BBC 18.7.2007 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/6903302.stm
Ryanair says it will defy the ASA and continue to use the figure
Ryanair has been ordered not to repeat an advertisement that played down the impact of aviation on the environment.
In a press campaign the airline claimed the airline industry "accounts for just 2% of carbon dioxide emissions".
The Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) ruled it breached rules on truthfulness by not explaining the figure was based on global rather than UK emissions.
Ryanair claimed the ASA was attempting to suppress an accurate statement, which it would continue to use.
Ryanair's claim that aviation made up 2% of CO2 emissions was based on global carbon dioxide emissions, the ASA said.
The UK government figures for domestic and international flights leaving the UK, put the figure at 5.5%.
"Because Ryanair had failed to make the basis of the 2% figure quoted in the ad sufficiently clear, it was likely to mislead," the ASA said.
But Ryanair argued its 2% figure came from a UN report on climate change, and that it used a global figure because the issue was a global one.
The watchdog launched its investigation after receiving 34 complaints from the public.
'Intellectually dishonest'
The European Environment Agency's executive director, Professor Jacqueline McGlade, welcomed the ruling, saying that Ryanair had sought to "trivialise" the impact of aviation on the environment.
She described the airline's approach to CO2 emissions as "disingenuous and intellectually dishonest".
It is the second time this year that the carrier has got into trouble for misleading environmental claims.
In January it conceded, following a BBC investigation, that a claim it had cut its CO2 emissions by half in recent years was "a mistake".
------
Press Release
Advertising Standards Authority Upholds Complaints Against Ryanair Over Misleading Adverts
Controversial airline ordered not to repeat the claims "aviation accounts for just 2% of CO2 emissions"
The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA), in a ruling announced today, found that the statement in Ryanair advertisements that ‘aviation accounts for just 2% of CO2 emissions’ is misleading in the context in which it was used.[[1]] It also breached the advertising code on the grounds of ‘truthfulness’.
A complaint had been made by AirportWatch, the umbrella organisation for groups opposed to airport expansion, saying that Ryanair had implied in their adverts that aviation only accounted for 2% of UK emissions. The Government figure, confirmed recently by Aviation Minister Gillian Merron, is that aviation accounts for around 6% of UK CO2 emissions and, if the extra damage at high altitude is included, 13% of UK climate change damage. The 2% figure used by Ryanair refers to aviation’s contribution to global emissions.
The ASA ruling is not just a slap in the face for Ryanair but a blow for IATA, the international trade body for the airlines, which recently encouraged all airlines to use advertisements featuring the same statement[[2]] and which tried to back up Ryanair in its fight with the ASA.
John Stewart, chairman of Airport Watch, said: “It is disgraceful that the airlines are trying to mislead the public on a life-or-death issue like climate change. They are behaving like the tobacco industry did in the past. We welcome the stance taken by the ASA. Hopefully even Michael O’Leary will now think twice before shouting his mouth off”
Brendon Sewill, chairman of the aviation economics group,[[3]] who also personally contacted ASA, explains: “The figure of 2% refers to the global situation and merely reflects the fact that few people in countries such as China or India fly. It is irrelevant to whether UK air travel should be taxed. UK aviation emissions are growing so rapidly that some experts predict that by 2050 they will reach 100% of all the carbon the UK can safely emit.[[4]]The recently announced campaign[[5]] by the airlines to clean up their image as the fastest growing contributor to climate change has received a severe blow.”
ENDS
For further details contact
John Stewart on 0207 737 6641 or 07957385650
Brendon Sewill on 01293 863369
The ASA judgement on the Ryanair adverts is published today at http://www.asa.org.uk/asa/adjudications/Public/TF_ADJ_42885.htm
[[1]] See ASA statement below
[[2]] http://www.iata.org/whatwedo/environment/campaign/ice.htm
[[3]] A sub-committee of Airport Watch
[[4]] Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research. Decarbonising the UK.
[[5]] http://business.timesonline.co.uk:80/tol/business/industry_sectors/transport/article1690584.ece