‘Some of the world’s biggest polluters’

Oil and gas companies are buying up advertising on London’s public transport system, sparking anger over their attempts to influence politicians.

What’s going on?

Environmental news site DeSmog reported on the campaigns. According to the findings, London’s public transport network (TfL) has run more than 240 advertising campaigns from major oil and gas companies since Mayor Sadiq Khan set “zero carbon city” targets in 2018. That number has more than fivefold when including energy suppliers that still use fossil fuels in their offerings.

In addition, the ads were mainly seen in Westminster and St. James’s Park tube stations, which are frequented by politicians, government officials and political advisors, DeSmog reports.

This comes at a time when oil and gas companies are already facing scrutiny for their misleading advertising, including many greenwashing campaigns that suggest oil is “low carbon” or that clean energy is a higher priority for the companies than it actually is.

“Many in the fossil fuel industry have shamelessly greenwashed, while simultaneously trying to delay climate action – with lobbying, legal threats and massive advertising campaigns,” DeSmog quoted UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as saying.

Earlier this summer, Guterres called for a global ban on fossil fuel advertising, saying the advertising and PR companies were “enabling the destruction of the planet.”

Why is this advertising harmful?

“These campaigns absolutely have an effect on politicians,” Nicholas Cosburn, a former parliamentary aide, told DeSmog. “I think advertising in Westminster Station is the closest thing you can get to advertising in Parliament itself.”

“There is no doubt that advertising influences people’s behaviour, the image of companies and can have a direct impact on decision-makers like me,” agreed former London Assembly member (and recently elected MP) Sian Berry, who described the campaigns as “insidious”.

Even if the ads don’t convince politicians (and no one can prove they do), other environmentalists worry about the message they send to voters.

“TfL risks seeing its climate promises completely derailed by the fossil fuel promotion that is flooding its network,” DeSmog quoted Veronica Wignall of Adfree Cities as saying. “By allowing the fossil fuel industry to continue to broadcast on London’s Tube, buses and billboards, we are undermining the Mayor’s climate goals by giving some of the world’s biggest polluters the opportunity to garner public and political support. This support then translates into delayed action, watered-down regulation and more emissions.”

What is done with these ads?

Opponents of the ads argue that Mayor Khan has already set a precedent for banning harmful campaigns, pointing to his decision to restrict advertising for certain unhealthy foods in 2019. A subsequent government review found that calorie intake from those foods fell significantly in London the following year.

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