Peruvian Farmer Sues German Energy Giant Over Its Role in Climate Change

Hearings began Monday in a landmark climate case in Hamm, Germany, where a Peruvian farmer is suing energy giant RWE over its role in warming.

Backed by the climate group Germanwatch, farmer Saúl Luciano Lliuya argues that warming has sped the melting of the Palcaraju Glacier near his town of Huaraz, raising the risk of flooding. To protect the farm where he grows corn, wheat, barley, and potatoes, Lliuya is seeking funds to build a $3.5 million flood control project.

By one estimate, RWE is responsible for less than one-half of 1 percent of global emissions, mostly from the production of coal. At that level, the lawsuit argues, it should put $18,500 toward flood controls, Reuters reports.

A 2021 study confirmed that warming has caused the retreat of the Palcaraju Glacier, ramping up the risk of floods in Huaraz. The research established a “direct link” between emissions and the need to erect flood protections, said lead author Rupert Stuart-Smith of the University of Oxford.

RWE, which is currently phasing out coal power plants, argues that no single emitter should be held responsible for climate change. “If such a claim were to exist under German law, it would also be possible to hold every motorist liable,” it said in a statement.

While the lawsuit was initially dismissed by a court in the German city of Essen, it was allowed to move forward in a regional court in Hamm. A win for Lliuya could set a “groundbreaking” precedent, said Seb Duyck of the Center for International Climate Law. Legal questions addressed in this case, he said, could shape “claims against climate polluters worldwide as communities increasingly seek compensation.”