EU Cracks Down on Airline Greenwashing: Lufthansa, KLM and other Major Carriers Respond

On 7 November 2025, the European Consumer Organisation (BEUC) announced that 21 major European airlines have formally pledged to cease making misleading environmental claims, notably regarding flight emissions offsetting and sustainable aviation fuels (SAFs).

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Among the carriers involved are are Air Baltic, Air Dolomiti, Air France, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Eurowings, EasyJet, Finnair, KLM, Lufthansa, Luxair, Norwegian, Ryanair, SAS, SWISS, TAP, Transavia France, Transavia CV, Volotea, Vueling and Wizz Air. The move follows mounting regulatory scrutiny from the European Commission and national consumer‑protection authorities over claims that flights can be “carbon‑neutral” or “fully compensated”.

Airlines’ Specific Commitments

BEUC (with 23 of its member organizations) launched the action against several airlines in June 2023 and since then has been monitoring the market since then. In a press release by the European Union in 2024, European Commission and the CPC network, identified the carriers above involved in the following ‘potentially’ misleading practices:

Misleading Practice	Description
Overstating SAF benefits	Suggesting that paying extra for sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) or climate projects fully offsets CO2 emissions, without scientific proof.
Absolute environmental claims	Using terms like “green,” “sustainable,” or “responsible” without qualifiers, implying full environmental benefit.
Unverified net-zero promises	Claiming progress toward net-zero emissions or future environmental performance without clear targets, independent monitoring, or verifiable commitments.
Inaccurate CO2 flight comparisons	Comparing CO2 emissions across flights without providing accurate or sufficient information on how the calculations were made.
Unreliable CO2 calculators	Providing flight-specific CO2 calculators without transparency on methodology or scientific validation of results.
Unsupported SAF impact statements	Mentioning sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) without clearly explaining their actual environmental effects.

in June 2025, evaluation found out that despite some improvements, airlines’ greenwashing was still rife. Now, airlines will refrain from misleading statements suggesting that a passenger’s flight emissions can be neutralised or offset entirely through SAFs or climate‑projects. They are also required to provide transparent emission calculations, ensure any “green” claims are backed by robust scientific evidence, and remove vague language implying environmental benefit.

For example, Lufthansa’s “Green Fares” product – which promised a 20 % emission reduction by choosing an “Economy Green” ticket – has been flagged as part of the misleading claims issue, reported politico.eu:

Lufthansa’s “Green Fares” promises consumers — simply by “selecting one of the Economy Green and Business Green fares” — to slash 20 percent of individual flight-related CO2 emissions through the use of SAFs and to offset the remaining emissions “to an equivalent extent by contributing to high-quality climate protection projects” — a reference to offset credits. KLM told consumers that they could reduce their carbon footprint thanks to SAF and a “reforestation program.”

Meanwhile, KLM’s previous campaigns suggesting that flying could be “more sustainable” via SAFs and tree‑planting programs are also drawn into question. In 2022, the airline faced a lawsuit over their “Fly Responsibly” campaign, which described KLM’s “commitment to taking a leading role in creating a more sustainable future for aviation”. But Johnny White, lawyer at ClientEarth, said in a press release that was quoted in CNBC that KLM’s claims were not entirely true:

“While climate experts warn we need to reduce air traffic to keep a just and liveable world within reach, KLM and the airline industry are continuing to focus on growth at any cost and lobbying intensively against climate regulation….It’s now or never for climate action. Airlines cannot be allowed to compete for business on claims that they are tackling the climate crisis, when the reality is they are fuelling it.”

Regulatory Framework and Consumer Law Surrounding Aviation’s Green Initiatives

The Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) is a network of national authorities tasked with enforcing consumer protection legislation across the European Union. Coordinated by the European Commission, the CPC has the authority to address issues that span multiple EU countries, ensuring consistent protection for consumers throughout the bloc.

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Under the Consumer Protection Cooperation Regulation, the CPC can:

• Investigate cross-border consumer concerns.

