The federal district court for the Eastern District of Virginia held that the Airline Deregulation Act expressly preempted climate washing claims against the operator of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (KLM). The ADA’s preemption clause provides that states “may not enact or enforce a law, regulation, or other provision having the force and effect of law related to a price, route, or service of an air carrier.” The plaintiff asserted a claim under the Virginia Consumer Protection Act (VCPA) and a breach of contract claim based on allegations that KLM misled consumers with its “Fly Responsibly” initiative, which committed the airline to greenhouse gas emissions reductions consistent with the Paris Climate Agreement. (The plaintiff originally also brought an unjust enrichment claim but later withdrew it.) The plaintiff alleged that no credible evidence supported the claim that purchase of carbon credits, including for reforestation projects, would negate the effects of flying. The plaintiff also alleged that KLM’s limited use of sustainable aviation fuels would have a negligible impact on emissions. The court found that the VCPA claim was preempted because it relied upon enforcement of state law and because the plaintiff’s argument that KLM’s climate change-related marketing was misleading “certainly relates” to KLM’s service. The court also found that the ADA preempted the breach of contract claim. The court first noted that “the contours of the alleged contract are unclear” and also rejected the plaintiff’s argument that the defendant’s climate-related advertising should be incorporated into the terms of the contract. The court found, however, that the “larger issue” was that the breach of contract claim did not fit within an exception to ADA preemption for breach of contract claims alleging a defendant’s “breach of its own, self-imposed undertaking,” without “enlargement or enhancement based on state laws or policies external to the agreement.” The court found that the plaintiff’s breach of contract claim was a “thinly veiled repackaging of his VCPA claim” (i.e., based on state laws or policies) and that the preemption exception therefore did not apply.

Greenwashing action against operator of KLM Royal Dutch Airlines for allegedly misleading consumers about efforts to limit the effects of climate change.

Long v. Koninklijke Luchtvaart Maatschappij, N.V.

<p>This entry was provided by the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law. Please see the terms of use for citation and licensing of third party data.</p>

Federal Court Said Airline Deregulation Act Preempted Climate Washing Claims Against Airline

Filed

The Climate Litigation Database

Find climate change litigation data and indicators for {text}.

{text} litigation

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law provides Climate Litigation Database, a comprehensive database of US and Global climate change caselaw

Quickly and easily search through the complete text of thousands of climate change law and policy documents from every country.

Search the Climate Litigation Database

An aim to achieve a quantifiable outcome within a given time-frame, set by an institution such as a national government.

Policy instruments are techniques or tools used by governing authorities to promote certain policies in order to achieve predetermined goals. Put simply, instruments are how a government tries to achieve its goals, with this taxonomy being focused on national policy instruments.

Risk is the potential for adverse consequences resulting from the dynamic interplay between (climate-related) hazards, exposure, and vulnerability of affected human or ecological systems.

Groups  of people who are adversely affected by climate change or the response to it

A set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy.

Justice is the ethical and political framework that addresses fairness, including issues of responsibility, rights, and structural inequity.

Renewable energy means all forms of energy produced from renewable sources in a sustainable manner.

Fossil fuel is a generic term for non-renewable energy sources such as coal, fossil gas, and oil (including crude oil, and petroleum products), that can be used for electricity and heat generation. Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons formed from pressurised and heated organic material buried over millions of years.

Molecules in the atmosphere that play a key role in the greenhouse effect by trapping heat radiating from Earth’s surface.

Area of the economy in which actors engage in identical or related activities.

In human systems, the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate change and its effects, in order to moderate harm, increase resilience or exploit beneficial opportunities. In natural systems, the process of adjustment to actual climate change and its effects; human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate change and its effects.

The management and allocation of funds, assets and investments to meet various objectives

Tradable permits are market-based tools that grant permission for specific activities, frequently used to regulate emissions. These permits can be issued within a trading system to manage environmental impacts.

A target to reduce the prevalence of a greenhouse gas over a specific time frame

Either money or something of monetary value is transferred between two or more organisations, people or countries.

Actions or measures to adapt terrestrial systems to climate change.

A long-lived, colourless gas, chiefly emitted from fossil fuel combustion, deforestation and cement production.

This sector involves activities to move goods and people, alongside the storage of products.

This sector creates and distributes information and entertainment through television, radio, print, and digital platforms.

Activities that relate to the production of goods and services from forests.

Slow onset events evolve gradually from incremental changes over many years or from increased frequency or intensity of recurring events. As defined in the Cancun Adaptation Framework (2010), slow onset events include risks and impacts from rising temperatures, desertification, biodiversity loss, land and forest degradation, glacial retreat, ocean acidification, sea level rise, and salinization.

Federal Court Said Airline Deregulation Act Preempted Climate Washing Claims Against Airline

Target

Policy instrument

Risk

Greenhouse gas

Economic sector

Adaptation/resilience

Finance