Delta Air Lines' Carbon Neutrality Claims and Latest Legal Developments

Delta Air Lines Accused of Greenwashing Over Its Carbon Neutrality Claims

A class action lawsuit has been filed against Delta Air Lines in a California court. The lawsuit is over the airline’s claims of presenting itself as carbon neutral in advertising and promotional activities.

A passenger has filed a complaint, saying that the airline “has repeatedly touted itself as the world’s first carbon-neutral airline” in advertisements, press releases and other promotional material, which has prompted the passenger to purchase flights at a premium, believing that she has “engaged in more ecologically conscious air travel and participated in a global transition away from carbon emissions.”

The passenger argues that there is a market premium for green products and that Delta has profited from its misleading environmental claim.

The unregulated carbon-offsetting market has a range of issues affecting its credibility which include inaccurate accounting and highly speculative emissions reduction forecasts, as well as the uncertainty in permanence of carbon reductions. The class-action lawsuit states that Delta’s carbon neutrality claim is demonstrably false, as it uses offsets that in effect do nothing to counteract the climate crisis.

Delta Airlines announced plans to go carbon neutral, in February 2020, and pledged $1 billion to mitigate all its greenhouse gas emissions worldwide over the next decade. These plans included the decrease of jet fuel usage as well as using carbon credits generated from conserving rainforests, wetlands, and grasslands.

Companies globally are facing increasing scrutiny of their environmental sustainability claims. Consumers, investors, and other stakeholders are on the lookout for greenwashing and exaggerated sustainability claims by companies.

Energy News

Office for Nuclear Regulation (ONR)

• 22 June 2023: ONR announced that Mark McAllister, who has served as Chair of ONR since April 2019, has been reappointed as Chair?for an additional three years, until 31 March 2027.
• 26 June 2023: the ONR Chair led a discussion the previous week on how Chairs of Public Bodies can work collaboratively with the private sector to deliver public services , more efficiently and cost-effectively. “This particular session was a good reminder that because of their size, mission and culture, Arm’s Length Bodies, such as ONR, have the agility and commercial prowess to collaborate successfully with the private sector”.
• ONR’s Guidance on the Demonstration of ALARP (As Low As Reasonably Practicable) has been reissued to clarify some points and to correct minor errors and formatting issues in the previous version. ns-tast-gd-005.docx (live.com)
• Risk Management. Every company that operates in the nuclear sector and which needs to consider its own position with regard to risk and governance needs to understand how the nuclear regulator approaches risk.?Where appropriate, ONR classifies risk in line with HMT risk appetite definitions: “Averse”, “Minimalist”, “Cautious”, “Open” and “Hungry”.?“Our appetite for particular risk areas depends on factors such as the likelihood of the risk occurring and the potential impact of the risk (before and after controls) on our strategic objectives. We also consider the interdependencies in our risk appetite across our functional areas, taking account of the cumulative impact that may manifest?as a result.?Our risk appetite statement is reviewed annually by our board and provides the context for making well considered decisions in particular areas. Our board expects decisions to be taken in line with the appetite it has determined”.?Risk management - ONR

International Atomic Energy Authority (IAEA.)

• Artificial Intelligence is currently a hot topic. What is the Impact of Artificial Intelligence on Information and Computer Security in the Nuclear World??How Artificial Intelligence Will Change Information and Computer Security in the Nuclear World | IAEA.
• War in Ukraine. The position of the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) remains serious because of Russia’s occupation of the ZNPP and the destruction of the dam. ?Update 167 – IAEA Director General Statement on Situation in Ukraine | IAEA.

Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA).

• On 8 June the NDA welcomed over 130 of its key Cumbrian stakeholders to an Innovation and Technology Roadshow showcasing how the NDA group is utilising technology and robotics to decommission the UK’s earliest nuclear sites safely and securely, including its work with the research community and educational establishments.?“Attendees got first-hand experience of the technology used by the NDA group including a chance to see Spot, the robotic dog used to help monitor hazardous areas on site, plus examples of work completed by drones and ground-based inspection crawlers”.?

Additional Legal News

ESG

1. IBM has released a global CEO survey: approximately half of CEOs have their compensation linked to sustainability goals. This is up from 15% only one year ago. IBM’s study, “CEO decision-making in the age of AI”, focuses on executives’ changing roles and responsibilities, key challenges and opportunities and use of technology and data. 3000 CEOs across more than 30 countries and 24 industries were interviewed. The survey also found that environmental sustainability was identified as the most frequently cited top challenge over the next three years by CEOs. However, it has declined in the list of organisational priorities from third to fifth place, due to the slow progress in achieving sustainability goals.

https://www.esgtoday.com/50-of-ceos-have-pay-tied-to-esg-goals-up-from-15-one-year-ago-ibm-survey/

1. Anti-ESG sentiment in the US: anti-ESG sentiment is rising in the US due to push back from Republican states. The rebound in sustainable finance has been slowed down as a result. ESG bond issuance in the US has dropped considerably compared to the first quarter of 2022 and some US states have announced that they will pull out their assets managed by BlackRock which in their view is backing ESG goals.

https://www.eiu.com/n/anti-esg-sentiment-in-the-us-weakens-esg-markets/

1. The US Department of Energy has announced a $135 million investment in 40 projects that will reduce carbon emissions from the industrial sector, in a move towards achieving net zero by 2050.

https://esgnews.com/biden-harris-administration-announces-135-million-to-reduce-emissions-across-americas-industrial-sector/

1. The EU Parliament’s efforts to improve air quality in the EU: the EU has introduced several measures to improve air quality, for a cleaner and healthier environment. Currently there are estimated to be around 300,000 premature deaths per year in the EU due to air pollution.

• Stricter limits for some pollutants have been introduced.
• Air quality indices across the EU are to be harmonised.
• EU countries will be required to prepare air quality roadmaps.

https://esgnews.com/eu-parliament-adopts-position-to-improve-air-quality-in-the-eu-to-create-a-cleaner-and-healthier-environment/

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Pharmaceutical/Biotechnology/Lifescience

• King’s Fund. 26 June 2023. “How does the NHS compare to the health care systems of other countries?” If the NHS is to successfully prevent and treat disease and deliver the best possible standards of care for patients, better use of medicines must be part of the strategy”. Brian Duggan, Strategic Partnerships Policy Director, ABPI.
• The?King’s Fund report shows that although the UK?has one of the lowest-cost and most efficiently-run health systems in the world, it also found that the UK tends to have much poorer health outcomes than its peers, coming 16th and 18th respectively for preventable and treatable causes of mortality in a basket of 19 comparable countries. “The report also shows that UK spending on medicines is the lowest among its peers, accounting for just 9% of the UK’s overall healthcare spend. This was the lowest proportion among eight other similar countries, including Italy 17%, Germany 17% and France 15%”.
• From PLL’s perspective, hopefully, this report will give a steer to policy makers and politicians to take the necessary action.?

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How does the NHS compare to the health care systems of other countries? summary (kingsfund.org.uk)

How does the NHS compare to the health care systems of other countries (kingsfund.org.uk)

Prospect Law Contributors

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