• Take coordinated action against unfair or misleading commercial practices.

• Facilitate information sharing between enforcement authorities in different EU member states.

In addition to national regulators, consumer associations such as BEUC (The European Consumer Organisation) play a key role. Under the European Green Deal, the European Union stated out its goal was “to better equip consumers with clear and reliable
information on the environmental impact of a product or a service”., whilst also stating that consumers need to be protected against misleading climate-related claims – that are collectively dubbed “greenwashing”.

Legal/Regulatory Instrument	Key Provisions	Relevant Notes
Articles 5, 6, 7 of the UCPD (Unfair Commercial Practices Directive)	Forbids unfair or deceptive practices toward consumers, including misleading statements or omissions in business-to-consumer interactions.	Applies broadly across the EU internal market to ensure fair commercial behavior.
European Commission Guidance on UCPD	Provides detailed instructions on identifying and interpreting misleading environmental claims.	Helps enforcement authorities determine which “green” claims may be considered deceptive.
Directive on empowering consumers for the green transition	Prohibits claims that a product is carbon-neutral, has reduced impact, or positively affects the environment through offsetting, and sets rules for claims about future environmental performance.	Strengthens protection against misleading sustainability and climate-related marketing.
Proposed Green Claims Directive (March 2023)	Requires businesses to provide evidence supporting environmental claims and to clearly indicate which portion of the claim is based on their operations versus purchased offsets.	Ensures transparency and accountability in explicit environmental claims; currently under proposal.

23 of its member organizations of BEUC that launched action against European Airlines in June 2023

The following table gives us a cue about the 23 member organizations with whom the BEUC worked to take the decisive action to show that European airlines were misleading their customers. Agustín Reyna, Director General of BEUC, was buoyed with the decision of making airlines responsible for their misleading words:

“It is excellent news airlines have agreed to stop luring consumers with green promises following our complaint to the European Commission. It was high time airlines stopped painting flying as a sustainable option. Paying ‘green fares’ to plant trees can never guarantee to suck aircraft emissions out of the air. This money-making business does not help consumers nor the environment.”

Let’s take a look at the brief of the member organizations:

Organisation	Country	Type of Work
Altroconsumo	Italy	Consumer rights advocacy, product testing, legal actions, education, publications. (euroconsumers.org)
DECO	Portugal	Consumer info, dispute resolution, advocacy, education, product testing. (wca.org.my)
Active Consumers / Асоциация Активни потребители	Bulgaria	Consumer advice, advocacy, product testing, legal support. (beuc.eu)
Forbrugerrådet Tænk	Denmark	Product testing, consumer guidance, advocacy, education, dispute handling. (taenk.dk)
EKPIZO	Greece	Consumer information, complaint handling, advocacy, education. (ekpizo.gr)
CLCV	France	Consumer advocacy, product testing, legal support, education. (clcv.org)
UFC‑Que Choisir	France	Consumer protection, testing, legal actions, publications. (quechoisir.org)
OCU	Spain	Consumer advice, product testing, advocacy, legal support. (ocu.org)
CECU	Spain	Consumer guidance, advocacy, legal representation. (cecu.es)
ASUFIN	Spain	Financial consumer protection, legal support, education. (asufin.com)
Tudatos Vásárlók Egyesülete	Hungary	Consumer advocacy, education, complaint handling, product info. (tudatosvasarlok.hu)
Fundacja Konsumentów	Poland	Consumer rights advocacy, education, complaint support. (federacja-konsumentow.org.pl)
Federacja Konsumentów	Poland	Consumer education, advocacy, dispute resolution. (federacja-konsumentow.org.pl)
Testachats / Testaankoop	Belgium	Product testing, consumer info, advocacy, dispute resolution. (test-achats.be)
Spoločnosť ochrany spotrebiteľov (S.O.S.)	Slovakia	Consumer advocacy, complaint handling, education. (sosr.sk)
Kuluttajaliitto – Konsumentförbundet ry	Finland	Consumer guidance, advocacy, product testing, publications. (kuluttajaliitto.fi)
Forbrukerrådet	Norway	Consumer advice, advocacy, dispute resolution, publications. (forbrukerradet.no)
Verbraucherzentrale Bundesverband	Germany	Consumer advice, advocacy, legal support, education. (vzbv.de)
Sveriges Konsumenter	Sweden	Consumer info, advocacy, education, publications. (konsumentverket.se)
Arbeiterkammer	Austria	Consumer protection, legal aid, advocacy, education. (arbeiterkammer.at)
Fédération romande des consommateurs	Switzerland	Consumer guidance, advocacy, education, publications. (frc.ch)
Zveza potrošnikov Slovenije	Slovenia	Consumer rights advocacy, education, complaint support. (zps.si)
Consumentenbond	Netherlands	Consumer testing, advocacy, education, dispute handling. (consumentenbond.nl)

