Farmer's climate suit fails but opens door to others

A German court Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit over global warming filed nearly a decade ago by a Peruvian farmer against a German energy company, but supporters of the long-shot bid said the decision had opened a critical avenue for future climate lawsuits.

- KAREN ZRAICK

Although the Hamm Higher Regional Court ruled against the plaintiff, the presiding judge, Rolf Meyer, affirmed that German civil law could be used to hold companies accountable for the worldwide effects of their emissions.

“For the first time in history, a higher court in Europe has ruled that large emitters can be held responsible for the consequences of their greenhouse gas emissions,” said Roda Verheyen, a lawyer for the plaintiff, Saúl Luciano Lliuya.

She called the ruling a milestone that “will give a tail wind to climate lawsuits against fossil fuel companies, and thus to the move away from fossil fuels worldwide.”

Mr Luciano Lliuya, a farmer who also works as a tour guide, had argued that Huaraz, his city in the Andes, faced an existential risk of inundation from melting glaciers. He said that RWE, Germany's largest energy utility, was partly responsible even though it has never operated in Peru.

The lawsuit alleged that RWE had contributed about 0.5% of the global emissions driving climate change and should therefore pay the same percentage of the costs of containing Lake Palcacocha, a glacial lake near Huaraz. It put that amount at $19,000.