Helsinki’s city council has voted to ban advertising for fossil fuels and other carbon-heavy products and services from the advertising space the city owns, Euronews reports. The proposal came from councillor Isaac Jyväsjärvi and 27 colleagues, and it succeeded where a similar attempt in 2021 fell short of a majority.
The detail comes next. Officials will work out exactly which adverts are covered and look at the legal options before the next advertising contracts are drawn up. Campaigners hope the rules will eventually reach flights and cruises as well as fuel. The current contracts run until 2035, so the change will arrive gradually.
Even so, supporters see a marker being laid down. Niklas Kaskeala of Protect Our Winters Finland called it an important precedent. Helsinki becomes the second Nordic capital to take the step after Stockholm, joining Amsterdam and Bristol among the European cities deciding that public billboards should match their climate goals.
Source: Euronews