Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Da Silva: What is happening in Gaza is not a war, it is a genocide
Da Silva: Even the Jewish people do not want this war; it is revenge by a government against the possibility of establishing a Palestinian state
Brazilian President Lula da Silva: What we are seeing is not a war between two armies. [What we have is a] completely professional army that is killing women and children in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas: We affirm our readiness to immediately begin a round of indirect negotiations to reach an agreement on the points of contention
Hamas: We welcome the continued Qatari and Egyptian efforts to end the war waged by the Zionist occupation against our people
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Israeli occupation forces blew up Noura Al-Kaabi Hospital, designated for kidney dialysis patients, in the northern Gaza Strip
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Israeli drone targets a car on the Ayta al-Shaab-Debel road in southern Lebanon
Yemeni Armed Forces Spokesperson Yahya Saree: The remaining airlines that have not yet complied with the ban are urged to take this into serious consideration to ensure the safety of their aircraft and passengers
Yemeni Armed Forces Spokesperson Yahya Saree: The YAF, after successfully imposing a partial ban on air traffic at Lydd Airport, are now working to impose a full ban on air traffic at the aforementioned airport in the coming period
Yemeni Armed Forces Spokesperson Yahya Saree: YAF's UAV Unit carried out three military operations targeting three vital Israeli sites in the occupied Palestinian areas of Yafa, Isdud, and Umm al-Rashrash, using three drones

Climate change effect on Peruvian glaciers taken to German court

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 28 May 2022 11:41
4 Min Read

A local farmer accuses RWE of endangering his home by contributing to global warming.

  • x
  • Climate change effect on Peruvian glaciers debated in German court.
    Climate change effect on Peruvian glaciers debated in a German court

German judges and specialists have gathered at the brink of a melting glacier high in the Peruvian Andes to investigate a case filed by a local farmer accusing energy giant RWE of endangering his home by contributing to global warming.

The nine-member delegation's travel to the region is the next step in a lawsuit that the plaintiffs hope will set a new global standard.

Saul Luciano Lliuya, a 41-year-old Peruvian farmer living in the mountains near Huaraz, is leading the call for "climate justice".

He has filed a lawsuit against the German utility RWE, alleging that its greenhouse gas emissions are to blame for the melting of neighboring glaciers.

The journey was ordered by the Higher Regional Court in Hamm, northern Germany, where Lliuya filed his claim against RWE after his case was dismissed by another court in Essen.

Read next: Greenland is Melting 3 Times Faster

The delegation must assess the threat that melting glaciers pose to Huaraz and its 120,000 residents below the Palcacocha glacier.

"In general they have polluted all over the world and with this claim, we are trying to do something," said Lliuya. RWE operates in 27 countries in the world, including Chile and Brazil, but not Peru.

The claim "was rejected in the first instance because it did not have any legal basis and did not respect German civil law," RWE spokesman Guido Steffen told AFP.

Related News

'Israel' turns Gaza to rubble, planet Earth pays deadly carbon price

Glacier melt due to climate change could erase 40% globally

"We are confident this will happen again with the appeal."

Lliuya and Germanwatch met in Lima in 2014 during the COP20 climate change summit, after which the German NGO's activists traveled to Huaraz to negotiate a prospective claim in Germany.

Feeling 'impotent'

Lliuya's greatest concern is that the melting glaciers would cause the Palcacocha lake to overflow.

The massive blue-turquoise lake is below the Palcaraju and Pucaranra glaciers in the Huascaran national park at an elevation of 4,650 meters (15,000 feet) and might flood Huaraz below if its banks burst.

"As a farmer and citizen I don't want these glaciers to disappear, they're important," said Lliuya.

However, he claims to be "impotent" because "you know you're in a risk zone, and there are businesses and industries that have caused this."

Lliuya's family consists of his wife and two children. Their kitchen is equipped with a few utensils and a large tree trunk that acts as a dining table.

That said, he expressed his concern that a drought in the subsurface aquifers may jeopardize local agriculture and Huaraz's water supply.

Battle in German courts

RWE was sued in 2015, and the German business prevailed in the first instance the following year. However, in 2017, the Hamm court consented to hear the case.

The experts' visit, which was scheduled for 2019, was pushed back due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Germanwatch and Lliuya want RWE to cover the costs of protecting Huaraz from flooding.

"This case refers to our historic emissions of greenhouse gases, and we have always complied with governmental limits, including our carbon dioxide emissions," said RWE, which has stated a goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2040.

Peru has lost 51% of its glaciers in the previous 50 years, according to the national water authority in 2020.

Read next: Peru bans Repsol CPO form leaving for 18 months over oil spill

  • Climate change
  • Germany
STOP THE HEAT: A Climate Change Coverage

STOP THE HEAT: A Climate Change Coverage

Most Read

President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrive to a news conference in the East Room of the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2025, in Washington (AP)

Rift widens: Trump, Netanyahu clash in heated phone call over Iran

  • Politics
  • 26 May 2025
An Israeli army vehicle moves in the Gaza Strip as seen from southern occupied Palestine, Thursday, May 29, 2025 (AP)

Hamas rejects Witkoff ceasefire plan, says alters terms

  • Politics
  • 29 May 2025
Lebanon's PM Nawaf Salam meets with US envoy Morgan Ortagus in Beirut on April 5, 2025 (Dalati Nohra via AP)AP)

Morgan Ortagus to exit US role in Lebanon amid policy shift

  • Politics
  • 1 Jun 2025
Spokesperson for the Yemeni Armed Forces, Brigadier General Yahya Saree, announces a new operation against Ben Gurion Airport on May 29, 2025 (Yemeni Military Media)

Yemen announces successful hypersonic missile strike on Ben Gurion

  • Politics
  • 30 May 2025

Coverage

All
War on Gaza

Read Next

All
Russia-Ukraine peace talks resume in Istanbul amid escalating war
Europe

Ukraine, Russia head for Istanbul talks as battles rage, cmdr. resigns

Australia urged to join Macron-led push for Palestinian statehood
Asia Pacific

Australia urged to join Macron-led push for Palestinian statehood

‘Israel’ lost international legitimacy for war on Gaza: Israeli media
Palestine

‘Israel’ lost 'international legitimacy' for Gaza war: Israeli media

MSF Chief: US-Israeli aid plan in Gaza ‘Dehumanising’
Politics

US-Israeli aid plan in Gaza used as tool for forced displacement: MSF

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS