AMSTERDAM, March 20 (Reuters) - A Dutch court was set to

rule on Wednesday on a lawsuit alleging that KLM misled

customers with an advertising campaign aimed at improving the

company's environmental image, in a case of so-called

"greenwashing."

The decision in the high-profile case comes as regulators

and advertising authorities across Europe have increased

scrutiny of companies' environmental claims.

KLM, which does not dispute that air travel contributes to

global warming, denied misleading customers with the "Fly

Responsibly" campaign, which it said was well-intentioned

attempt to draw attention to the problem.

The suit, brought in 2022 by environmental group Fossil

Free, argued that there is no way to "Fly Responsibly" as long

as air travel is a major contributor to carbon dioxide

emissions.

They asked judges at the Amsterdam District Court to rule

the ads were misleading, force KLM to run retractions, and

instruct the company not to run similar ads referring to the

company's "sustainability" or similar in the future.

A written ruling by the three judge panel led by Judge Mette

Jobsis is expected around 1100CET/1000GMT.

KLM, the Dutch arm of Air France-KLM has since

discontinued the ads, but argued at a hearing in December the

company should not be barred from communicating with the public

about efforts it is making to improve.

The company plans to reduce its emissions over a period of

years by purchasing more efficient planes and mixing more

biofuel into the kerosene that fuels its fleet.

Fossil Free argued those future plans are not as relevant as

the present danger, and such changes are marginal, especially as

the company plans to grow flight volumes.