The EU Commission has launched an investigation into emission credit claims by Finnair and 19 other airlines. At least Norwegian, Air France, KLM, SAS and Lufthansa are also under suspicion, according to Reuters.
The Commission demands that the air carriers clarify whether environmental claims made in their marketing are backed up by science. The companies have one month to respond.
This spring, the EU approved a directive that requires coverage for environmental claims based on researched information. The Directive on Empowering Consumers for the Green Transition (ECGT) aims to curb unfair corporate tactics that prevent consumers from making sustainable choices.
Finnair communications director Päivyt Tallqvist confirmed to Yle on Sunday that the company has received a message from the EU Commission, and that it focuses on wording used by the airline to describe its climate actions.
According to Tallqvist, the suspicions focus on communication about the use of renewable jet fuel and an optional service whereby customers can make voluntary supplementary payments toward the cost of renewable jet fuel or to support emission credit projects, for instance.
Finnair says its direct carbon dioxide emissions totalled slightly more than three million tons last year. As a result of the use of sustainable aviation fuel (SAF), carbon dioxide emissions were reduced by approximately 0.006 million tons. Finnair says it will provide compensation for about 0.009 million tons.
Tallqvist declined to comment on the veracity of the EU Commission's suspicions or whether Finnair has been successful in its public communications.
“We’ll carefully study the letter and the comments made in it and then respond to them,” Tallqvist said.
Earlier this year, the Finnish Consumer Ombudsman also criticised Finnair for unclear environmental marketing.
10-year goal
In March, Finnair submitted its emission reduction targets to the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi) established by the UN and three NGOs including the WWF.
The company said it will cut the direct emissions of flights by modernising its fleet of aircraft, making flight operations more efficient and increasing the use of SAF fuel from renewable sources. According to Tallqvist, the most significant act will be increasing its use of SAF from 0.24 percent to 10 percent within a decade.
Finnair says that it will reduce the emission intensity of flights by about a third over the next decade.
Tallqvist did not provide a shorter-term assessment of how the measures have been implemented and what concrete effects they have achieved.
In early March 2020 – just as the effects of the coronavirus epidemic began to be felt in Finland – the national airline promised to cut its emissions in half by 2025.
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