Peruvian farmer's decade-long climate battle against RWE ends in German court

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HAMM, Germany (AP) — A German court ruled against a Peruvian farmer on Wednesday in a landmark climate lawsuit which activists say opens the door for major greenhouse gas emitters to be held financially liable in Germany.

Farmer and mountain guide Saúl Luciano Lliuya said that glaciers above his hometown of Huaraz, Peru, are melting, increasing the risk of catastrophic flooding. He blames global warming that he argued was fueled by German energy giant RWE ’s historical greenhouse gas emissions.

RWE, which has never operated in Peru, denies legal responsibility, arguing that climate change is a global issue caused by many contributors.

The state court in Hamm, in western Germany, dismissed the lawsuit but rejected arguments from RWE that the company couldn't be held liable under German civil law.

“The great distance between the defendant’s power plants and the plaintiff’s residence in Peru alone was not sufficient reason to declare the lawsuit unfounded,” the court said in a statement.

Experts said the case has set a significant precedent in the fight to hold major polluters accountable for climate change.

“This supports cases that are currently underway and opens the door for future litigation,” Sebastien Duyck, an attorney with the Center for International Environmental Law, told The Associated Press.

Roda Verheyen, Lliuya’s attorney, called the court’s decision “a milestone and will give a tailwind to climate lawsuits against fossil fuel companies, and thus to the move away from fossil fuels worldwide” even though her client lost.

RWE argued that the lawsuit was legally inadmissible and that it set a dangerous precedent by holding individual emitters accountable for global climate change. It insists climate solutions should be addressed through state and international policies, not the courts.

In a statement after the court hearing concluded, energy company said: “The plaintiff was unable to provide evidence that there was a serious imminent adverse impact on his property.”

The case had been going on for a decade. Lliuya, who was not in court Wednesday, can’t appeal the ruling further. Judges and experts from Germany visited Peru in 2022.

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Quell reported from The Hague, Netherlands.

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