Gitanyow Lax’yip, May 28, 2024: The Gitanyow Hereditary Chiefs (GHC) renew their call for immediate government action against deceptive fossil fuel advertising campaigns following a recent unanimous ruling by Ad Standards Canada. These advertisements, funded by Canada Action falsely claim that “B.C. LNG will reduce global emissions” and have been found to be inaccurate, misleading and distorting scientific data.
According to Ad Standards Canada, the advertisements have “distorted the true meaning of statements made by professionals or scientific authorities,” “promised a verified result without competent and reliable evidence” and created an “overall misleading impression… that B.C. LNG is good for the environment, amounting to greenwashing.”
Though Ad Standards Canada reached its decision on January 30, 2024, Canada Action’s false ads have been widely circulated across billboards, buses, social media and newspapers with zero accountability for accuracy.
Ad Standards Canada is the only national not-for-profit advertising self-regulatory organization in Canada. Their decisions are confidential and carry no penalties for the advertisers.
Ad Standards Canada’s ruling was anonymously shared with the Canadian Association of Physicians for the Environment (CAPE) in light of its campaign to ban fossil fuel advertising to protect public health and prevent disinformation from obstructing climate action.
On February 28, 2024, the GHC underscored the risks posed by these deceptive ads and urged both levels of government to intervene. However, their calls went unanswered.
The GHC stands united with CAPE and other organizations in demanding an end to deceptive fossil fuel advertising and urge the companies that have run these misleading ads, including major transit authorities and media outlets to remove the false advertisements and replace them with corrected information.
Quotes
Simogyet Malii/Glen Williams stated:
These projects are well known as carbon and methane bombs that could lead to the destruction of our Lax’yip (territory) and salmon. This is not the Indigenous way; we are taught to protect our Ha Nii Tokxw (food table). Governments must take decisive action against false fossil fuel advertising. This includes removing misleading ads, implementing corrective measures, and establishing robust systems for verifying environmental claims.”
Naxginkw/Tara Marsden, Wilp Sustainability Director for the Gitanyow Hereditary Chiefs, emphasized:
“Climate change demands truth, there’s simply too much at risk. Already this year, extreme wildfires have displaced thousands of people from their homes, highlighting the urgent need to combat disinformation from the oil and gas industry. These misleading campaigns not only threaten climate action but also pose serious risks to public health and the environment. Industry and governments hiding behind deceptive advertising and propaganda must be held accountable.”
Facts
*The B.C. government and industry have long claimed that expanding liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Canada can be a climate solution by displacing coal in Asia, but research shows that the full life-cycle emissions from LNG including extraction, processing, and transportation, generate emissions worse than those of burning coal.
*The main component of ‘natural’ gas is methane, which is a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. Despite its shorter lifespan, methane traps up to 80 times more heat over a few decades.
*New confidential documents reveal BP was warned in 2016 that gas-driven climate change could cause catastrophic events, yet led a marketing campaign to present gas as a climate solution
*A recent study published in Energy Research and Social Science reveals that Pathways Alliance engaged in greenwashing and obscured the true impact of carbon pollution.
*The 2023 wildfire season was the most destructive in British Columbia’s history, and the drought-driven forecast for 2024 is alarming. Wildfires burned almost 2.9 million hectares of land in B.C. in 2023, pumped an estimated 102 megatonnes of carbon into the atmosphere and cost the province approximately $1,094.8 million.
*Fossil fuels are driving climate change and causing skyrocketing levels of deadly pollution directly linked to up to 34,000 premature deaths in Canada per year.
###