European airlines have been hit by a consumer complaint filed with the EU’s executive arm accusing 17 companies of “greenwashing,” the practice of making misleading climate-related claims.
The European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) on Thursday said the claims made by the airlines breach EU rules on unfair commercial practices.
The BEUC called for a Europe-wide investigation and for airlines to “stop making claims that give consumers the impression that flying is sustainable.”
Photo: REUTERS
“We urge authorities to take the matter into their hands and crack down on this greenwashing practice seriously misleading consumers,” BEUC deputy director-general Ursula Pachl said in a statement.
“Airlines must stop giving consumers the false impression that they are choosing a sustainable transport mode,” Pachl said.
The BEUC said that 23 of its member organizations from 19 countries had joined the complaint to the European Commission.
Greenwashing is when companies use deceptive claims to convince the public that their products or operations are environmentally friendly.
The complaint targets Air Baltic, Air Dolomiti, Air France, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Eurowings, Finnair, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Lufthansa, Norwegian, Ryanair, SAS, SWISS, TAP, Volotea, Vueling and Wizz Air.
The BEUC said airlines are misleading consumers by charging them more to contribute to the development of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), which are “not market-ready” and would only represent a minor share of a plane’s fuel mix once they become widely available.
The group also denounced claims that paying extra credits can “offset” or “compensate” for a flight’s carbon dioxide emissions.
Consumer protection authorities should ask airlines to reimburse customers who paid such extra “green” fees, the BEUC said.
Airlines for Europe, an industry association, said in a statement that companies “fully recognize the importance of transparent communications on sustainability.”
Although offsets play a role, “their significance will diminish as the industry brings in more fuel-efficient aircraft and invests in more SAF” to meet a target of net zero emissions by 2050, the association said.
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