ASA probes climate scare advert

London - The Government's climate change television advertising campaign is under investigation by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), which has received more than 350 complaints from viewers. The advert for the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) was launched on 9 Oct to promote the Government¹s Act on CO2 initiative.

According to marketing industry observers, the £6-million campaign marks a stronger approach from the DECC following research that revealed more than 50% of the population don¹t think climate change will effect them. It is the first time the Government has claimed that there is scientific evidence that climate change is caused by people. This claim was disputed by some of the complainants to the ASA.

Complaints also claim the advert is upsetting for children as it shows a father reading his daughter a bedtime story that depicts a town underwater as carbon dioxide spews from cars and houses and tells of the "horrible consequences" carbon emissions have on the world.

Energy and climate change minister, Joan Ruddock defended the advert saying: ³It¹s consistent with Government policy on the issue, which is informed by the latest science and assessments of peer-reviewed, scientific literature made by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and other international bodies.