State Sponsored Greenwashing Misleading Consumers And Failing Businesses
Despite the need to reduce absolute greenhouse gas emissions in line with climate science, the government continues to promote carbon offsetting and certify claims of “carbon neutrality” by the fossil fuel industry and other big emitters through its Climate Active scheme.
The Climate Active scheme actively encourages consumers to “make a positive impact right now, by supporting these organisations” without offering any proof that the businesses it certifies are taking climate action or verifying that emissions are being “offset”.
The Australia Institute has previously filed a complaint with the ACCC on the basis that Climate Active may be misleading and deceptive under consumer law.
The Australia Institute’s 2024 Climate of the Nation showed that there is widespread confusion around carbon offsets and carbon neutrality, and that the government should be responsible for verifying claims by industry:
“The Australia Institute not only reported the Climate Active scheme to the ACCC, it also recommended that the scheme be referred to the National Audit Office to investigate conflicts of interest, administrative failures and compliance issues. It’s extraordinary that the scheme is still running even as it is under internal review,” said Polly Hemming, Director of The Australia Institute’s Climate & Energy Program.
“The broader trend of civil society taking the issue into their own hands through litigation appears to reflect the fact that regulators and government are failing to protect consumers, investors and the community, both from the environmental harms of industry and from the unsubstantiated claims of industry.
“Energy Australia’s ‘carbon neutral’ energy was certified as such by the Australian government for almost ten years and consumers have been led to believe that the product had no impact on the climate.
“The fact that Energy Australia is now being taken to court, accused of making misleading claims, suggests that the government has failed to ensure that the product was indeed Climate Active.”
“Consumers, investors and community members have lost tolerance for industry and government putting the onus on individuals to tackle the climate crisis and expect more accountability by the private sector, “said Richard Denniss, Executive Director of The Australia Institute.
“Promoting big polluters as climate leaders punishes companies with legitimate climate ambition and misleads consumers. It rewards greenwashing while credible claims are unrecognised and unrewarded.”
https://australiainstitute.org.au/post/state-sponsored-greenwashing-misleading-consumers-and-failing-businesses/