Car manufacturers, airlines, cruise companies, and other industries should be entirely prohibited from advertising their products because they are contributing to “climate collapse,” an Oireachtas Committee meeting has heard.
Speaking in front of the Joint Committee on Environment and Climate Action today, Dr. Ola Nordrum of the NGO “Irish Doctors for the Environment” urged the Irish media “to do both more and better climate storytelling.”
Notably, the organisation self-describes as an “NGO” and a group of medical students and healthcare professionals who advocate “regarding the global issues of climate change.”
“It is difficult, if not impossible, to grasp the scale and urgency of the health crisis we face as a result of climate collapse without coherent media messaging,” Nordrum continued.
“The combined climate and biodiversity crisis is an unprecedented health crisis.”
Nordrum proceeded to slam the media for allowing “polluting industries” to advertise.
“Irish media regularly promote advertising for the most polluting industries without any health warnings that these very industries will bring about climate collapse,” he said.
“Fossil fuel advertising should go the same way as cigarette adverts, given the impact on human health. Oil and gas companies, car manufacturers, airlines and cruise lines should all be banned from promoting their products. The well-being of people and the planet should take priority over profits.”
He also called on the Irish media to “relentlessly report on the [climate] crisis every day.”
In response, RTÉ Commercial Director Gavin Deans said that advertising on the State broadcaster had changed in recent years.
“The policies the Government has set over the past number of years has also changed the type of advertiser that has advertised,” he said.
“In 2019, motors accounted for approximately 10% of revenue. That has dropped down to 6% of our total revenue.”
He added that according to the most recent car registrations throughout this year, “just over 50% of all car advertising was all to do with fully electric or hybrid vehicles.”
“More than 80% of that advertising completely covered off all of the motor advertising so the motor companies are driving that message because that is what is working for them from a consumer and market point of view – they changed that,” he said.
“Likewise, we look at other advertisers, whether they are sponsors or different advertisers, for example, energy companies not advertising in the way they used to. They are advertising retrofitting, wind, electric and all of those elements.”
Deans said that RTÉ had seen “a huge shift” in advertising models.
“We looked across all of the advertising from even a sponsorship point of view and more than 70% of the sponsorship that is attributed to that is all environmentally focused,” he said.