Peru farmer brings German energy giant in the dock
A German court yesterday ruled that it would hear a Peruvian farmer's case against energy giant RWE over climate change damage in the Andes, a decision labelled by campaigners as a "historic breakthrough".
Farmer Saul Luciano Lliuya's case against RWE was "well founded," the court in the northwestern city of Hamm said in a statement.
Lliuya argues that RWE, as one of the world's top emitters of climate-altering carbon dioxide, must share in the cost of protecting his hometown Huaraz from a swollen glacier lake at risk of overflowing from melting snow and ice.
RWE's power plants emitted carbon dioxide that contributed to global warming, increasing local temperatures in the Andes and putting the father of two's property at risk from flooding or landslides, Lliuya argues.
Now the court must decide whether "the accused's contribution to the chain of events depicted here is measurable and calculable," they added.
He wants RWE to pay 17,000 euros ($20,000) towards flood defences for his community in Peru's northern Ancash region. The 37-year-old also wants the German company to reimburse him for the 6,384 euros he himself has spent on protective measures.
Lliuya bases his claims on a 2013 climate study which found that RWE was responsible for around 0.5 percent of global emissions "since the beginning of industrialisation".
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