the European Commission summons twenty airlines to explain their commercial practices potentially misleading “. The list of these companies has not been made public but Brussels accuses them of greenwashing (or “greenwashing”). They have thirty days to comply.
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The twenty airlines incriminated are suspected of having deceived their customers by charging them – in addition to the price of the ticket – ” climate projects » supposed to compensate for the greenhouse gas emissions of their flight. However, affirming that we can “ compensate for ” Or “ neutralize » the CO2 emissions of its flight « is factually incorrect », writes a consumer organization in Belgium in a press release, for which “ these allegations constitute unfair commercial practices. »
According to several studies, only reducing traffic can reasonably make it possible to reduce emissions linked to the aerial. The European Commission also criticizes these companies for promoting the use of aviation fuels, supposedly “ sustainable » without clearly justifying the environmental impact of these fuels.
Legal actions
Some also offer travelers a “ calculator » supposed to quantify the CO2 emissions of their flight. That ” without providing sufficient scientific evidence as to the reliability of this calculation », Explains Brussels. After carrying out investigations in several member states, the European executive therefore sent a letter to the twenty airlines concerned so that they could explain themselves and comply with the law.
Several legal actions to denounce the greenwashing airlines have been launched in recent months in Europe. Last March, the company KLM was prosecuted in the Netherlands and Lufthansa in Germany barely a week ago.
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