The Department of Environmental Affairs has welcomed a decision by the Advertising Standards Authority of South Africa (ASA) to dismiss a complaint lodged by Professor Philip Lloyd on a climate change awareness print advertisement placed by the Department of Environmental Affairs.
The claims made by Professor Lloyd were that the advertisement was dishonest, misleading, unsubstantiated and inaccurate.
In its initiatives to sustain the climate change awareness created during the hosting of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) 17th Conference of the Parties in Durban in 2010-11, the Department of Environmental Affairs produced various advertising materials - one of which depicted a desert-like landscape under the heading “More climate change means less water”.
The advertisement in question appeared in most mainstream newspapers across the country during 2012, conveying the message that the country must take action against climate change now to avoid serious consequences on our water systems in the future.
The text on the advertisement reads; “The earth’s temperature is increasing. Unless we play our part, this will have serious consequences on our water systems which is not good for a continent already in short supply of fresh water”.
Professor Lloyd lodged a complaint against the Department of Environmental Affairs claiming that the department, in its advertisement, was playing on the public’s fear of the consequences of global warming and impairing public confidence in the efforts made by the business community to improve its ecological standards. The ASA has dismissed Professor Lloyd’s claims, finding it unfounded.
The ASA has also ruled that the advertisement containing an image depicting an arid, desert-like landscape is not suggestive of a sense of doom as claimed by Professor Lloyd; stating in its decision that the advertisement merely urges consumers and the population at large to support environmental initiatives and illustrates what would happen if the country’s water resources were depleted.
The Department of Environmental Affairs is satisfied with the decision reached by the ASA and continues to be committed to heightening awareness on climate change and also ensure the interface between science and policy is part of the communication programme.
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Albi Modise
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