Local weather campaigners have requested the Australian Competitors and Shopper Fee to research whether or not “fly carbon neutral” and different sustainability claims by Qantas are deceptive or misleading.
The greenwashing criticism, filed by the Environmental Defenders Workplace on behalf of analysis and advocacy organisation Local weather Integrity, urged the competitors watchdog to research the airline’s advertising and marketing supplies and the credibility of the corporate’s transition to web zero.
The criticism targeted on the nationwide provider’s “fly carbon neutral” product – which permits prospects to verify a field to offset their emissions once they purchase a ticket – and its use of phrases resembling “sustainable aviation fuel” and “the vague and broad term ‘sustainability’”.
It follows a landmark greenwashing determination in opposition to KLM Royal Dutch Airways in Amsterdam in March that discovered widespread aviation trade claims referring to sustainable aviation fuels, offsetting and web zero by 2050 have been deceptive.
The district court docket of Amsterdam dominated the airline had misled prospects with obscure environmental claims and painted “an overly rosy picture” of its sustainable aviation gasoline.
Final 12 months Australia’s competitors watchdog signalled it could step up its probe of firms’ claims about their environmental credentials after a survey of 247 companies and types discovered greater than half had made deceptive statements.
Local weather Integrity alleged that by permitting prospects to decide on a “fly carbon neutral” choice Qantas could also be deceptive its prospects into pondering their flight is sustainable or makes no important contribution to local weather change.
“A Qantas customer choosing the ‘fly carbon neutral’ option for their flight might think that the climate impacts of their trip have been compensated for or significantly reduced,” the director of Local weather Integrity, Claire Snyder, stated.
“But this is not supported by science, and therefore distorts customers’ perception of the sustainability of flying.”
The criticism claimed Qantas’s repeated use of the time period sustainability “is incongruous with its current and likely future emissions given its long term reliance on fossil fuels”.
Local weather Integrity stated alleged greenwashing by Qantas and different airways was particularly regarding as a result of it may encourage prospects to fly extra and prevented them from making knowledgeable choices “cognisant of the true emissions impacts of flying”.
The criticism factors to daring headings on the Qantas web site concerning the methods by which the airline was “acting sustainably” or “driving sustainability to protect the future of travel”. It notes these claims have been displayed over pictures of a turtle swimming on the Nice Barrier Reef or a smiling younger little one lifted in the direction of the solar.
It urged an investigation of the credibility of the airline’s plans to achieve web zero by 2050, asserting Qantas had not disclosed a “science-aligned, credible methodology” aligned with its dedication to the targets of the Paris local weather settlement and that its emissions reductions measures have been inadequate to achieve its targets.
Snyder stated one of many “big problems” with Qantas’s web zero pathway was it didn’t have interaction with the problem of demand administration as a way to scale back emissions from the aviation sector.
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“That is, we need to fly less,” she stated.
A Qantas Group spokesperson stated: “We have always acknowledged that aviation is a particularly hard-to-abate sector but we have a responsibility to do what we can with what’s available now.”
They stated excessive integrity carbon offsets have been key to the airline assembly its targets till sustainable aviation gasoline (SAF) and low and zero-emissions applied sciences have been extra available.
“That’s why we launched a $400 million climate fund with Airbus to provide direct investments to help accelerate the establishment of a domestic SAF industry as well as high integrity nature-based solutions,” they stated.
“The journey to net zero emissions won’t be linear and one airline will not be able to solve this alone.”
The spokesperson stated the airline’s web zero goal was underpinned by a strong carbon offset and sustainable aviation gasoline procurement plan and “having the right partners in place to help deliver”.
“We have offered to work closely with Climate Integrity on this journey and have also reached out to the ACCC,” they stated.
