Amsterdam removes meat, flights and long distance travel from the cityscape

Amsterdam has made a decision that has not been seen in this form in any other capital. Advertising for meat and fossil energy is disappearing from public space. This does not mean a single product, but everything associated with high CO2 emissions. The city is directly intervening in what people see every day. Affected are foods with beef, pork, poultry and fish as well as restaurants built around them. Airlines, cruises and long distance travel can no longer be advertised either. Everything linked to long distances and high energy use is being removed from view. Those who do not comply face penalties.

The initiative comes from GroenLinks and the Party for the Animals. Their goal goes beyond individual measures. It is about reducing the constant presence of a pattern of consumption that drives CO2 emissions. Advertising should no longer continuously present the image that makes this behavior appear normal. The scope is clearly defined. The ban covers everything owned by the city. Buses, stops, trains, subway stations, benches and large advertising spaces. Private businesses and traditional media are excluded. Advertising continues to exist, but it is removed from everyday visibility in public space.

Amsterdam is now the first capital in the world to completely remove meat advertising from public space. The move does not stand alone. As early as 2024, The Hague had already restricted advertising for fossil energy.

The reactions came quickly. Representatives of the tourism industry and several travel providers challenged the move and cited freedom of expression as well as European consumer law. A court rejected these arguments and made clear that the protection of health and climate carries more weight than economic interests. This marks a fundamental shift. It is no longer only the market that decides what is visible in the cityscape, but a political decision about which content still has a place there. Amsterdam is directly intervening in the question of how consumption is formed and how strongly advertising influences it.

What this will change in the long term remains to be seen. What is clear is that this step is being watched. Because when what people see every day changes, what they perceive as normal changes as well.