United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres raised eyebrows Wednesday when he called on world leaders to ban advertising for fossil fuels.
The request is not without precedent; some governments already have restrictions in place. Amsterdam became the world’s first city to ban ads from fossil fuel and aviation companies in 2021. And France became the first country to ban certain advertisements for fossil fuels in 2022.
But in other countries — including the United States — nationwide bans would be tricky to implement.
While the United States has put in place advertising restrictions on products such as cigarettes and alcohol, those rules were aimed at protecting children — who can’t legally purchase those products, said Michael Gerrard, founder and faculty director of Columbia University’s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law.
