The Brussels municipality of Saint-Gilles has become the first in Brussels and Belgium to advocate for a regional ban on fossil fuel advertising.
The Saint-Gilles municipal council, including the Ecolo-Groen faction, will present a joint climate motion for a vote on Thursday, 27 March. The motion aims to reinforce the municipality’s dedication to climate action at a time when global climate ambitions are increasingly being questioned.
"Fossil fuel advertising poses a fundamental obstacle to climate transition," said Councillor Loes Salomez (Groen). Saint-Gilles hopes other municipalities will follow its lead, aiming to follow the example of cities like The Hague, Edinburgh, and Sydney.
The commune will urge the region to explore banning fossil fuel advertisements, answering a call made by UN Secretary-General António Guterres in June 2024 for a global ban on such ads.
Funding efforts
Specifically, the municipality calls on the region to investigate a ban on fossil fuel industry advertising or at least implement a discouraging tax to fund regional climate efforts. "It should be the largest shoulders that bear the heaviest burdens," Salomez said.
In addition to advocating for a fossil fuel ad ban, the municipality will focus on enhancing green spaces and increasing climate ambitions in poorer neighbourhoods, particularly in the lower-lying areas of Saint-Gilles.
Special attention will be given to children by greening areas around schools and nurseries and promoting soft mobility. School streets – a public road in the immediate vicinity of a school facility that is at least temporarily closed to traffic by fences at the beginning and end of the school day, at best pedestrianised – need to be "reinforced".
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"There is no climate justice without social justice, and vice versa," stated Mayor Jean Spinette (PS). "We commit to acting for a fairer society while caring for the environment because those most affected by climate change are also those with the lowest socio-economic means."
In the Flemish Parliament, a potential ban on fossil fuel advertising has been discussed at the request of Groen MP Aimen Horch. However, Flemish Climate Minister Melissa Depraetere (Vooruit) currently has no plans to issue such a ban, citing legal obstacles and questions regarding regional authority.
