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yesterday

German Court Rejects Peruvian Farmer’s Claim but Affirms Major Emitters’ Liability

Under the German Civil Code, civil courts may hear transnational climate damage cases against carbon emitters.

Peruvian farmer Saul Luciano Lliuya, who is suing German energy utility RWE, arguing that the company's emissions have contributed to the melting of Andean glaciers, stands by Lake Palcacocha, before the verdict of the high regional German court in Hamm, in Huaraz, Peru May 27, 2025. REUTERS/Angela Ponce/File Photo
View of the discharge pipes in Lake Palcacocha, in Huaraz, Peru May 27, 2025. Peruvian farmer Saul Luciano Lliuya, who is suing German energy utility RWE, arguing that the company’s emissions have contributed to the melting of Andean glaciers. REUTERS/Angela Ponce
View of the discharge pipes in Lake Palcacocha, in Huaraz, Peru May 27, 2025. Peruvian farmer Saul Luciano Lliuya, who is suing German energy utility RWE, arguing that the company’s emissions have contributed to the melting of Andean glaciers. REUTERS/Angela Ponce/File Photo
Peruvian farmer Saul Luciano Lliuya, who is suing German energy utility RWE, arguing that the company's emissions have contributed to the melting of Andean glaciers, walks in front of Palcacocha Lake, before the verdict of the high regional German court in Hamm, in Huaraz, Peru May 27, 2025. REUTERS/Angela Ponce/File Photo

Overview

  • The Higher Regional Court in Hamm dismissed Saul Luciano Lliuya’s €17,000 claim against RWE after finding only a 1% chance that a glacial lake flood would reach his home within 30 years.
  • Judges held for the first time that energy companies can face civil liability for greenhouse gas emissions causing climate-related harms, even when victims reside abroad.
  • The ruling concludes a decade-long battle and bars further appeal by Lliuya but provides legal footing for more than 40 similar climate damages cases worldwide.
  • The court recognised scientific links between emissions and climate risks dating back to the 1958 Keeling Curve and stated that regulatory permits do not exempt companies from third-party liability.
  • RWE argued that climate responsibility belongs to political and regulatory fora rather than courts and said the decision did not create binding precedent in other legal systems.