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Airlines break with misleading climate promises!
The EU Commission obliges airlines to make more honest claims about sustainability and stops misleading environmental promises.
Airlines break with misleading climate promises!
Environmental awareness and air travel can often be mentioned in the same breath, especially when it comes to the issue of sustainability. But not all airline statements are as green as they seem. On November 8, 2025, leading European airlines, including Lufthansa, Eurowings and Ryanair, decided to stop making misleading statements about the climate friendliness of flights. This reports T Online, which report on the new requirements of the EU Commission.
The EU Commission has now obliged airlines to stop spreading false hopes that the emissions from their flights can be neutralized through financial contributions to climate protection projects or alternative aviation fuels. The aim is to make it clear that the use of “sustainable aviation fuel” may only be communicated with appropriate explanations in order to counteract the so-called “green language”. Air travel does not contribute to negligible greenhouse gas emissions.
A step in the right direction?
The range of compensation options that many airlines now provide is often referred to by critics as “indulgence trading”. These compensations, often in the form of financial support for projects such as reforestation, do not offset the actual CO2 emissions of the flights. This could give the impression that passengers are flying in a climate-neutral manner, but this does not correspond to reality. Agustín Reyna, Director General of the European consumer protection association Beuc, emphasizes that it was long past time to address this grievance and revise the idea of sustainable flying.
“Green tariffs” do not guarantee that emissions will actually be removed from the air – a message that should have clear consequences for airlines’ marketing strategies. With this measure, the EU Commission is likely to have taken an important step in the right direction to create more transparency in the aviation sector.
Consumer protection and honesty
This new approach addresses a concern of consumer advocates who are committed to providing more honest information in the industry. Ultimately, it is the responsibility of all of us to take the challenges of climate change seriously and do justice to our environment. The truth about our environmental footprint when flying needs to be clearly communicated so travelers can make informed decisions.
It remains to be seen how the industry will adapt to these new requirements and whether further measures will be taken to reduce the environmental impact of air travel. The first step has been taken and we can build on it.