Mixed results from a lawsuit in Germany. The BBC reports,
A court in Germany has rejected a lawsuit brought by a Peruvian farmer against German energy giant RWE in a long-awaited decision.
RWE is a large German electric utility which, for whatever reasons, is particularly hated by climate change activists.
The Peruvian farmer sued the German utility for something under $20,000, representing RWE’s share of the alleged climate “damage” done to his Andean village. A German appeals court put an end to the lawsuit that had been dragging on for ten years. Since 2015.
Greenies are declaring victory, nonetheless. The suit was dismissed based on the merits (or lack thereof) of the Peruvian’s specific claim, not because the whole premise of the lawsuit is absurd. From the BBC,
Germanwatch, an environmental NGO which backed Mr Lliuya’s case, celebrated the court’s ruling saying it had “made legal history”.
“Although the court dismissed the specific claim – finding flood risk to Luciano Lliuya’s home was not sufficiently high – it confirmed for the first time that major emitters can be held liable under German civil law for risks resulting from climate change.”
God help us all.
