Scotland's capital city has banned advertisements for airlines and sports utility vehicles, along with ads for cruise lines and oil and gas companies, in what campaigners are calling a"historic" step-up in action to tackle climate change.
"Where national action has been slow or non-existent, cities are once again showing climate leadership from below by aligning policies on advertising with their health and climate commitments," said Andrew Simms, author and co-founder of the U.K.'s Badvertising group, which campaigns against advertising that promotes polluting companies.
The aviation and SUV markets are among the most polluting industries outside of oil, gas and coal. While paper flying contributes a relatively small proportion of overall greenhouse gas emissions—around 2.5% of the global total—its contribution to climate change is much higher, as jets release large volumes of nitrogen oxides, water vapour, sulphate and soot particles high in the atmosphere. These add to what scientists call the"" effect that traps heat, warming the atmosphere.