A $1 billion class action lawsuit filed in California targets Delta’s statement that it is “the world’s first carbon-neutral airline.” The lawsuit alleges this statement is demonstrably false as it relies on carbon offsets that do nothing to mitigate climate pollution. “The language carbon neutral is so provocative,” Krikor Kouyoumdjian, a partner at the firm representing the plaintiff, told the Guardian. “When companies say: ‘Don’t worry about our emissions, they’re sorted,’ they are communicating complacency. They are letting consumers pay to feel better and not have to worry about the impact of their consumption.

But that is counterfactual to reality. It is not something that you can pay away.” An investigation earlier this year found the Verra rainforest credits used by big corporations were actually fake. They were based on stopping a theoretical destruction of rainforests that were not threatened. The case was filed by California resident Mayanna Berrin who is acting on behalf of anyone who flew Delta while living in California since March 2020. “They can’t just claim neutrality if that’s not factually accurate,” she told AP. (ABC News, The Guardian, Reuters, AP, TIME $, LA Times $)