In commercials broadcast in September 2019, Ryanair boasted of being the airline with the lowest CO2 emissions in Europe "among the major airlines". An advertising campaign condemned by the British advertising regulatory authority (ASA), which announced on Wednesday that it had banned these advertisements broadcast by the low-cost carrier.
Industry regulator says Irish group misled consumers, finds it difficult to define what a "large airline" is and consumers may feel they contribute less to carbon emissions , which cannot be proven. These "advertisements (...) must not appear again in their current forms", demanded the regulator, who asked Ryanair to provide "the necessary evidence" to be able to make such promises on the environment.
Carbon offsetting deemed ineffective
In a press release, Ryanair said it was "disappointed and surprised" by the decision, and assures that it is the "greenest" air carrier in Europe. According to his figures, he emits 66 grams of CO2 per passenger per kilometer, 25% less pollution than other large companies, still according to him. "We have successfully deployed this advertising message in ten countries in Europe," says the group, which acknowledges "having made minor adjustments to the British market at the request of the competent authorities".
According to its website, Ryanair is committed to reducing its CO2 emissions to 60 grams by 2030 and says it is following the targets set by the International Air Transport Association (Iata) to lower them by 50% in 2050 compared to at the 2005 level. Since 2018, the group has also offered its customers to offset the environmental impact of their trip by paying an additional sum in addition to the ticket price to finance green projects. Ryanair has so far raised 2.5 million euros through this initiative.
This did not prevent the company from being ranked among the ten most polluting companies in Europe, according to figures from April 2019 published by the NGO Transport & Environment. In contrast, a recent study by the British consumer association Which? noted that Ryanair flights were among the least polluting on a destination sample. "However, we have also observed that the carbon offset mechanisms proposed by Ryanair do little or nothing to reduce emissions," said Rory Boland, an official at Which?
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