France regulates car advertising: Ride a bike!

The French government has launched another campaign to implement climate goals in transport, following the ban on certain domestic flights and the introduction of 30 km/h speed limits in 200 cities. This campaign requires car manufacturers to include a notice about alternative transportation methods in their advertisements. Failure to comply will result in fines of up to 50,000 euros. Under the hashtag #SeDéplacerMoinsPolluer (move and pollute less), one of the following three notices must appear on manufacturers' billboards:

• "Use public transport in your daily life."
• "Consider carpooling."
• "Walk or cycle for short distances."

Additionally, it must be indicated how a vehicle compares in terms of climate protection. According to Environment Minister Barbara Pomili, decarbonizing transport is not just about switching to electric cars. "It also means using public transport or bicycles as much as possible," the minister urged. The idea emerged in so-called "climate citizens' councils" that were established to embed the climate transition more deeply in the population. Originally, a complete ban on advertising for vehicles with consumption over 4 l/100 km was proposed here. This has now been toned down - from 2028 onwards, advertisements for particularly large and heavy vehicles like SUVs will no longer be allowed.

SUVs in the spotlight - rightly so

France already has a bonus-malus system for vehicle tax, favoring climate-friendly vehicles while disadvantaging climate-damaging ones. Tax benefits for company cars are also capped. The new campaign in France takes inspiration from restrictions on advertising for tobacco, alcohol, or sugary foods. In Germany, around two billion euros are spent annually on car advertising, not least for SUVs, as Spiegel Online recently listed. SUVs are also booming in France, with 42 percent of car advertising focused on this segment, amounting to 2,300 euros per vehicle, according to an analysis by WWF. On average, SUVs consume a quarter more fuel than conventional mid-sized cars, the media reported, citing statistics from the International Energy Agency (IEA). According to these statistics, the growth in the global SUV fleet would offset the energy savings of 150 million electric vehicles.