Those oil firms….”have been aided and abetted by advertising and PR companies – Mad Men fuelling the madness…..I urge every country to ban advertising from fossil fuel companies.”
António Guterres, UN secretary general, June 2024
To read about the BFA Conference in French, see RAP‘s website. For German, see Vereinigung für Vernetzung und Partizipation.
Following previous international gatherings in Paris (2022), Amsterdam (2023) and Brussels (2024)- activist groups, NGOs, academics and reaearchers gathered in Barcelona from 11th – 14th September 2025. The aim of the conference was to share stories of success in the international campaign to end advertising and sponsorships for polluting products and position these struggles within a wider critique of corporate power.
2025 conference sessions included:
- Disinformation, climate obstruction & advertising
- Municipal advertising bans on advertising for high carbon products: progress, pushbacks and next Steps after The Hague decision
- Fossil fuel sponsorship in sports and culture
- Adapting to a Changing World: what can the counter-advertising campaigns learn from other movements?
- Creative campaigning
- Ecological colonialism and green extractivism
Groups represented included:
Cittadini Sostenibili APS (Italy), Global Strategic Climate Communications (GSCC), XR Stop Fossiele Reclames (NL), Adfree Cities, Werbefrei Austria, Badvertising, Creatives for Climate, Brandalism, Résistance à l’Agression Publicitaire, Genève Zero Pub, Solid Sustainability Research / Climate Obstruction NL, Hamburg Werbefrei, Reclame Fossielvrij, University of Edinburgh, ZERO – associação sistema terrestre sustentável (Portugal), Global Climate and Health Alliance, Berlin Busters Social Club, Jugendnetzwerk der DFG-VK (Germany), Werkstatt für Antifaschistische Aktionen
Lecture by Geraldine Deade Tanakula from Scientist Rebellion DRC
Geraldine Deade Tanakula from Scientist Rebellion DRC spoke about greenwashing in the Democratic Republic of Congo. She made it clear: There is no such thing as green capitalism for the energy transition. The exploitation of raw materials is destroying Congo, while the profits go to the global north. And the people of Congo are also being ripped off with greenwashing. Further reflections on Vereinigung für Vernetzung und Partizipation.
Paper Planes: actions against airline advertising
We were also delighted to learn about a local subvertising campaign against airline advertising, the expansion of Barcelona airport and over-tourism in the city. The group ‘Climate Agency’ converted the bus stop adverts in 50 ad spaces into paper aeroplanes with the words ‘CAIGUDA LLUIRE’ which means FREE FALL in catalan – citing the need to drastically reduce aviation emissions. The action was announced on 16th September 2025, the International Day for the Conservation of the Ozone Layer, to commemorate the commitment of the international community to solving that problem – and to contrast the lack of meaningful action on aviation emissions. The intervention was covered in the national Spanish newspaper El Diario.
The group are calling for Barcelona residents to repeat the action until the expansion plans for El Prat airport in Barcelona are dropped. The group published a tutorial to explain how to do the action.
Celebrating successes
Contributions from the Berlin Busters Social Club showed what can be achieved when you don’t let yourself be intimidated. BBSC reported on how adbusting against the police and military in Germany had challenged these power structures and driven them out of public space. Over the past 10 years, the Berlin adbusting scene has forced police advertising at bus stops and Armed Forces Day out of the cityscape – and achieved remarkable legal successes despite enormous repression. BBSC’s recipe? Celebrate successes.
Further reflections on the Barcelona conferene can be seen on this blogpost by Vereinigung für Vernetzung und Partizipation.
