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EU regulators have launched an investigation into 20 airlines over their potentially “misleading greenwashing practices,” including the alleged benefits of offsetting aviation emissions.
The European Commission said on Tuesday that it had “identified several types of potentially misleading environmental claims” in a letter to airlines and national consumer protection authorities.
The names of the airlines were not disclosed, but the national regulators involved are Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway and Spain.
Regulators’ concerns center on claims that the carbon emissions of flying can be offset either by investing in environmental projects or by using more sustainable jet fuels, which still emit carbon when burned but are less polluting than the jet fuel currently used.
“Airlines still need to clarify whether such claims can be substantiated on the basis of sound scientific evidence,” the commission said.
The industry association Airlines for Europe was contacted for comment.
Airlines are facing increasing regulatory scrutiny over their environmental impact, and the EU has begun a broader crackdown on environmental claims in corporate marketing.
Last month, a Dutch court ruled that airline KLM acted unlawfully when it claimed customers could “fly sustainably”, while Britain’s advertising regulator banned advertising from three airlines in December.
Aviation is responsible for around 4 percent of the EU’s greenhouse gas emissions and is considered one of the hardest sectors to decarbonize due to a lack of alternatives to jet fuel, despite industry-wide commitments to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050 lacking.
Some airlines have established programs that allow passengers to contribute to carbon offset programs or higher costs for sustainable aviation fuels.
However, the commission said it found a number of potentially misleading claims, including “creating the false impression that paying an additional fee to finance climate projects with lower environmental impacts or to support the use of alternative aviation fuels can reduce or completely offset CO₂ emissions.” .” [from flying]“.
It also noted that airlines had made claims about plans to achieve net-zero emissions “without clear and verifiable commitments, targets and an independent monitoring system”.
It has written to airlines asking for proposals to address the concerns within 30 days, with the aim of reaching an “agreed” set of changes. National authorities have the power to impose sanctions on companies as a last resort.
The Science-Based Targets Initiative, a voluntary standards body that assesses the quality of net-zero targets set by industries such as aviation, is divided on the benefits of using carbon credits to achieve net-zero -emissions.
According to the group’s database, no major European airline has submitted a climate target under its existing rules that is ambitious enough to help limit global warming to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels. EasyJet, Gol, Iberia, Lufthansa and Wizz Air have all been excluded from an SBTi validation process for their climate plans after failing to submit sufficiently ambitious targets.