RWE Faces Verdict in Lawsuit by Anden-Bauer - Court delivers verdict in initial trial case
The Higher Regional Court of Hamm in Germany is set to announce its decision today in a significant climate lawsuit involving Peruvian farmer Saúl Luciano Lliuya and energy giant RWE. Lliuya, a mountain guide, has been seeking to hold the corporation responsible for contributing to the costs of protective measures against potential flooding from the Palcacocha glacial lake, which threatens his home in Huaraz, Peru.
Lliuya argues that RWE, which generates large amounts of greenhouse gases through its power plants, shares some responsibility for the potential danger as a contributor to climate change. Germanwatch and the Future Sustainability Foundation support Lliuya's efforts. RWE, however, considers the lawsuit legally inadmissible.
Expert witnesses presented their assessments in a hearing earlier this year. They expressed doubts about the likelihood of flooding affecting Lliuya's property in the next 30 years, estimating the probability at just 1%. Lliuya's lawyers and experts have contested this assessment, claiming an underestimation of the risk.
A bias complaint against one of the expert witnesses was rejected, leading to a postponement of the initial decision date from April 14 to May 28.
For Germanwatch, the lawsuit serves as a "strategic climate lawsuit," aiming to improve climate protection, create legal precedents, prompt overdue political decisions, and increase public awareness. The ruling, should it go against RWE, could potentially set a legal precedent for holding individual corporations accountable for global climate change damages in Germany.
[Editor's Note: According to subsequent reporting, the Higher Regional Court of Hamm dismissed Lliuya's appeal on May 28, 2025, citing insufficient evidence of a serious and imminent danger to his property. The court expressed concern about the potential unforeseeable consequences for Germany's industrial sector if such liability were recognized, potentially opening the door to claims against any German company for climate-related harm worldwide. The court also noted the difficulty in reliably tracing individual effects of climate change back to specific emitters among many polluters.]
- The energy policy of EC countries, particularly Germany's, has come under scrutiny in the context of climate change, as seen in the ongoing lawsuit between Peruvian farmer Saúl Luciano Lliuya and energy giant RWE.
- The science of environmental-science plays a crucial role in such lawsuits, as expert witnesses are called upon to assess the potential risks of climate change on communities, such as Lliuya's home in Huaraz, Peru.
- The outcome of this lawsuit, which seeks to hold RWE liable for its contribution to climate change, could have significant implications for health-and-wellness (including the safety of communities like Lliuya's), as well as the broader debate on corporate responsibility regarding climate change, and potentially set a new trend in environmental-science and policy.
