Press Release: 5/28/2025
Luciano Lliuya v. RWE AG Decision Affirms Polluter Accountability for Climate Damages
Published May 28, 2025
MEDIA CONTACT
Daela Taeoalii-Tipton
Communications Officer
Clean Energy & Climate Accountability
CAMBRIDGE, Mass (May 28, 2025)—Today the German Higher Regional Court in Hamm made a long-awaited ruling on a lawsuit filed by Saúl Luciano Lliuya, a Peruvian farmer, against RWE, a German energy company and one of Europe’s largest emitters of planet-warming CO2. The case centers on holding the fossil fuel company accountable for climate change-related damages and was first filed in 2015. While the court dismissed the specific claim, it affirmed a powerful legal principle that major emitters of global warming pollution can be held liable for their contributions to climate change harms. Today, there are dozens of such cases globally working their way through the courts.
Below is a statement by Dr. Delta Merner, the lead scientist for the Science Hub for Climate Litigation at UCS.
“Saúl’s case exemplifies the struggle for justice by communities around the world enduring very real harms, particularly in the Global South, due to the fossil fuel industry’s climate pollution and deceptive business practices. His longstanding and courageous fight for the safety of his community in Huaraz shifts the dial by formally setting the legal precedent for holding major emitters accountable for climate damages.
“Although the court dismissed this claim, it recognized that companies may be held legally responsible for climate damages tied to their emissions. The ruling confirmed that climate science can provide a basis for legal liability, which is a critical precedent in the broader push for climate accountability. While attribution science has not yet had its full day in court, this case brings us one step closer.
“This growing body of science, alongside comprehensive evidence of decades of fossil fuel deception and disinformation, underscores why deep-pocket fossil fuel companies in the U.S. are lobbying Congress to grant them immunity from such cases. Climate accountability lawsuits remain an important avenue for justice and put shareholders and investors on notice that business-as-usual practices carry financial risk.
“With a number of lawsuits seeking redress for climate damages moving forward, science will soon have its day in court. Until then, the wave of litigation facing the fossil fuel industry is showing no signs of abating. Major emitters of planet-warming pollution could minimize their legal liability if they stop lying, pay an equitable share of the costs they’re imposing on all of us—particularly on communities like Huaraz that face disproportionate impacts from a crisis they did not cause—and shift business practices to accelerate a fair and fast phaseout of fossil fuels.”
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