© Reuters. Airplane is seen during sunrise at the international airport in Munich, Germany 01/09/2018 REUTERS/Michaela Rehle
By Kate Abnett and Tim (BVMF:) Hepher
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – The activist group Transport and Environment (T&E) pressed the European Union on Friday to rethink plans to label certain aviation investments as “green”, arguing that doing so risks “greenwashing” thousands of dollars. of planes as a dispute rages over climate regulation.
The debate is centered on recommendations made by EU advisers last year, who said Brussels should give an eco-label to the “best in class” aircraft produced today if they replace older, less fuel efficient models.
T&E co-led the advisory group that developed the recommendations, along with aircraft manufacturer Airbus (EPA:), and initially supported the criteria. The group resigned as an adviser to the bloc along with other nonprofit groups in September, following a European Union decision to label gas and nuclear power investments as green.
On Friday, T&E told Reuters it had accepted last year’s recommendations, saying some progress was better than none. But now that the Commission was revising them, there was an opportunity to improve the criteria.
In a statement, it said that around 90% of Airbus’ backlog, or more than 7,000 planes, would be eligible as “best in class” under the criteria, although they would only receive the green label if they replaced an existing plane.
“Putting a green investment stamp on thousands of highly polluting planes is an act of pure greenwashing,” said T&E Director of Aviation Jo Dardenne.
T&E said the 15% to 20% emissions savings offered by more efficient planes was too small and urged Brussels to only endorse technologies with “true emissions reduction potential” such as zero-emissions aircraft and sustainable fuels.
Airbus said its planes offer emissions savings of 20% to 25%, and a shift to newer aircraft could cause a significant reduction in emissions – as around 75% of the world’s existing fleet is of older generation.
A spokesperson for the European Commission said the EC was assessing the advisers’ criteria and had not reached a final decision.