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Volkswagen and the High-tech Greenwash

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Eric L. Lane
Eric L. Lane*
Affiliation:
Green Patent Law and Green Patent Blog
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In several ways, the revelations that Volkswagen used software to cheat on vehicle emissions tests echo common threads of greenwashing cases against car manufacturers. However, in one significant respect, the Volkswagen scandal is much more than just another example of greenwashing. That is, the German automaker's use of software to deceive brings a novel technological aspect to greenwashing. This article discusses the Volkswagen scandal in the context of automobile greenwashing cases and highlights this newhigh-tech greenwashing.

Type
Mini-Symposium on the VW Scandal
Information
European Journal of Risk Regulation , Volume 7 , Issue 1 , March 2016 , pp. 32 - 34
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016

References

1 The Economist, “A Mucky Business,” 26 September 2015, available on the Internet at < http://www.economist.com/news/briefing/21667918-systematic-fraud-worlds-biggest-carmaker-threatens-engulf-entire-industry-and> (last accessed on 23 November 2015).

2 The Economist, “Dirty Secrets,” 26 September 2015, available on the Internet at < http://www.economist.com/news/leaders/21666226-volkswagens-falsification-pollution-tests-opens-door-very-different-car> (last accessed on 17 December 2015).

3 Supra, note 2.

4 Supra, note 1.

5 Supra, note 1.

6 Richard Westcott, BBC News, “VW cars can also cheat European emissions test, BBC learns,” 23 November 2015, available on the Internet at <http://www.bbc.com/news/business-34857404> (last accessed on 23 November 2015).

7 Complaint, Pitkin et al. v. Ford Motor Co. et al., Case No. 8:13-cv-00954-DOC-JPR (C.D. Cal. Feb. 8, 2013) (hereinafter “Pitkin Complaint”); Complaint, Strand et al. v. Ford Motor Co. et al., Case No. 8:12-cv-02232-DOC-JPR (C.D. Cal. Dec. 28, 2012) (hereinafter “Strand Complaint”).

8 Pitkin Complaint at ¶¶ 13–23.

9 Pitkin Complaint at ¶ 27.

10 Supra, note 10.

11 Supra, note 10.

12 Pitkin Complaint at ¶ 33.

13 Pitkin Complaint at ¶¶ 9–11.

14 Complaint, Hunter et al. v. Hyundai Motor America et al., Case No. 8:12-cv-01909-JVS-JPR (C.D. Cal. Nov. 2, 2012).

15 Complaint, DeLuca v. Ford Motor Co. et al., Case No. BC583666 (Cal. Sup. Ct. Jun. 1, 2015) (hereinafter “DeLuca Complaint”).

16 DeLuca Complaint at ¶¶ 15–17.

17 DeLuca Complaint at ¶ 16.

18 DeLuca Complaint at ¶¶ 15–17.

19 DeLuca Complaint at ¶ 17.

20 Supra, note 20.