Is it enough to add an option to your plane ticket to fly sustainably? This practice, which the companies have generalized, is “misleading” according to European associations, which have lodged a complaint with the European Commission.
Twenty-two associations from 18 countries, members of the European Consumers’ Organization (BEUC), announced on Thursday that they were filing a complaint against 17 airlines which they accuse of “greenwashing” and “commercial practices misleading”.
These associations accuse the companies concerned of “implying that air transport can be ‘sustainable’, ‘eco-responsible’ and ‘green'”, explain in a joint press release the CLCV and the UFC-Que Choisir, which are among the applicants. .
“None of the strategies deployed by the aviation sector is currently able to limit greenhouse gas emissions,” they say. They consider it “essential to put an end to these allegations, because if air traffic continues to expand, emissions will continue to increase in the years to come”.
The European Commission confirmed that it had received the complaint, with a spokesperson recalling that “in general, the fight against greenwashing and misleading environmental claims is a priority for the Commission”.
CO2 supplement
In their sights, the “significant supplement” that the companies propose to pay.
On the one hand, it must compensate for CO emissions2 theft, for example by planting trees — a mechanism with “much criticized climate benefits, while the damage caused by CO2 emissions2 air journeys are indisputable” — and on the other hand contribute to the development of sustainable aviation fuels (sustainable aviation fuelSAF), which “will at best only represent a minor part of aircraft fuel tanks”.
The companies targeted are Air Baltic, Air Dolomiti, Air France, Austrian, Brussels Airlines, Eurowings, Finnair, KLM, Lufthansa, Norwegian, Ryanair, SAS, SWISS, TAP, Volotea, Vueling and Wizz Air.
Contacted on Thursday, Air France-KLM indicates “pay closer attention to the rigor of its messages” and recalls having been, in 2022, “the first buyer of sustainable fuel in the world”.
Air France says it does not offer a “system to offset CO emissions2 outside the mandatory regulatory mechanisms”, but rather an “environment” option offered to customers which, according to the company’s website, makes it possible to “reduce the carbon footprint of our flights”.
“The sums collected” are “exclusively used for the purchase of SAF” and allow customers to “contribute to the development of sustainable aviation fuel production chains”, according to a spokesperson.
Europe’s leading airline organisation, Airlines for Europe (A4E), responded on Thursday that airlines recognize “the importance of transparent communication on sustainability issues”.
Offsetting mechanisms “play a role now”, but their importance will diminish as planes become less fuel-efficient and as investments increase in SAF, according to Airlines for Europe, which has a zero CO2 emissions target2 for 2050.
“Transparency”
“It is unacceptable that airlines can boast of working for the climate,” says Marie-Amandine Stévenin, president of UFC-Que Choisir.
The associations are hoping for a joint decision to prohibit “any claim aimed at making consumers believe that flying is an environmentally friendly practice”.
Lufthansa, Europe’s leading airline group, explained that it “is betting on continuous dialogue” with its customers. It indicates on its “Compensaid” site that it has collected 4.5 million euros in contributions, mainly dedicated to the purchase of SAF.
For her part, Finnar indicated, through a spokesperson, that she was going to “study” the complaints of the associations. “This is an area that is constantly evolving and is very complex,” said the spokesperson for the Finnish company.
Norwegian has explained that it wants to “achieve as significant real emission reductions as possible, as quickly as possible”. But “aviation is a very international sector and we therefore look forward to clear guidelines at European Union level,” said a spokesperson.
Very few individual customers, around 1%, pay to compensate for their flight, the carriers agree.
“Consumers are obviously suspicious and unsure of what they are really buying,” Geoffrey Weston, airline consultant at Bain Company, told AFP in early June.