BRUSSELS
\nEuropean airlines, including Luf\u00adthansa, Air France, and KLM, have agreed to stop making misleading environmental claims about offsetting the carbon emissions from air travel, the European Commission said on Friday.
\nThe pledge from 21 carriers will oblige them to clarify that the emissions of a specific flight cannot be \u201cneutralised, offset, or directly reduced\u201d by contributing to climate protection projects or alternative fuels \u2014 claims the EU, saying it amount to greenwashing.
\n\u201cTo avoid misleading consumers, airlines must refrain from using vague environmental language and ensure that any claims about future environmental performance are substantiated,\u201d the commission said in a statement.
\nThe announcement made in the run-up to next week\u2019s COP30 UN climate summit in Brazil stems from a consultation between airlines, the EU executive, and consumer protection groups.
\nAirlines also pledged to present carbon emission calculations clearly and transparently, and provide robust scientific evidence when claiming environmental improvements.
\nThe carriers concerned are Air Baltic, Air Dolomiti, Air France, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Eurowings, EasyJet, Fin\u00adnair, KLM, Lufthansa, Luxair, Norwegian, Ryanair, SAS, SWISS, TAP, Transavia France, Transavia CV, Volotea, Vueling, and Wizz Air.
\nThe commitments follow a formal complaint lodged with the European Commi\u00ads\u00adsion in June 2023 by consu\u00admer groups, which accused the aviation sector of misle\u00adading advertising practices.
\nThe industry has begun to shift its messaging after a series of legal setbacks.
\nIn March 2024, a Dutch court ruled against KLM in a greenwashing case, saying the airline misled consumers with vague claims about the sustainability of its flights.
\nA year later, a German court barred Lufthansa from advertising carbon offsetting in a way deemed deceptive.
\nAir France no longer offers carbon offsets for flights. Instead, it suggests passengers contribute to the purchase of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF).
\n\u201cThere is room to change\u201d in the way airlines communicate, said Diane Vitry, who heads up the aviation section of the NGO Transport & Environment.
\nAviation accounts for around three per cent of global carbon emissions, but its overall contribution to climate change is higher because of the release of other greenhouse gases and condensation trails at high altitudes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BRUSSELS European airlines, including Luf\u00adthansa, Air France, and KLM, have agreed to stop making misleading environmental claims about offsetting the carbon emissions from air travel, the European Commission said on Friday. The pledge from 21 carriers will oblige them to clarify that the emissions of a specific flight cannot be \u201cneutralised, offset, or directly reduced\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-513504","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-business"},"yoast_head":"\n