RWE Challenge: Court Delivers Judgment in Anden-Bauer Case - Ruling Issued by the Primary Court
Hamm Court Delivers Decision in Climate Lawsuit against RWE
After years of legal proceedings, the Higher Regional Court of Hamm is set to announce its decision on a landmark climate lawsuit filed by Peruvian farmer Saúl Luciano Lliuya against energy giant RWE. The case, which began in 2015, concerns Lliuya's request for RWE to contribute to costs for protective measures against the potential threat of a flood wave from the Palcacocha glacier lake, near his home in Huaraz, Peru.
Lliuya claims RWE is partially responsible for the potential danger due to the company's extensive greenhouse gas emissions through its power plants. He is supported by the Future Sustainability Foundation and Germanwatch, who view the lawsuit as a "strategic climate lawsuit" aimed at improving climate protection and setting legal precedents. RWE, however, considers the lawsuit legally inadmissible.
In mid-March, two expert witnesses presented their findings regarding the risk of flooding to Lliuya's property within the next 30 years. Contradicting Lliuya's lawyers and experts, the witnesses estimated that the likelihood of realistic flooding scenarios was only one percent. A motion for recusal against one of the expert witnesses was dismissed, causing the court to postpone the original decision date from April 14 to May 28.
According to recent reports, the court ruled on May 28, 2025, to dismiss Lliuya's claim for RWE to contribute to protective measures. Despite the dismissal, the ruling affirmed that large emitters could be held liable for their contributions to climate change and that such liability cannot be excluded outright. The court concluded that, while RWE's emissions are a relevant factor and their responsibility calls for legal scrutiny, the evidence presented did not establish a concrete link between RWE's actions and the specific harm to Lliuya's property.
The decision, although not favorable for Lliuya, opens the door for similar climate lawsuits to succeed in the future if the facts demonstrate a clear causal connection. The implication of RWE's potential liability is likely to have broad consequences for other energy corporations operating globally.
- The strategic climate lawsuit against RWE, filed by Saúl Luciano Lliuya in 2015, with support from environmental science groups like the Future Sustainability Foundation and Germanwatch, seeks to set legal precedents for establishing liability of energy companies towards climate change.
- The Higher Regional Court of Hamm's ruling, made on May 28, 2025, dismissed Lliuya's claim for RWE to contribute to protective measures, but affirmed that large emitters can be held liable for their contributions to climate change.
- The court's decision to not hold RWE liable for Lliuya's specific harm, due to insufficient evidence of a causal connection, does not exclude the potential liability of energy corporations in future cases if a clear causal link can be established.
