Court rejects Peruvian farmer鈥檚 lawsuit against RWE
Essen district court has rejected a lawsuit brought by Peruvian farmer Sa煤l Lliuya鈥檚 against German utility RWE, for contributing to environmental damage in his hometown of Huarez, news agency Reuters reports. Lliuya demanded 17,000 euros in compensation to finance safety measures taken against the threat posed to his home by a melting glacier. RWE鈥檚 carbon emissions were partly responsible for the threat, according to Lliuya鈥檚 claim. RWE rejected the claim, saying a single emitter could not be held accountable for global developments such as climate change. German environmental organisation Germanwatch, which supported Lliuya, said while the court saw no 鈥渓egal causality鈥� justifying the claim, it conceded there could be a 鈥渘atural scientific causality.鈥� According to Germanwatch, Lliuya鈥檚 lawyer is considering filing an appeal with the higher regional court at Hamm.
Read the Reuters鈥� article in German and Germanwatch鈥檚 press release in German .