May 2025: Following HXR letter, the Lancet now refuses adverts from fossil fuel companies and the banks who fund them

The prestigous, world-leading medical science journal, The Lancet, along with its family of over 20 other journals, has updated its advertising policy and will no longer be accepting advertising content submitted by, or on behalf of, companies that produce, or fund the production of, fossil fuels.

This decision followed a letter from members of Health for XR and the Bank Better health group. The letter pointed out that while the Lancet’s advertising policy excluded advertisements from tobacco, alcohol, recreational drugs and illegal products, it did not mention companies who, through their actions, harm the climate, environment and health. It also highighted that the Lancet has called climate change “the greatest global health threat facing the world in the 21st century” and how recent articles in their Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change urge “divestment from fossil fuels to save lives” and encourage “the transition of any form of capital away from organisations that continue to financially support fossil fuels”. The HXR/Bank Better letter argued that the Lancet should update their advertising policy in line with these statements.

The 2024 Banking on Climate Chaos report highlights how the world’s 60 biggest banks have committed $6,900,000,000,000 to the fossil fuel industry over 8 years. In doing so they are driving climate chaos & causing deadly health and community impacts.

The Lancet, along with other journals published by Elsevier, such as Global Environmental Change, attest to the fact that a liveable future requires substantial emissions reductions by 2030. This includes no new fossil fuel projects. However considerable concerns have been raised that, despite their climate pledge, Elsevier is causing, and profiting from, major environmental harm by working with the fossil fuel industry, supporting new fossil fuel projects and publishing journals for oil and gas technology and strategies for petroleum exploration. Elsevier have argued that their fossil fuel activity “shouldn’t negate all of the amazing work” they have done with renewable energy. Scientists point out that continuing support for fossil fuels is exactly what will negate all their work and the work of the scientists they serve. A safe future and transition requires no new fossil fuel projects.

A 2022 Guardian article reports that dozens of workers had spoken out, urging Elsevier to reconsider its relationship with the fossil fuel industry. One Ex-Employee has sued Elsevier alleging that he was intimidated, harassed and fired for raising concerns about greenwashing and failure to align their business practices with their stated environmental goals. This case is ongoing.

In 2023 XR Scientists attended the Annual General Meeting of RELX (Elsevier’s parent company) to highlight how RELX’s support of fossil fuel expansion is promoting climate collapse.

We are delighted that The Lancet have responded to our letter and taken this action, which follows similar steps taken by the BMJ, also in response to letters from HXR members. The BMJ had already banned advertising from fossil fuel companies but agreed to add banks which fund fossil fuel companies to their policy. The BMJ publicised this decision, and its rationale, in this editorial

While we applaud this action by the Lancet, we request and hope that Eslevier rolls this updated advertising policy out across all their journals. and that other publishers follow suit.

References:

Bloomberg Law 7.8.2024: Dutch Publisher Sued by Ex-Employee Over Greenwashing Concerns

British Medical Journal, 2024: Rising to the challenge: next steps in The BMJ’s climate commitments. ttps://www.bmj.com/content/387/bmj.q2197?utm_campaign=usage&utm_content=tbmj_sprout&utm_id=BMJ005&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter

The Guardian, 24.2.2022: Revealed: leading climate research publisher helps fuel oil and gas drilling | Climate science | The Guardian