Fossil Fuel Advertising and Sponsorship

Debate between Michael Shanks and Siân Berry

Monday 7th July 2025 Westminster Hall

[Michael Shanks]

I suspect that if we go through all the words that have ever been spoken inside and outside this place, we might find two words that go side by side quite often. In answer to the hon. Lady, no, I do not think that that is the case at all. She makes a persuasive argument, but in my view it is not the argument that applies in this particular case, which I will outline if I can make just a little more progress.

To come to the broader point, it is important that people have the knowledge and information before them to make informed choices on personal decisions, particularly on installing things in their own home. However, as a Government, we have a responsibility to share factual information about the state of the climate. That is why this Government frequently talk about the importance of the climate crisis; I think I have done so three times already in this speech. I am not seeking to pretend that there is not a climate crisis, and I do not think we have hidden from that fact at all.

I also want to talk about the path that the UK is currently on. We need to make a broader argument to the public that goes beyond banning advertising by certain companies. Collectively, we have a responsibility to show the opportunities presented by this transition, counter to much of the misinformation and disinformation that is being put about, including by Members of this House.

The latest report by the Confederation of British Industry shows that the net zero economy is growing three times faster than the wider economy, so there is an economic argument that we have to make. Since we came into government last July, more than £40 billion of private investment has come into the clean energy industries. We believe that the best way to build on that success, bring the public with us and create a convincing argument that this is the right route is by focusing on the economic and social benefits of net zero.

We have therefore been working with industry to explore how we can reduce emissions from high-carbon products, including voluntary eco-labels that help consumers to make different purchasing decisions. We are continually listening to the private sector, local government, trade unions and civil society. That is why we relaunched the Net Zero Council, and we will also publish our upcoming public participation strategy. At the same time, we are doing everything we can to slash emissions while building a more secure and stable future for our country.

The shadow Minister, in customary fashion, reeled off a set of political lines about why this is the wrong choice for us as a country, despite the fact that he believed in it last year when he was delivering speeches from the Government Benches. The truth is that actions speak louder than words, which is why in the past year we have not just said that we are committed to the clean energy mission and to delivering action on climate change; we have delivered.

We ended the onshore wind ban within 72 hours. We set up Great British Energy, the first publicly owned energy company in 70 years. We consented enough clean power for 2 million homes by approving applications that had languished on Ministers’ desks. We kickstarted the carbon capture industry. In the past few weeks, the Chancellor has also announced a significant investment of more than £60 billion in home-grown clean energy, including new regional hydrogen networks for transport, storage, industry and power. We also published our industrial strategy, which places clean energy right at the heart of industrial renewal over the next 10 years.

The wider context of climate action is important, and we want the UK to be a world leader in this space. That is why in 2008, when my right hon. Friend the Energy Secretary held the same role, we backed the Climate Change Act 2008, making the UK the first country to introduce legally binding net zero emissions targets. Since then, we have overachieved against the first, second and third carbon budgets, and we will be setting carbon budget 7 by June 2026, in line with our statutory duties.

[Siân Berry]

Before the Minister winds up, I want to ensure that he tackles the question of sponsorship, which is a key part of the petition. I think that focusing only on advertising ignores the lack of choice that people have if their much-loved sports team, the gallery they want to visit or the theatre company that they support is sponsored by a fossil fuel company. The Minister needs to reflect on why so many people signed the petition, having been put in an invidious position by these sponsorship deals.

[Michael Shanks]

It goes back to what I said earlier. I take the hon. Lady’s point, and I take seriously the number of people who engaged with the petition. I also reflect on the number of organisations and activities across the country that rely on sponsorship. I do not think that we should discount that so easily, because we have incredibly important organisations that may well collapse without some of that sponsorship.

There is a balance to be struck here. It is incumbent on Government to set the tone for what we expect in climate action. It is right and proper to hold private companies accountable where they share misleading information, but where they are supporting organisations that rely on their funding, I am afraid I struggle to say that we should simply withdraw that funding and, with it, the organisations that rely on it. As someone who has run a charitable organisation in the past, I can tell the hon. Lady that there is not an abundance of cash out there in alternatives.

This is about a balance, but I take the hon. Lady’s point on board, and we keep these things under review, as do other Departments that have a closer relationship with the Advertising Standards Authority and deal with questions on such matters. As I say, this is about us treading a little lighter on people’s lives and making the case for taking collective action on the climate crisis, but not being in the business of banning things.

I want to touch briefly on a point that the shadow Minister made, which is not often raised in these debates, about the just transition for the oil and gas industry. It is important to recognise that the industry has long been in transition, but there are many thousands of workers who rely on it for their livelihood and there are whole communities that depend on it for employment and investment. Although it is right that we are looking to the future of the North sea—a future that will include oil and gas for many decades to come, but will inevitably move towards other technologies, including carbon capture, hydrogen and offshore wind—we need to ensure that we are delivering the transition on the principle of fairness. Fairness for households means protecting bill payers from the volatility of fossil fuels, but in the North sea, fairness also means ensuring that workers and communities have a long-term, prosperous plan for their future.

The North sea will play a critical role in Britain’s energy future. For nearly 60 years, people have worked in incredibly difficult circumstances in the North sea, with workers, businesses and communities helping to power our country with oil and gas, and they will do so for decades to come. Although oil and gas production from our own shores will play an important role, as we drive towards clean energy, the North sea gives us an opportunity to show new leadership. That is why in our consultation earlier this year we outlined the role that we want to see the North sea playing long into the future.

I reiterate a point that I made at the beginning: this is an incredibly important subject and an important moment for us to say that the action needed on climate change is not just a question of banning advertising; it is about serious investment in how we push towards our clean energy transition. The Government are playing an active role in driving that forward, reducing emissions right across the country, creating good economic opportunities as part of that, demonstrating global leadership on climate action and delivering opportunities to every part of the country.

We are bringing people with us on this journey, so that when those who stand up and say that the climate crisis is not a priority for us, or that we should not be moving to net zero because it might be too difficult, we can say that we are delivering the economic and industrial opportunities of the 21st century. That is how we bring people with us and deliver on our transition for everybody. It is also how we deliver the action needed to tackle the climate crisis. That is why, although this petition is an important conversation, we think there are already measures in place to tackle many of these issues. They may well need to go further, and that is for the bodies responsible to do themselves. We think that the action needed from Government is to drive forward this transition and to deliver jobs, energy security and climate leadership, and that is what we will continue to do.