East Denmark weighs ban on airline and fossil fuel bus ads
Sunday 11th October 2026 on 18:45 in
Denmark
Politicians in the incoming Region Østdanmark are proposing a ban on bus advertisements for the aviation and fossil fuel industries, DR reports.
The proposal says climate and public health concerns should outweigh some commercial messages. It was discussed at a recent meeting of the region’s preparatory executive committee and will now go to a vote in the regional council.
Bruno Jerup, a regional council member for the Red-Green Alliance and deputy chair of the committee for regional development, said it was inconsistent for buses to advertise products that run counter to the region’s goals on green transition, public health and health equality.
Jerup said he hoped a ban would remove the advertisements and could help reduce demand for products such as airline tickets. He compared the aim with restrictions on advertising for tobacco, alcohol and gambling.
Camilla Hove Lund, the Liberal Party’s group leader in the current Region Zealand and the incoming Region Østdanmark, opposes the proposal. She said she had seen no evidence that such a ban would have an effect, and argued that politicians should focus instead on technology, green fuels, alternatives and financial incentives. In her view, restrictions should target advertising for products that harm health or are highly addictive.
Communications and branding expert Sune Bang said bus advertising can reach many people quickly, but that its effect is limited when considered on its own because consumers encounter many other forms of advertising. He said a ban could still send a political signal, as restrictions on tobacco and gambling advertisements have done.
Consumers would continue to see advertisements for the same products on social media. Similar restrictions have been introduced elsewhere in Europe. BBC has reported that Amsterdam became the first capital city in the world to ban public advertising for meat and fossil fuel products.
If approved, the proposal would ask Movia, the bus operator, to stop accepting advertising for products such as airlines and petrol cars when it makes agreements with advertisers. Movia’s board said it would comment only after receiving a formal request from the region. The new region is due to take effect on 1 January 2027.