Previous incidents of European Airlines making misleading claims

Europe has taken several measures to curb the harmful effects of aviation. One of the pioneering movements across Europe was “Flygskam”- a movement that started to “flight-shame” people. In parallel, a movement called “Tagskryt” started too which was aimed at encouraging people to take trains when an alternative to flights was available.

Tågskryt: Was it Just A Social Media Trend Against Aviation?

According to GreenPeace.org, which is collaborating with over 30 organizations to push for a legal ban on fossil fuel advertising and sponsorships in the EU, the seven largest European airlines produced 170 million tons of GHG emissions in 2019. This was greater than the combined annual emissions of Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland.

The same organization also claimed that only three major European airlines have committed to short-term greenhouse gas reductions over the next five years, with only one of them committing to a 25% reduction in emissions by 2025, compared with 2005 levels.

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Some of the other staggering numbers related to aviation including the fact that by 2050, aviation could use up to 25% of the global carbon budget needed to limit warming to 1.5°C, include the following:

• Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) represented only around 0.1% or less of the total jet fuel consumption for any airline analyzed that year.

• Global aviation emissions increased by 3.4% per year between 2010 and 2019, despite urgent climate targets.

• The aviation sector would need to cut at least 2% of flights each year until 2040 to stay aligned with the 1.5°C climate goal.

Aviation is also rife with talks about carbon neutrality, carbon offsets, and Sustainable Aviation Fuel- all of which have some inherent problems, as you can know about from this table

Concept	Description	Issues and Criticism	Numerical Details
Carbon Neutrality (Net-Zero)	“when a polluter that has emitted greenhouse gases exchanges or ‘offsets’ their pollution with a ‘credit’ for carbon captured by someone else“	Critics argue that it gives polluters a way to delay real emission cuts.	Six out of seven major European airline groups have pledged to reach carbon neutrality by 2050.
Carbon Offsets	A system where emitters purchase carbon credits from other entities that promise to capture or avoid emissions through projects like tree planting or conservation.	Some studies hint that many of these offset projects fail to deliver measurable results.	In 2017, the Öko-Institut reviewed 5,000 carbon offset projects for the EU and found that only about 2 percent achieved actual emission reductions.
Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF)	A newer category of jet fuel mostly produced from plant or waste-based sources, intended to substitute conventional kerosene.	Production relies heavily on agrofuels, which can lead to: deforestation biodiversity loss competition with food crops.	Before the pandemic, global production of SAF was under 200,000 tonnes, compared with around 300 million tonnes of jet fuel consumed by airlines annually. The IEA estimates SAF could supply 19 percent of aviation fuel by 2040, leaving 81 percent still fossil-based.
e-Fuel (Electrofuels)	A synthetic form of aviation fuel made using renewable electricity, often involving e-kerosene or green hydrogen.	Current output is far too low for meaningful impact scaling up will require major investment and renewable power expansion.	At present, e-fuel accounts for only 0.00004 percent of total jet fuel used in the EU each year, but it is expected to grow significantly if production is accelerated.

Airlines might be guilty of touting wrongly about these practices, as can be evidenced from the table below:

Misleading Green Claims by Major European Airlines