Is there a public mandate for restricting advertising of high-carbon products and services? : Citizens’ jury and public polling evidence from the UK

Ainscough, Jacob and Willis, Rebecca (2025) Is there a public mandate for restricting advertising of high-carbon products and services? : Citizens’ jury and public polling evidence from the UK. PLOS Climate, 4 (9): e0000599. ISSN 2767-3200

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Abstract

Meeting internationally-agreed climate targets requires changes to patterns of consumption of goods and services which result in high levels of greenhouse gas emissions, such as petrol and diesel cars, flights, meat and dairy products. Previous experience with advertising controls for tobacco, unhealthy food and gambling, for example, suggests these could play a role in shifting consumption behaviours and thus achieving decarbonisation targets. This paper assess public support for such controls in the United Kingdom. We present evidence from a mixed method study combining a deliberative citizens’ jury and a large nationally representative poll. We find majority support for the principle of greater restrictions on advertising of high carbon products and services. The most popular form of intervention tested is a ‘traffic light’ labelling system and the least popular is an outright ban. We identify five distinct positions on the issue, ranging from objecting to all proposals to strongly supporting all proposals. We conclude by discussing the implications of our evidence for political efforts to increase controls on advertising of high-carbon products and services.