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Jun 03 2025
5In a significant legal development, a German court has dealt a major blow to the fossil fuel industry's longstanding denial of responsibility for climate change. Although the court dismissed a specific compensation claim by Peruvian farmer and mountain guide Saúl Luciano Lliuya against the German energy firm RWE, it upheld a crucial principle: companies can be held liable for their proportional contributions to climate-related harm.
The roots of this case trace back nearly a decade. Lliuya, a resident of Huaraz, a city nestled in the Peruvian Andes with a population of 120,000, has been living under the looming threat of a catastrophic flood. Melting glaciers—accelerated by global warming—have caused water levels in the nearby Lake Palcacocha to rise dangerously. Peru's disaster management agency has warned that a glacial lake outburst flood could strike at any time.
Lliuya argued that RWE, as one of the world’s top greenhouse gas emitters, should help finance preventative infrastructure, including a dam to protect Huaraz. The proposed defense system would cost approximately US$4 million, and Lliuya sought a mere 0.47% of that amount—roughly US$20,000—from RWE. This figure was based on scientific estimates of the company's historical emissions.
Despite its vast revenues, RWE refused to settle. The company’s legal team made it clear that the stakes were much higher than a simple payout: “This is a matter of precedent.” Their concern was well-founded.
On May 28, 2025, the court acknowledged that the immediate risk to Lliuya’s property was not yet sufficient to justify his claim. However, it confirmed that, in principle, private companies could be held financially accountable for the damage their emissions cause, regardless of national boundaries. This has opened the door for similar legal actions worldwide.
The implications of this ruling are profound. Courts in countries including Switzerland, Belgium, the UK, the Netherlands, the United States, and Japan may now consider similar claims based on the same legal logic. Even if this ruling is later overturned, the precedent remains—a clear signal that corporations are not immune from legal accountability for climate damages.
For years, fossil fuel companies have deflected blame, suggesting that responsibility lies with individuals rather than the industry itself. However, as climate attribution science improves, the links between specific emissions and specific climate impacts become harder to deny.
The legal landscape is shifting. Since 2017, numerous U.S. cities, counties, and states have initiated lawsuits against fossil fuel companies, aiming to recoup damages and cover adaptation costs—claims that could amount to trillions. Other legal actions are gaining traction around the world. In 2024, a Belgian farmer sued TotalEnergies over weather-related damage to his land. In 2022, residents of Pari Island, Indonesia, launched a case in Switzerland against Holcim, a cement giant, seeking emissions reductions and compensation for flood-related losses.
Furthermore, legislative efforts in countries like the U.S., Pakistan, and the Philippines aim to cement the "polluter pays" principle into law—already a recognized legal norm in at least 50 countries.
Public opinion, too, is evolving. Increasingly, people understand the role of major polluters in driving climate change, and public support for legal accountability is growing. What once seemed legally implausible—holding a corporation accountable for a flood in a faraway nation—now stands on firmer ground.
Lliuya’s case may not have succeeded in securing immediate compensation, but it has reshaped the global conversation. In doing so, it has melted away one of the fossil fuel industry’s most enduring defenses.
Source:https://phys.org/news/2025-06-lawsuit-fossil-fuel-industry-defense.html
This is non-financial/medical advice and made using AI so could be wrong.
