Australian airlines could be found to have misled consumers in the way they present their net zero goals and market offset options during flight bookings, climate advocates have claimed, following a landmark legal decision on aviation “greenwashing”.
Snyder was critical of Qantas’ interim emissions target of 25% by 2030, calling it “impossible to assess if they are on track”, and alleged Qantas had “no clear plan or timeline to phase out the use of fossil fuels”. Qantas and Virgin Australia, like most global airlines, have announced emissions reductions agendas that heavily rely on offsets, including buying credits from projects in Australia and overseas. They also give customers the option to pay for an individual offset when booking their flight.
While airlines struggle with the prohibitive price of SAF – on average 2.5 times more than existing jet fuel – and scarce availability globally, Australia’s aviation industry experiences these barriers more acutely because it is not produced at commercial quantities locally.