EU Emissions Rules and the “Greenwashing” Controversy

August 28, 2024 Reuters reports that environmentalists have taken the European Commission to court in an attempt to force Brussels to upgrade its 2030 emissions rules and repeal rules that label some aircraft as climate-friendly investments. The nonprofit organizations Climate Action Network and Global Legal Action Network argue that setting thresholds for greenhouse gas emission limits in sectors such as transport and agriculture is illegal and will not rapidly reduce Europe’s greenhouse gas emissions to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. In addition, the five activist organizations have filed a second lawsuit seeking to compel Brussels to amend regulations to include aviation in the EU’s“classification”- a list of investments that are marked green in order to qualify for green financing from investors and banks . They argue that the EU is“greenwashing”by labeling aircraft and ships that run entirely on fossil fuels as climate-friendly.