In the ruling that resolved the lawsuit filed by a Peruvian farmer and mountain guide, the Higher Regional Court of Hamm, in western Germany, established a key legal precedent: that the world's major emitters can be held liable for the climate damage they have caused under the German civil code.
Saúl Luciano Lliuya sued the German energy company RWE because a melting glacier threatened his home in Huaraz, Peru, and because he considered the company responsible for approximately 0.5% of global CO₂ emissions (a figure later reduced to 0.38%). The plaintiff therefore demanded that the company contribute to the costs of flood protection measures against the melting glacier.
Although the court dismissed the specific claim, finding based on the evidence that there was no concrete danger to Saul's property, the ruling could mark a turning point in climate justice. “Today’s ruling is landmark and will give impetus to climate lawsuits against fossil fuel companies and, therefore, to the abandonment of fossil fuels worldwide,” said the plaintiff’s lawyer, Roda Verheyen. “Today’s ruling demonstrates that major emitters can be held liable under civil law because they contribute significantly to climate change with their greenhouse gas emissions. What has been said here today is truly important on a global scale.”
In the ruling that resolved the lawsuit filed by a Peruvian farmer and mountain guide, the Higher Regional Court of Hamm, in western Germany, established a key legal precedent: that the world's major emitters can be held liable for the climate damage they have caused under the German civil code.
Saúl Luciano Lliuya sued the German energy company RWE because a melting glacier threatened his home in Huaraz, Peru, and because he considered the company responsible for approximately 0.5% of global CO₂ emissions (a figure later reduced to 0.38%). The plaintiff therefore demanded that the company contribute to the costs of flood protection measures against the melting glacier.
Although the court dismissed the specific claim, finding based on the evidence that there was no concrete danger to Saul's property, the ruling could mark a turning point in climate justice. “Today’s ruling is landmark and will give impetus to climate lawsuits against fossil fuel companies and, therefore, to the abandonment of fossil fuels worldwide,” said the plaintiff’s lawyer, Roda Verheyen. “Today’s ruling demonstrates that major emitters can be held liable under civil law because they contribute significantly to climate change with their greenhouse gas emissions. What has been said here today is truly important on a global scale.”