Scottish Green Party flags on a demonstration

The Scottish Green Party has called for a ban on advertising for fossil fuels. The party’s co-leader Lorna Slater issued the call at their campaign launch, where she also reiterated the Greens’ position that there should be no new oil and gas licenses issued.

The Scottish Greens say that their council group in Edinburgh have already delivered such an advertising ban.

Slater said: “With Greens in government, Scotland – the country that helped bring the coal-fired industrial revolution to the world – adopted a position of no support for coal, oil and gas extraction on land, ending any prospect that these industries could be revived.

“This is what elected Greens do, and we do it at every level of Government. In Edinburgh, for example, Scottish Green councillors last month succeeded in banning advertising from fossil fuel companies and other high carbon industries on council owned advertising space like buses and billboards.

“This is a significant development. Advertising plays a big role in driving forward unsustainable consumption and legitimising those companies that are destroying the planet for profit. That’s why the UN last week called for all countries to ban coal, oil and gas companies from advertising, just as we have banned tobacco advertising. The Scottish Greens would do just that.”

She added: “Our future depends on this election. Don’t waste your vote on parties who hide their head in the sand. Don’t waste it on politicians too invested in the status quo to offer the change they promise you.

“We are running out of time, but there is still hope, and you have the power to make a difference. A vote for the Scottish Greens is a vote for decisive action – to tackle the climate emergency, and to build a fair and green Scotland. Vote like your future depends on it. Vote for the Scottish Greens.”

Image credit: Ric Lander – Creative Commons