Open letter on green claims

The letter argues that greenwashing is a "widespread scourge across the EU" and calls for a ban on carbon neutrality claims in upcoming legislative proposals. The signatories demand that companies report emissions reductions separately from external climate financing and that any long-term net zero targets requiring carbon credits be subject to corresponding adjustments under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement to prevent double counting. Additionally, the letter criticizes the European Commission's own 2030 climate neutrality target for being unspecific and urges the institution to prioritize absolute reductions over offsets.

• The signatories call for a total ban on carbon neutrality claims in upcoming proposals from DG Justice and DG Environment, arguing that companies should not be permitted to communicate net emissions targets and must instead report emissions reductions and external climate financing separately.
• To avoid the risk of double counting in Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC), the letter asserts that any carbon credits used by companies for long-term "net zero" targets must be subject to corresponding adjustments as defined by Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.
• The authors criticize the European Commission's own target to reach climate neutrality by 2030, stating it is "unspecific" and fails to clarify if the Commission will still emit greenhouse gases or rely on offsets, specifically those involving temporary carbon storage in biological sinks.
• The letter cites evidence of widespread greenwashing, noting that the European Commission previously found that "half of green claims lack evidence" and referencing reports on misleading claims in the fossil fuel, plastics, meat, and dairy industries.

APA

Carbon Market Watch (n.d.). Open letter on green claims. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Letter-on-green-claims-for-European-Commission.pdf

Chicago

Carbon Market Watch. Open letter on green claims. n.d. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Letter-on-green-claims-for-European-Commission.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Carbon Market Watch |title=Open letter on green claims |url=https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Letter-on-green-claims-for-European-Commission.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{carbonmarketwatchndopen, author = {{Carbon Market Watch}}, title = {{Open letter on green claims}}, publisher = {Carbon Market Watch}, url = {https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Letter-on-green-claims-for-European-Commission.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }