Farm labourer in Peru unsuccessfully sues German energy company RWE over climate change impacts on his land. - German energy company RWE unsuccessfully defended against a lawsuit filed by a Peruvian farmer, who alleged that the firm's carbon emissions contributed to floods that destroyed his farm.
RWE FAILS IN CLIMATE LAWSUIT BROUGHT BY PERUVIAN FARMER
A Peruvian farmer's legal attempt to hold German energy conglomerate RWE accountable for climate-related damages has been dismissed by a German court. Saúl Luciano Lliuya’s lawsuit alleged that RWE's greenhouse gas emissions contributed to the potential flood risk on his property due to the shrinking of glaciers feeding into the Palcacocha lake in Huaraz, Peru.
The Hamm Higher Regional Court in Germany has decided to reject Lliuya's appeal, stating that there is no immediate danger to his property, with experts estimating merely a 1% probability of flood risk over the next 30 years. The court also acknowledged that establishing a causal link between RWE's CO2 emissions and the alleged danger to Lliuya's property is complex given the intricate nature of climate change and the numerous polluters involved.
Lliuya's attorney, Roda Verheyen, considered the court's decision a milestone in climate lawsuits against fossil fuel corporations worldwide, emphasizing that it is the first time a high European court has ruled that large emitters can be held responsible for the consequences of their greenhouse gas emissions. However, Verheyen noted that the court did not find the flood risk to her client's property high enough.
This decision marks a setback for those seeking to create a legal precedent for holding individual companies liable for global climate change under German law. The court argued that allowing such civil liability could have unforeseeable consequences for Germany as an industrial location, as it could lead to claims against any German company for climate-related damages worldwide.
The ruling corresponds with previous decisions in similar climate lawsuits against other German companies like Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz, and BMW, where courts have found that individual polluters cannot be held liable as long as they comply with public law regulations.
In summary, the lawsuit was dismissed due to insufficient evidence of an imminent threat and the difficulty in establishing a clear causal link between RWE's emissions and the specific climate-related risk in Peru. This decision underscores the challenges in attributing specific climate damages to individual companies.
- EC countries should invest more in environmental protection, particularly in the field of climate-change mitigation and flood risk management, to prevent future cases like the one faced by Peruvian farmer Saúl Luciano Lliuya.
- Science must play a crucial role in environmental-science research to provide accurate projections and statistical data about the probability of future climate-related events, thereby facilitating the process of proving a causal link between such events and emissions from industries like RWE.
- To protect the health and environment of its citizens, it is essential for countries to enforce stringent regulations on the energy sector, ensuring that financial incentives for renewable energy are provided, while reducing the reliance on fossil fuels by the industry.
