striking
For the first time, the report also described increased regulation of advertising as one of the tools available to reduce carbon emissions and improve social well-being.
It hints that, in addition to the growing awareness of green cleaning by the public and regulators, there is a bigger problem: the ubiquity of advertising that directly promotes products that are harmful to the environment.
Once asked, the Brits seem to have been unhappy about it. Not without reason, because promoting fossil fuel companies, SUVs and airlines during a climate emergency is like promoting cigarettes in a hospital.
Not only did nearly half of a representative sample of the population want to see fewer ads overall, but the vast majority wanted to see ads for contaminated products limited or stopped altogether.
Almost half of UK adults would like to see and hear fewer advertisements in their daily lives. That figure includes one in five UK adults who, if given the choice, would rather not watch an ad at all. Only 13 were satisfied with the number of ads they were currently exposed to.
planet
When asked how they would change the way they bought cars, flights and beef if they were warned about their harmful effects on the environment, around one in five British adults said they were unlikely to buy these products.
But simply adding a warning to an ad appears to be less effective than simply removing an ad for a harmful product, with about half of respondents saying the warning alone would not change their choice. This echoes the debate that ultimately led to the end of tobacco advertising.
In terms of what type of restrictions should be introduced for harmful products and services, there is considerable support for removing ads altogether.
Three in 10 who would like to see advertising restrictions on oil, gas and coal companies think these types of ads should be banned entirely, while one in four would ban ads targeting the most polluting cars, and about five in five One of the people would ban ads for air travel, gasoline/diesel fueled cars or red meat.
“It’s strange and confusing to be told we have a climate emergency and then to be faced with ads for things we know will contribute to climate change, such as flights to remote areas, large cars and beef,” said Veronica Wignall, Badvertising Campaign Say.
“It is clear that the public will support action to end the advertising of harmful, carbon-intensive products, like banning tobacco advertising. Now we need politicians to act in the interest of the public and the health of the planet.”
this author
Andrew Simms is New Meteorological Institutecoordinator Rapid Transition Coalition, author of several books on the New Economy and the Green Economy, and co-author of the original Green New Deal.he is on twitter @AndrewSimms_uk.
Opinium Research surveyed a nationally representative sample of 2,000 UK adults on attitudes towards advertising. Voting will take place from March 29 to April 1, 2022. For more information on the ad campaign aimed at stopping ads fueling the climate emergency, see here: www.badverts.org
