Saul Luciano Lliuya, a farmer from the mountain village of Huaraz in Peru, is in the global spotlight as he faces off against the German energy company RWE in a climate lawsuit at the higher regional court in Hamm, Germany. Lliuya claims that climate change is threatening his house with flooding from an overflowing glacial lake above the village and accuses RWE, a major greenhouse gas polluter, of significantly increasing this danger through its climate-damaging emissions. He argues that the company should take responsibility and bear some of the costs for the protection of his house and village.

RWE, the multinational company headquartered in Essen, Germany, rejects responsibility and points out that it has always complied with national legal regulations. RWE is not active in Peru but says that the case is legally inadmissible and the wrong approach from a socio-political point of view.

Lliuya’s house and the Andean community of Huaraz are located in a valley below an ice lake which is steadily rising due to melting ice. Between 1990 and 2010 alone, the lake’s water levels increased 34-fold, according to an international study. The flooding caused by chunks of ice or rock falling into the lake could have dramatic consequences for Lliuya’s home and around 50,000 people in the local community.

Lliuya is not interested in receiving money himself but wants RWE to pay a share of the costs of the protective measures such as drainage systems that allow meltwater to run off the glacier lagoon and the enlargement of the dam. Simulations from 2016 showed that a lower water level could significantly reduce the risk to the community, even in the event of significant rockfall or avalanches.

While RWE admits it is one of the largest CO2 emitters in Europe, the company says that it has always adhered to legal limits for emissions and complies with the European Emissions Trading Scheme. In 2023, the court had an expert opinion drawn up during an on-site inspection in Peru to check whether Lliuya’s house would be affected by heavy flooding.

This is not the first time that such a lawsuit has been filed. Cross-border climate lawsuits have been filed in other countries, including the Netherlands and France. The outcome of this case could set a significant international precedent for how we address climate change and responsibility for climate-damaging emissions.

Source: https://www.dw.com/en/a-farmer-in-peru-takes-on-an-energy-giant-in-germany/a-71943162?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf