Brussels, Belgium | AFP | Muser NewsDesk
The European aviation industry is awash with misleading climate-related claims, consumer groups said Tuesday, over a year after the EU launched a probe into airlines’ greenwashing.
An analysis of 17 air carriers found many misled passengers by suggesting that flying was more eco-friendly than it really is — a breach of EU rules — pan-European consumers organisation BEUC said.
“Travellers are lulled into believing they are choosing a sustainable transportation rather than a highly polluting one,” said BEUC director general Agustin Reyna.
Aviation accounts for up to four percent of all the European Union’s greenhouse gas emissions, according to Brussels.
In 2023 BEUC filed a complaint with the European Commission, accusing European airlines of greenwashing and unfair commercial practices for inflating their green credentials.
A year later, the commission opened a probe, which is still ongoing, into 20 firms over misleading green claims.
In a report published to coincide with the Paris Air Show, a major trade fair, BEUC said Tuesday that little has since changed.
Some of the airlines analysed have removed or amended their climate-related marketing claims.
Norwegian airlines for example removed all climate-related claims during the booking process and Wizz Air similarly did away with an option touted as offsetting carbon emissions.
But other changes have often been light, such as the choice of words or colour codes.
“These improvements should not hide that greenwashing is still widespread,” said Reyna.
Airlines for Europe (A4E), an industry association, said it did not have any comment beyond what it said last year.
After the EU probe was launched, the group said it recognised the importance of clear, transparent information about sustainability — and it was engaging in discussions with EU bodies to that end.
BEUC Tuesday said that many of the companies analysed, which included Air France and Lufthansa, still offered “green” fares, charging passengers more to purchase carbon credits or sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
Yet, the former did little to offset a flight’s climate impact, and the latter were not widely available.
EU rules currently require carriers to include only two percent of SAF in their fuel mix.
Airlines also often oversold their long-term sustainability goals, BEUC said.
Greenwashing is when companies use deceptive claims to convince the public that their products or operations are environmentally friendly.
ub/ec/giv
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