The European Commission announced that it, along with EU consumer authorities, sent letters to twenty airlines, raising concerns that they are engaging in greenwashing. According to the Commission's announcement, the action focuses on "claims made by airlines that the CO2 emissions caused by a flight could be offset by climate projects or through the use of sustainable fuels, to which the consumers could contribute by paying additional fees."
Examples of potentially misleading practices identified by the European Commission include:
- Creating the incorrect impression that paying an additional fee to finance climate projects with less environmental impact or to support the use of alternative aviation fuels can reduce or fully counterbalance the CO2 emissions;
- Using the term "sustainable aviation fuels" without clearly justifying the environmental impact of such fuels;
- Using the terms "green," "sustainable," or "responsible" in an absolute way or using other implied green claims;
- Claiming that the airline is moving toward net-zero greenhouse gas emissions or any future environmental performance, without clear and verifiable commitments, targets, and an independent monitoring system;
- 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 without the information on the elements used for such calculation; and
- Presenting consumers with a comparison of flights regarding their CO2 emissions, without providing sufficient and accurate information on the elements the comparison is based on.
The letters give the airlines – which were not identified in the announcement – thirty days to address the European Commission's concerns.
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