MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's government on Tuesday unveiled a draft bill aimed at promoting sustainable consumption and reducing prices, which would ban practices such as reselling concert tickets for
Spain's Government Moves to Ban Ticket Scalping and Misleading Ads
MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's government on Tuesday unveiled a draft bill aimed at promoting sustainable consumption and reducing prices, which would ban practices such as reselling concert tickets for profit and advertising fossil fuels, or cars powered by them.
"This government's objective is to encourage industry's transition towards more accessible and sustainable models, thereby lowering prices for consumers and also making decisive progress in environmental protection," Consumer Rights Minister Pablo Bustinduy told reporters.
The bill would also ban "advertising based on fear" of crime or natural disasters, and would stop companies from making false or misleading claims about their environmental credentials, a practice known as greenwashing.
Ads for most domestic flights will also be prohibited as the government pushes for travellers to use electric-powered trains.
The bill will need approval from parliament, where the government of socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is in a minority since winning another term in a vote in late 2023.
The government has struggled to get enough parliamentary support in the lower house to pass a series of bills and has not yet presented a budget for this year and next.
Bustinduy, who belongs to the far-left junior coalition partner Sumar, has launched campaigns against businesses such as budget airlines and tourism summer rentals, with mixed results.
A court last week suspended fines of 179 million euros ($211.13 million) imposed by his ministry on low-cost carriers for charging for cabin baggage. Some of the rental listings his ministry had ordered to be withdrawn from platforms such as Airbnb in May are still being advertised.
($1 = 0.8478 euros)
(Reporting by Inti Landauro; Editing by Sharon Singleton)
