosphere. For example, the carbon dioxide capture and storage they advocate would take too long to help prevent a climate crisis.”
To bring their initiative to the attention of European authorities, 80 Greenpeace activists blocked access to Shell’s refinery in the port of Rotterdam on Monday.
The European Commission has yet to respond to the environmental organizations. To become a guideline for Brussels, any civic initiative must get a million signatures in at least 7 EU member states.
