EU taxonomy for aviation: Will Von der Leyen rubber stamp the biggest act of aviation greenwashing in decades?

(20 Feb 2023) The European Commission is about to stick a green investment label on thousands of highly polluting planes, it must reverse course.

If a green fund invested in an efficient coal plant and boasted to investors that it was green, they would not be fooled. So why is European Commission President, Ursula Von der Leyen, falling for it when the same trick is applied to planes?

The aviation industry is lobbying hard to ensure it gets the decision it wants on green criteria for aviation in the EU taxonomy. If they succeed it will be a disaster for the climate and one of the biggest acts of aviation greenwashing in living memory.

The EU taxonomy establishes which investments are environmentally sustainable. It is a tool that should be the ‘gold standard’ for guiding ethical, sustainable investment, and aviation is one of the sectors under consideration. The draft criteria recommended in 2022 for aviation allows green investments to flow into ‘efficient’ aircraft – even though they will fly exclusively on fossil fuels.

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, 20 Feb 2023: EU taxonomy for aviation: Will Von der Leyen rubber stamp the biggest act of aviation greenwashing in decades?