Amsterdam bans ads for meat and fossil fuels

A historic decision, marking a clear change of direction in urban policy against climate change: the Amsterdam City Council has decided to ban advertising for meat and products related to fossil fuels in public spaces. The ban will come into effect on May 1, 2026.

The measure applies to billboards, bus shelters, digital screens and all public spaces under the responsibility of the municipality. Stores and private properties remain exempt.

The vote on the proposal, submitted by the Animal Party along with the Green Left (GroenLinks/PvdA), passed with a clear majority: 27 of the 45 council members voted in favor. The proposal is part of a broader strategy to reduce climate-disrupting emissions, intervening not only in the energy system, but also in the food system.

A powerful signal for the whole world

It's a powerful political message: we cannot continue to talk about a climate emergency while promoting products in public spaces that are one of the main causes of it.

According to Melanie van der Horst, alderman for public space and council member for the centrist party D66, advertising for meat currently accounts for only 0.1% of outdoor advertising and advertising related to fossil fuels accounts for 4.3%. So it's a small percentage, but with enormous symbolic significance. Van der Horst warned, however, that there could be legal ramifications: advertising companies may have long-term contracts.

In fact, the legal terrain has already been partially explored: in 2025, a court in The Hague upheld the legality of a similar measure following appeals by some tourism companies. Yet, at the national level, the Dutch government does not seem intent on following this line: climate minister Sophie Hermans stated she does not favor such national policy.

Amsterdam is not alone, however. The choice fits into a trend already begun in other Dutch cities: Haarlem (in 2024), The Hague, Utrecht (in 2023), Delft and Nijmegen have already adopted similar ordinances. Haarlem in 2022 was even the first city in the world to ban meat advertising. Amsterdam is the third Dutch city to actually implement the ban, but the first capital in the world to do so.

And that's the newsworthy element: a European capital deciding to intervene  in the collective imagination by cracking down on the promotion of products that do the most damage to our climate.

ProVeg International openly supports measure

"Much of the food system's emissions come from meat production. So it makes sense for Amsterdam to limit its advertising as part of the strategy to change the food system," said Joey Cramer, director of ProVeg Netherlands.

The choice is in line with a previously established goal of the city: by 2050, Amsterdam wants to move to a diet made up of 50 percent plant-based products. Now the situation in the Netherlands is exactly the opposite: about 60% of the proteins consumed come from animal sources, while the Health Council recommends the exact opposite, namely 60% from vegetable sources and 40% from animal sources.

Yet there is also criticism. Advertising associations and some business organizations speak of a restriction of commercial freedom. They fear impact on companies promoting 'low-emission' products. Practical questions also remain open: how will hybrid products be classified? And 'transition products'? Where is the line between what is allowed and what is not?

These are questions that do not alter the political aspect: Amsterdam goes beyond the classic politics of subsidies and financial incentives and opts for direct regulation of commercial communication. Giving less space to meat and fossil fuels means that we stop treating them as 'neutral' products. 

(MP/©GreenMe.it/Translation and adaptation: The Global Money/Illustration: Unsplash)