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Amsterdam Center for International Law Amsterdam Center for International Law

A ban on fossil advertising is perfectly legal

21 January 2025

The paper written by UvA law academics, Professor Ingo Venzke and Dr Laurens Ankersmit, flanks initiatives to ban fossil advertising in the Netherlands—a policy that has gained momentum in the Dutch Parliament. Drs Venzke and Ankersmit first wrote the paper in January 2024 as a response to the then Minister for Climate suggesting that a ban might not be possible legally. The paper showed that the Ministry’s concerns do not hold and was then cited in further parliamentary discussions in March 2024.
The Legality of Banning Fossil Advertising European Law Blog
Prof. I. (Ingo) Venzke

Faculty of Law

Public International Law

i.venzke@uva.nl

Appreciation of two scientific publications from the UvA and the VU on the banning of fossil advertising

Alongside the paper by Drs Venzke and Ankersmit, the paper written by Dr Clemens Kaupa, Assistant Professor of EU Law, at the Vrije University has also been crucial in the parliamentary discussions.

Promoting the Apocalypse? The Legality of a Ban on Advertising for Fossil Fuels and Other Carbon-Intensive Products under European Law | European Journal of Risk Regulation | Cambridge Core

Following the received attention for the two papers, in March 2024, Minister Jetten (the then Minister for Climate) was asked to provide the House with an assessment of these two scientific publications from the VU and the UvA on banning fossil advertising.

Only in December 2024 was that assessment forthcoming and presented by Minister Hermans (the new Minister for Climate).

The gist of both articles is that a national ban on fossil advertising is legally possible under certain conditions. According to the authors, a ban at EU level is also possible. S.T.M. Hermans, minister van Klimaat en Groene Groei (translated from Dutch) Source: Appreciatie van twee wetenschappelijke publicaties van de VU en de UvA over het verbieden van fossiele reclames

So in response to the two articles (and therefore rejecting the statements of October 2023), the government concludes that ‘’a national ban is not impossible by definition’’.

Minister Hermans confirms that the two papers discuss the possibilities of a ban based on the most relevant legal frameworks:

  • freedom of expression in Article 7 of the Constitution,
  • freedom of expression in Article 10 of the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (ECHR),
  • property rights in Article 1 of the First Protocol to the ECHR (EP ECHR),
  • the free movement of goods and services in European Union law (EU law)
  • EU Charter of Fundamental Rights (EU Charter).

However, a national ban will not yet be passed into law. There are still various legal challenges and uncertainties that make implementation in the foreseeable term not appropriate, according to the Government.

In fact, the conclusion of the report is very similar to what Drs Venzke and Ankersmit first acknowledged in their article… ‘’a ban on fossil advertising is a necessary, albeit insufficient, measure in the urgent quest to curb climate change’’.

In other words, an advertising ban by itself is not sufficient enough to bring about a large transition without additional policy changes that make sustainable choices more available for consumers.

Meanwhile, the Hague has become the first city in the world to ban fossil fuel advertising and this came into effect on 1 January 2025. Despite the looming court case against this ban (brought by the Dutch travel industry), it is without doubt another step in the right direction for a national ban and perhaps even a future EU ban.