There's nothing stopping fossil fuel companies running sponsored promotion in ACT schools

Or their science lesson consists of visiting a coal export terminal and hearing about how sustainable and efficient it is.

Sounds bizarre in a rapidly warming world, but these are two real examples of how fossil fuel companies are currently using schools to win over the next generation - and there's nothing stopping it from happening in the ACT.

Of course, the territory is a climate leader. It's slashing emissions, building emergency resilience and reducing waste. But what the Barr government is failing to lead on is the battle for hearts and minds.

The opponents of renewables and emissions reductions are not so foolish. There are more than 60 school programs sponsored by fossil fuel companies across Australia. Coal, oil and gas companies also put their logos on everything from sports to operas to medical services and even MasterChef.

They don't do this out of the goodness of their hearts, it is pure marketing, and it is making us all think that the products that are destabilising the climate, our security and our way of life are actually cool and normal and totally necessary.

Just take Ampol as an example. It launched a $160 million rebrand in 2021 including sponsorships of the State of Origin and Red Bull Racing. In 2024 it boasted record sales of petroleum - up 17 per cent in just two years - while still maintaining it is going to reach net zero and is part of the energy transition.

To its credit, Australia's top journalism awards, the Walkleys, this year dropped Ampol as a sponsor. It changed its sponsorship policy to say it "does not accept money from companies or individuals that it deems to pose a significant reputational risk due to the nature of their dealings that offer no tangible benefit to humanity."

But Ampol still sponsors programs that reach children. They include schools "Best Allrounder" competition, the Smith Family, Surf Life Saving Australia and youth mental health organisation the Sebastion Foundation. Not to mention the "Ampol Little Origin Series" a rugby league competition for years 5 and 6 where children's jerseys are covered in the petroleum company logo.

The ACT's corporate sponsorship procedure for schools prevents partnerships with armaments, alcohol, tobacco or pornography companies but allows rampant promotions of unhealthy, toxic, polluting coal, oil and gas. It allows children, and their teachers, to be influenced by the very companies ruining their ever-diminishing chances of growing up in a safe climate.

This same conflict is playing out in other areas of the territory. While the ACT government is working to reduce gas use, ActewAGL sponsors the ACT AFL and Canberra Raiders. The power of the petro-marketing dollar was the major factor in Chief Minister Andrew Barr rejecting a recent bill to prevent fossil fuel advertising at sporting venues. The fact that big climate polluters wield such financial and cultural power is the exact reason these sponsorships must be prevented. How can we stop using fossil fuels when our political leaders are too scared to even stop their ads?

Many will argue that coal, oil and gas are legal products and we still need to use them. This is as short sighted as it is simplistic. We can't make the massive, society-wide changes required to meet our climate targets when our most powerful legacy companies are undermining us. We can't prepare our children to take advantage of a clean energy future while they are being educated by its opponents.

We're asking ACT businesses to stand up for a clean future by pledging they won't promote fossil fuels. Please sign our petition and show the leadership our politicians are lacking.