On Thursday 22 June, the European Consumers' Organisation (BEUC) and its members in 18 EU countries announced that they had lodged a complaint with the European Commission and the national consumer protection authorities (CPCs) against 17 European airlines for climate greenwashing.
The climate claims they denounce mislead consumers and fall within the scope of unfair commercial practices prohibited by Directive 2005/29/EC (unfair business-to-consumer commercial practices in the internal market), according to a legal study commissioned by BEUC.
The consumer associations are calling for a Europe-wide investigation into this issue and for the airlines concerned - and the industry as a whole - to stop making statements that give consumers the false impression that aviation is ‘sustainable’, ‘responsible’ and ‘green’ when it is not even close to being so.
When airlines offered to charge consumers additional ‘green’ fees on the basis of these misleading claims, for example to contribute to the development of ‘sustainable aviation fuels’, the CPC authorities should have asked the airlines to refund their customers, according to the consumer associations.
Among the many examples of misleading practices singled out are the claims ‘CO2 offset’ or ‘CO2 neutral’, according to which the payment of additional credits can ‘offset’, ‘neutralise’ or ‘compensate’ the CO2 emissions of a flight.
To see the legal study: https://aeur.eu/f/7my (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)