(Bloomberg) -- Britain’s advertising regulator has banned Lufthansa from using an ad that appears to suggest the German airline is protecting the planet and urged it not to mislead consumers about the impact of air travel on the climate.The ad in question, part of a campaign run by Deutsche Lufthansa AG last summer, features the front of a plane in flight, where the bottom half is an image of Earth from space overlaid with the slogan “Connecting the World. Protecting its Future.” The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled Wednesday that the ad could not run in the UK going forward because there are “currently no environmental initiatives or commercially viable technologies in the aviation industry which would substantiate the absolute green claim” that Lufthansa is protecting the world’s future. In its ruling, the ASA said it had told Lufthansa “to ensure that the basis of future environmental claims was made clear and did not give a misleading impression of the impact caused by travelling with the airline”. The same advertisement was banned by Belgium’s Jury of Ethical Practices in Advertising (JEP) last year, for similar reasons.A spokeswoman for Lufthansa said in an emailed response to questions that the poster in question was part of a larger campaign “that provided comprehensive information about the numerous measures the Lufthansa Group is undertaking in environmental matters” to halve its net carbon emissions by 2030 and reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
Flying is the most carbon-intensive form of travel and is proving difficult to decarbonize, with airlines still in the early stages of testing sustainable aviation fuels that could help them reduce planet-warming emissions. That hasn’t stopped a number of international carriers from seeking to reassure passengers about the future and sustainability of flying.
European regulators are increasingly cracking down on corporate “greenwashing,” when companies tempt climate-conscious consumers to buy their products using dubious claims of environmental sustainability. The EU is considering legislation to ensure promises and claims are backed up by evidence of action. In 2020, Irish airline Ryanair was told by the ASA that it could not claim to have the “lowest carbon emissions of any major airline.” Last year, the Austrian Advertising Council told Austrian Airlines that it could not run adverts in which it claimed to be running “carbon neutral” flights using 100% sustainable aviation fuel. (International rules limit the use of sustainable fuel on commercial flights to 50%.)
While aviation currently accounts for around 2% of global emissions, that's likely to reach 22% by 2050, according to a study by the European Parliament, as passenger numbers increase and other industries make faster progress toward decarbonization.
Last month, Lufthansa unveiled a “Green Fares” option for travelers, adding a surcharge that it says goes to the purchase of sustainable aviation fuels and carbon offsets. Its plan to reduce carbon emissions includes buying newer, more efficient planes, making alternative fuel purchases and utilizing carbon offsets.
Offsets for air travel have faced also faced criticism, however. A 2022 report by the nonprofit Carbon Market Watch found that nearly all of Europe’s eight largest airlines, including Lufthansa, rely on buying carbon offsets linked to cheap forestry projects in developing countries that may not be sustainable in the long term.
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