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Formula One sponsor and Aston Martin team partner accused of 'confusing' and 'misleading' fans through sustainable fuel promotion
Environmental campaigners have accused Formula 1 sponsor Saudi Aramco of making "misleading environmental claims" and relying on a "confusing use of terminology" in promoting its low carbon fuels to motorsport fans.
The 95 per cent Saudi Arabian state-owned oil and gas company recently launched an advertising campaign focused on its work with F1 to develop alternative and more sustainable fuels.
However, in complaints lodged today with the UK's Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) and the Dutch regulator, The New Weather Institute campaign group argued Aramco's alternative fuels are not "a real, scalable solution" to the climate crisis because they require vast amounts of energy to produce.
Moreover, campaigners accused Aramco of 'greenwashing' given its adverts fail to reference the fact the vast majority of investment from the world's biggest oil company is still focused fossil fuel production.
Andrew Simms, co-director of the New Weather Institute, said allowing Saudi Aramco to "pull a fast one on sports fans" and spread "misleading" information to F1's estimated 1.56 billion motorsport fans could put the brakes on the transition to cleaner technologies.
"Saudi Aramco repeatedly acts to keep the world locked in a fossil fuel trap raising roadblocks to climate progress," he added. "In the final lap of the fight against climate breakdown, we need a red light to stop these corporations from confusing, misleading and ultimately delaying the climate action we need to accelerate."
While Aramco did not respond to requests for comment, F1 defended the partnership, claiming the organisation believes it has a duty to explore alternative fuels and "strongly believes" those being developed by Aramco can be carbon neutral.
"We have set a target to be net zero carbon by 2030 both on and off the track," a spokesperson said. "One action we are taking is to move to advanced sustainable fuels, that will be carbon neutral, in the Formula 1 hybrid power unit in 2026.
"We believe that the fuel could have a significant benefit for the wider automotive sector particularly by being used as a drop-in fuel in existing ICE [Internal Combustion Engine] road vehicles and could dramatically reduce global automotive emissions at a time when conventional cars still exist and are produced on a significant scale - a point we have been keen to proactively highlight."
For example, figures published last year revealed that Mercedes' F1 Team cut emissions from race and hospitality trucks as well as generators by 67 per cent by switching to HVO100 biofuel during the European leg of the F1 season - saving 339 tonnes of CO2 over 386,000km travelled by its fleet of trucks.
"F1 has always pioneered new technologies that have been vital in road car advancement and all the teams in F1 are working with different fuel suppliers to create the fuels for 2026," the spokesperson added. "At F1 we have undertaken extensive research, including an Oxford University reviewed report to show the benefits that a sustainably fuelled hybrid vehicle can bring to automotive emission reductions."
The New Weather Institute's challenge come just days after Aramco became the "Official Energy Partner" for all the Confederation of North, Central America and Caribbean Association Football's (CONCACAF) national teams and club competitions.
The partnership will also cover the upcoming W Gold Cup - which features seven teams that participated in the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand - as well as the CONCACAF Champions Cup, a North and Central American equivalent to UEFA's Champions League.
Aramco also sponsors the Houston half marathon, the International Cricket Committee, and FIFA.
The partnerships have fuelled accusations of 'sportswashing' from campaigners, who have consistently accused the company of overstating its green credentials.
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