Air France – KLM and Lufthansa are among the companies targeted by the complaint, France Inter learned on Thursday via a press release from UFC-Que Choisir. 18 countries are represented.
22 associations from 18 different countries are filing a complaint with the European Commission against 17 airlines for “greenwashing” and “misleading commercial practices towards consumers”, France Inter learned Thursday, June 22 via a press release from UFC-Que Choisir.
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More specifically, behind this complaint we find the UFC-Que Choisir, the CLCV and 20 other associations from 18 countries, members of the European Bureau of Consumers’ Unions (BEUC). Among the companies targeted by the complaint are Air France – KLM and Lufthansa. The complaint is filed while the International Aeronautics and Space Show is currently being held at Le Bourget.
Buy the neutrality of the flight, “a false allegation”
The analysis carried out by BEUC and its members, published on Thursday, underlines “a multitude of misleading claims used by airlines to target consumers”. Among these allegations, the fact of “to imply that air transport can be ‘sustainable’, ‘eco-responsible’ and ‘green'”. The associations believe that“none of the strategies deployed by the aviation sector is currently able to limit greenhouse gas emissions”.
Another allegation pointed out in particular by the BEUC analysis, the fact of“encourage paying a supplement when purchasing a plane ticket to ‘offset’ the CO2 emissions of a flight“, while “the climate benefits of these offsets are highly criticized”.
Quoted by the press release, Marie-Amandine Stévenin, president of the UFC-Que Choisir declares: “While it is no longer to be demonstrated that air transport contributes in a significant and increasing way to greenhouse gas emissions, it is unacceptable that airlines can boast of working for the climate”.
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An opinion shared by Romain Morizot, aeronautical engineer and member of the collective “Let’s think about tomorrow’s aeronautics”. Contacted by France Inter, he explains that “What is problematic about companies today is that you can buy the neutrality of your flight. This claim is false and misleading compared to the solutions that exist today and which are very low compared to the emissions of the sector as a whole”.
Reimburse consumers encouraged to subscribe to options
For the president of the CLCV, Jean-Yves Mano, “Bad green claims are now invading the commercial universe and the airline sector represents a textbook case”. He asserts that these allegations “must stop for consumer protection” and wish that the “public authorities must act with firmness”.
Through this complaint, the 22 associations hope that a “Europe-wide survey [sera] launched on the practices of these airlines and the sector as a whole”but also that a “binding and joint decision [sera] taken by the relevant consumer protection authorities”. By “binding decision”the associations would like the use of “any claim intended to lead consumers to believe that flying is an environmentally friendly practice” but also that “the companies reimburse consumers who have been encouraged by these misleading claims, to subscribe to additional options, to limit their environmental impact”.
For its part, Air France claims to have stopped offering to finance offsets last fall, but still offers to contribute to the financing of research on sustainable fuels.