Fossil fuel advertising: A phase-out plan unveiled at COP30

In 2024, United Nations Secretary General António Guterres issued a clear call to our industry: “Stop taking on new fossil fuel clients and set out plans to phase out existing ones.”

Yesterday at COP30, we launched our collective answer.

The Five Levers for Change: A Blueprint to Phase Out Fossil Fuel Advertising, is the UK’s first practical, commercially grounded roadmap for agencies and media owners ready to lead this transition.

As Selwin Hart, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Climate Action, put it:

“This blueprint is a constructive and substantive answer to the UN Secretary-General's call to action - outlining concrete steps for businesses to accelerate the transformations needed to address the existential threat of climate change, and providing evidence that transitioning away from fossil fuels is an immense commercial opportunity that benefits all."  

Why this matters

For decades, advertising has been used to build social license for the fossil fuel industry. To shift accountability, seed false information and delay climate action. This influence remains one of the most significant, yet under-addressed, barriers to meaningful progress.

Yesterday at COP30, we launched a credible, commercially viable, and sector-informed plan to permanently decouple the advertising and media industries from fossil fuel interests.

This marks a strategic shift: moving beyond reactive regulation, toward proactive industry leadership in phasing out fossil fuel promotion altogether.

Crucially, we position this as a business opportunity. While the threats posed by fossil fuel advertising are well understood, for agencies working with these clients this transition is a complex and intimidating shift. Financial dependencies, legacy relationships, and entrenched organisational cultures often stand in the way of change.

The Five Levers for a commercially sound transition

The Blueprint sets out five core levers every organisation can activate to transition away from fossil fuel work in a commercially viable, legally sound, and culturally supported way:

1. Finance: Identify fossil fuel reliance to diversify revenue streams and futureproof growth.
2. Legal: Manage contractual and compliance risks confidently.
3. Board leadership: Achieve buy-in from the board with clear direction and governance.
4. Internal culture: Bring staff and talent along the journey.
5. Operations: Adjust business processes to make the phase-out real.

Each lever includes practical steps, examples, and case studies from across the industry, from The Guardian’s advertising policy and ITV’s governance frameworks, to Lucky Generals’ approach to ethical client selection.

This framework was developed with the sector, for the sector—through convenings, interviews, and workshops. It offers a grounded, realistic, and commercially sound pathway for agencies ready to lead.

Special thanks to the partners and contributors who helped shape the Blueprint: Purpose Disruptors, Creatives for Climate, Clean Creatives, DeSmog, The Global Climate and Health Alliance, and more.

Though designed for the UK market, the Blueprint is globally adaptable and is already shaping international discourse - from Cannes Lions and London Climate Action Week to the UN General Assembly at NYC Climate Week.

If you’re interested in learning more about this work, please get in touch with contact@actclimatelabs.com