Last week, there was finally a ruling in the climate lawsuit that a Peruvian farmer had brought against the German energy company RWE. The claim for damages was not granted. However, the judge determined that major greenhouse gas emitters can, in principle, be held liable for damage resulting from human-caused climate change.

Law Provides Protection 

There are laws designed to protect your safety and property. 

For example: your neighbors have a large tree in their yard. There is a risk that the tree may fall and land on your house. You can appeal to a law through the court that states your neighbor may not threaten your safety and property and must eliminate that threat, provided you can demonstrate that the risk of damage is sufficiently large. 

Risk of Climate Damage 

The Peruvian farmer, Saúl Luciano Lliuya, invoked such a German law. His reasoning was that the German energy company RWE has contributed to the global increase in CO2 levels in the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels for many years. This has caused the Earth to warm and the glacier on the mountain above his hometown Huaraz to start melting (see image 1). A large lake of meltwater now threatens his possessions. If the natural dam holding back the meltwater breaks, a massive flow of water with mud and stones will rush down and flood part of Huaraz, including his farm. 

The Demand 

RWE must contribute to measures to eliminate this risk. RWE has contributed 0.4% to the increase of CO2 in the atmosphere and therefore the farmer claims 0.4% of the total costs to mitigate the risk of a devastating mudflow. This is a small amount for a company like RWE, but if granted by the judge, this case could allow climate damage to be claimed worldwide from major emitters like RWE.