{"id":5672,"date":"2024-05-14T15:25:10","date_gmt":"2024-05-14T14:25:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenairnews.com\/?p=5672"},"modified":"2024-08-13T17:36:56","modified_gmt":"2024-08-13T16:36:56","slug":"european-commission-and-national-consumer-authorities-accuse-20-airlines-of-greenwashing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenairnews.com\/?p=5672","title":{"rendered":"European Commission and national consumer authorities accuse 20 airlines of greenwashing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The European Commission and EU consumer authorities have written to 20 European airlines notifying them of potentially misleading green claims being made over carbon offsetting or through the use of sustainable aviation fuels. The issue was raised after a complaint by BEUC, an umbrella group of European consumer organisations, which initially identified 17 airlines including Air France-KLM, Lufthansa Group airlines, Finnair, TAP, Norwegian and large low-cost carriers such as Ryanair and Wizz Air. The airlines have been \u201cinvited\u201d to respond within 30 days and to bring their marketing practices in line with EU consumer law. The Commission and the network of Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) authorities accuse airlines of misleading consumers by informing them that the CO2 emissions caused by a flight could be offset by climate projects or through the use of SAF, to which they could contribute by paying additional fees.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cIf we want responsible consumers, we need to provide them with accurate information. More and more travellers care about their environmental footprint and choose products and services with better environmental performance,\u201d said V\u0115ra Jourov\u00e1, the Commission\u2019s Vice-President for Values and Transparency. \u201cThey deserve accurate and scientific answers, not vague or false claims. The Commission is fully committed to empowering consumers in the green transition and fighting greenwashing. We expect airlines, as well as any other industry operator, to make a responsible use of environmental claims.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Commission and CPC authorities say they have identified six types<\/a> of what they consider are misleading practices among the airlines involved:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2022 Creating the false impression that CO2 emissions of a flight can be reduced or fully counterbalanced by paying an additional fee to finance climate projects with less certain environmental impact or the use of alternative aviation fuels;
\u2022 Using the term \u2018sustainable aviation fuels\u2019 without clearly justifying the environmental impact;
\u2022 Using the terms \u2018green\u2019, \u2018sustainable\u2019 or \u2018responsible\u2019 in an absolute way or use other implicit green claims that can mislead consumers on the environmental impact of the \u201chighly polluting\u201d aviation industry;
\u2022 Claiming that the airline is moving towards net zero greenhouse gas emissions or any future environmental performance without clear and verifiable commitments, targets and an independent monitoring system;
\u2022 Presenting consumers with a calculator for the CO2 emissions of a specific flight without providing sufficient scientific proof on whether such calculation is reliable and information regarding the elements used for the calculation; and
\u2022 Presenting consumers with a comparison of flights as regards their CO2 emissions without providing sufficient and accurate information on the elements of the comparison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cThis action aims at aligning the commercial practices of all companies in the air travel sector with EU consumer legislation, by attaining the required level of substantiation and communication of voluntary environmental claims,\u201d say the consumer authorities, which coordinate their investigation and enforcement actions with the Commission. Under the Consumer Protection Cooperation Regulation<\/a>, they can take action to address cross-border issues at EU level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consumer protection against misleading green claims can also be found in the Directive on empowering consumers for the green transition<\/a>, which the Commission says explicitly bans claims, based on the offsetting of GHG emissions, that a product has a neutral, reduced or positive impact on the environment in terms of GHG emissions, as well as claims based on future environmental performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this airline greenwashing action, the CPC authorities are lead by the Belgian Directorate General for Economic Inspection, the Netherlands Authority for Consumers and Markets, the Norwegian Consumer Authority and the Spanish Directorate General of Consumer Affairs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After receiving replies from the airlines written to, the Commission says it will organise meetings with them and the CPC network to discuss solutions, with the Commission then monitoring the implementation of the agreed-upon changes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf the airlines involved do not take the necessary steps to solve concerns raised in the letter, CPC authorities can decide to take further enforcement actions, including sanctions,\u201d warns the Commission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brussels-based BEUC<\/a>, which launched the initial complaint in June 2023, is the umbrella group for 45 independent consumer organisations from 31 European countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is great news that authorities from across Europe acknowledge consumers have been fooled by airlines\u2019 greenwashing,\u201d commented Monique Goyens, BEUC\u2019s Director General. \u201cIt is unacceptable that airlines have freely lured consumers into offsetting their flight\u2019s emissions, sometimes at a high price. One can never be sure that the trees planted to compensate a flight\u2019s high emissions will capture the carbon back into the ground \u2013 if they are planted at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe fact that European consumer protection authorities are calling on airlines to get their act together shows there\u2019s a wind of change. Greenwashing is no longer acceptable, and the fact that aviation is one of the most highly polluting sectors makes it even more intolerable. This crack-down on greenwashing is encouraging at a time when consumers are expected to shift to more sustainable lifestyles.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Responding to the action, a statement by Airlines for Europe (A4E) said that although proposed EU legislation on green claims aimed to establish a clear legal framework for sustainability communications across all sectors, the current regulations varied significantly between countries and were still evolving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe recognise the importance of clear, transparent information about sustainability and our efforts towards achieving net zero carbon emissions. This clarity benefits consumers, regulators, fuel suppliers, NGOs and other key stakeholders involved in our transition,\u201d it said. \u201cA4E is engaged in ongoing discussions fostered by EU bodies to develop a common methodology for airlines to effectively communicate our sustainability efforts and progress.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The trade body said it had already outlined an independently-produced roadmap to achieving net zero, with many airlines\u2019 interim targets verified by SBTi. It added that it was, however, \u201cparticularly concerned\u201d over the complaint concerning sustainable aviation fuels and the requirement for a clear justification of their environmental impact. \u201cThe EU has implemented an ambitious SAF mandate, supported and endorsed by the European Commission, and the science supports that this is a more sustainable alternative to regular jet fuel.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Commission has not named the 20 airlines it has written to, although BEUC listed 17 in its submission: Air Baltic, Air Dolomiti, Air France, Austrian, Brussels Airlines, Eurowings, Finnair, KLM, Lufthansa, Norwegian, Ryanair, SAS, SWISS, TAP, Volotea, Vueling and Wizz Air.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Following a greenwashing lawsuit brought by German environmental group Deutsche Umwelthilfe in March, the Cologne Regional Court found against Eurowings<\/a> on claims that passengers could neutralise their flight emissions through paying a small sum towards forestry protection and cookstove projects. That same month, a group of environmental NGOs similarly won a lawsuit against KLM<\/a> in a Dutch court after alleging the airline\u2019s sustainability marketing breached the EU Unfair Commercial Practices Directive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Photo: Brussels Airport<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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