Sunday, September 22, is Car-Free Day. Everyone is invited to leave their cars behind and travel in a less polluting way, by bus, bike or with their own two feet! This is an opportunity to remember that sales of gasoline-powered vehicles are breaking records on the planet. What if we banned advertisements that promote them?
A quick reminder: Gasoline vehicles emit phenomenal amounts of greenhouse gases, which are responsible for global warming. However, sales of gasoline-powered cars are increasing. Worse, the size and weight of these vehicles are increasing too! More than half of the cars sold in 2023 were sport utility vehicles (SUVs).
Countries that regulate advertising
To reverse this trend, some countries have decided to tackle advertising. In Belgium, France and the United Kingdom, car manufacturers are required to indicate the fuel consumption of their vehicles in each advertisement. In France, they must also add a message encouraging less polluting travel.
In Edinburgh, a city in Scotland, advertisements for polluting vehicles have been banned altogether since May 28. Scientists would like to do the same in Canada.
The example of cigarettes
The idea of banning advertising for harmful products is not new. Have you ever noticed that there are no cigarette ads on television? Long before you were born, in 1965, 1 in 2 people in Canada smoked.
But over time, science has proven the harmful effects of smoking on health. In 1989, the Government of Canada passed a law that banned tobacco advertising. Today, about 1 in 8 people in Canada smoke.
Cigarettes and climate, same fight?
Many experts believe that gasoline vehicles are as harmful to health and the climate as cigarettes. They also think that advertisements are wrong to associate SUVs with a cool lifestyle “close to nature”, when they are so polluting. In addition, certain behaviors presented are prohibited, such as driving in rivers or fields.
Obviously, car manufacturers may not agree and want to continue promoting their vehicles.
What do you think? Should we be as strict with advertisements for gasoline vehicles as we are with those for cigarettes?
By Sophie Payeur, collaborator
This article is a collaboration with the Climatoscope, an initiative of the University of Sherbrooke.
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