Berlin
Lufthansa now wants to offer customers an environmentally friendly ticket. All greenwashing, say climate protection organizations. Is that correct?
“Green Fare” are the names of the new tickets that the Lufthansa offers its customers from Wednesday. The new special tariff is intended to ensure environmentally friendly travel. “More sustainable flying with just one click” is that. Because the new tariffs already include compensation for the CO2 emissions caused by a flight, Lufthansa explained on Monday.
According to this, 20 percent of the emissions are to be offset by the use of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF) and 80 percent by contributions to “high-quality climate protection projects”. The ticket is then probably correspondingly more expensive. In a price example, the price of an Eco-Light ticket increased from 129 to 239 euros Economy Greenwhich, in addition to the climate contribution, also included other customer benefits such as free rebooking and more baggage allowance.
Climate protection: project brokers are under criticism
Previously, customers could only register at the end of the booking process CO2 compensation to choose, up to a complete compensation with SAF (sustainable aviation fuel, in German: sustainable aviation fuel) as the most expensive variant. Only 0.1 percent of passengers took advantage of this option.
Tests with the company’s own “green” ticket classes were more popular in Scandinavia, at around 2.0 percent, said Board Member Harry Hohmeister. The short-term goal is to convince at least every 20th guest.
However, it is at least questionable whether customers will be convinced by the sustainability promises. Providers of CO2 compensation were recently heavily criticized by a research by the weekly newspaper “Die Zeit”. The advertised climate protection projects to offset the emissions were considered pure by the research Greenwashing exposed.
As a result, several companies ended their cooperation with project brokers such as ClimatePartner or Myclimate. The fact that Lufthansa is selling its “green” ticket right now is therefore quite daring. Because it is relying on Myclimate.
The foundation is one of the largest providers of CO2 compensation. It arranges climate protection projects into which the money from companies like Lufthansa can flow. Myclimate is said to have also determined the amount of CO2 emissions from a flight.
CO2 compensation: what is behind the label “climate neutral”
On request, Lufthansa said: “Experts from the Lufthansa Group, together with the Myclimate foundation, have evaluated the data from more than 43,000 flights. Based on these studies, Myclimate has developed an algorithm that flight connection can calculate. The calculations per passenger also take into account the travel class of the passenger.” However, it is not known exactly what this algorithm looks like.
Myclimate should also broker the projects into which the money goes. At the request of our editors, Lufthansa said: “With the contributions of the passengers, a Myclimate climate project portfolio is supported in various countries around the world, including Germany and Switzerland.”
How Lufthansa wants to ensure that the projects actually climate protection contribute, the company answers with reference to the intermediary’s reputation: “All myclimate projects in the Lufthansa Group portfolio meet the highest standards (Gold Standard or Plan Vivo).”
Climate protection projects: Critics are skeptical
However, climate and environmental protection organizations are skeptical. The plans to compensate for the CO2 emissions are often unrealistic, said the organizations NewClimate Institute and Carbon Market Watch on Monday. Commitments are often unclear, unreliable and difficult to verify.
The German Environmental Aid had the Green Fares from Lufthansa, which were tested last year, for the negative price “Goldener Geier” for the “boldest environmental lieThe airline came second in the vote behind the oil company Shell, which had advertised a “CO2 compensation” of 1.1 cents per liter at the gas station.
Upon request, the traffic expert of the Federation for the Environment and Nature Conservation (BUND), Jens Hilgenberg, with: “Air traffic is one of the few areas of application in traffic where the use of electricity-based fuels based on hydrogen really makes sense and should also be promoted by politicians.” Compensation with SAF can be helpful under certain circumstances.
BUND is also calling for a bilateral kerosene tax between “climate-friendly” countries in Europe. Germany, France, Spain and Italy would together account for more than 90 percent of the CO2 emissions in EU air traffic.
Fly less: Does doing without help in the end?
There is also another problem: Supposedly “green” products could tempt people to buy themselves a clear conscience and consume more instead of acting in a more climate-friendly manner.
For unavoidable emissions However, the Federal Environment Agency, for example, also recognizes the important advantages of compensation. Properly implemented, they could be part of ambitious climate protection.
The Lufthansa Group now wants the new tariffs on its companies’ European and North African flights Lufthansa, Austrian Airlines, Brussels Airlines, Swiss, Edelweiss, Eurowings Discover and Air Dolomiti. The point-to-point airline Eurowings is not included. We are still working on offers for long-distance transport. The new tickets can be booked in both economy and business class. (with dpa/AFP)
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