Peruvian farmer's climate lawsuit against RWE faces crucial step
Clean Energy Wire / ZDF
A landmark court hearing initiated by a Peruvian farmer and mountain guide against RWE over the German energy supplier’s contribution to climate change will reach a decisive step on Wednesday (19 March), over nine years after the lawsuit was filed. The High Regional Court in Hamm is set to decide whether to dismiss the case or pursue it further. The plaintiff, Saúl Luciano Lliuya, filed the lawsuit in November 2015 on the basis that he and over 50,000 inhabitants of the Andean city of Huaraz are under threat of flooding from a dangerously large glacial lake that has grown due to global warming. Lliuya argued that due to its significant historical emissions, the German energy company RWE was partly responsible for the environmental changes near his home.
If the court finds that there is indeed a specific risk, the next step will be to address RWE’s contribution to climate change and how it is afecting the Andes. Concrete evidence is needed to prove that Liluya’s home is threatened by a flood wave from the lake, which has grown more than 30 times in size since the 1970s, reported public broadcaster ZDF. NGO Germanwatch, who have supported Liluya with the case, said he wants protection for himself, his family and the people of Huaraz, who have contributed little or nothing to the climate crisis. The plaintiffs are demanding 17,000 euros in compensation, which they link to the company’s share of global emissions.
RWE told ZDF that it has always complied with the necessary public law regulations, adding that climate change should be addressed with a forward-looking perspective and not retrospectively by courts. Liluya and his lawyer, Roda Verheyen, lost in the first instance of their civil lawsuit in the Essen Regional Court on the basis that there was no legal link between RWE’s emissions and the threat to the plaintiff’s house, reported ZDF. The court in Hamm found that Liluya’s claim was admissible after an appeal. The case is the first of its kind to have reached this stage in the courts and is being closely watched because over 90 jurisdictions across the globe share the legal provision that is being used to fight the case.
