Campaigners call on EU to rethink green investment label for aviation

By Kate Abnett and Tim Hepher

BRUSSELS, Feb 17 (Reuters) – The Transport & Environment campaign group on Friday urged the European Union to reconsider its plans to label some aviation investments as green, citing the risk of “greenwashing” thousands of planes CO2 emitters.

The European Commission is discussing how to include aviation in the “taxonomy” of climate-friendly investments in the EU. The idea divides the EU executive: some are in favor of including investments that respect certain environmental standards, while others are opposed to granting any green badge to a sector with high carbon dioxide emissions. of carbon.

The debate revolves around recommendations made last year by EU advisers that Brussels should give a climate-friendly label to currently produced ‘best-in-class’ planes if they replace an older aircraft. and less efficient in terms of fleet fuel consumption.

Transport & Environment (T&E) said around 90% of Airbus’ order book, or more than 7,000 planes, would be considered “best in class” by those criteria, even if they didn’t get the green label only if they replaced an existing aircraft. plane.

“Applying a green investment label to thousands of highly polluting aircraft is an act of pure greenwashing,” said Jo Dardenne, director of T&E aviation.

According to T&E, the 15-20% emissions savings offered by the most efficient planes are too low and urged Brussels to only support technologies with “genuine emissions reduction potential”, such as zero planes emissions and sustainable fuels. .

Mass production of these technologies is still years away. Airbus said it aims for a small hydrogen-powered airliner to enter commercial service by 2035.

The airline industry is urging Brussels to accept the advisers’ recommendations, warning that excluding aviation would hurt the industry’s ability to raise funds for cleaner technologies.

“It is essential that air transport is included in the EU taxonomy to support the full decarbonisation of the air transport industry,” an Airbus spokesperson said.

A spokesperson for the European Commission said the advisers’ criteria were being evaluated and had not yet made a final decision.

Airbus was part of the EU advisory group on green investment rules last year.

T&E has also been a consultant. The group told Reuters it accepted the recommendations last year, believing progress was better than nothing, but now that the Commission is reviewing them there is room to improve the criteria.

T&E and other campaigners resigned as EU advisers in September following the EU’s decision to label gas and nuclear power investments as green.

(Edited in Spanish by José Muñoz in the Gdansk Newsroom)