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
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: The Lebanese Army is continuing its investigations and will later announce any information that does not affect the confidentiality of the investigation
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: It has not yet been determined whether the detainees belong to ISIS or another organization
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: Around 10 people of different nationalities, including Lebanese nationals, were detained
Al Mayadeen's correspondent: The Lebanese army arrested a number of people in the Matn area of Mount Lebanon with possession it has not disclosed
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman: We have strong indications that there are martyrs, injuries, and trapped people in the Salah al-Din area
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman: Citizens should avoid Salah al-Din Street because anyone who approaches it is at risk of being directly targeted
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman: Reality is that there is a very limited retreat of the vehicles, with the occupation forces providing cover undeer fire up to Salah al-Din Street
Gaza Civil Defense spokesman: Claims that the Israeli occupation has withdrawn from areas in the neighborhoods of al-Zaytoun, al-Tuffah, and al-Shujaiya are false
Hamas: The two delegations stressed that any negotiations must lead to the achievement of our people's goals and aspirations, foremost among which is ending the war and the complete withdrawal of enemy forces
Hamas: A delegation from the Hamas leadership, led by the head of the leadership council, Mohammad Darwish, met with an Islamic Jihad delegation, headed by its Secretary-General, Ziyad al-Nakhalah

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

UN warns of climate-driven health crisis for aging populations

Heatwave kills 2,300 in Europe, two-thirds linked to climate change

"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

Hezbollah SG reveals war details on Al Mayadeen for the first time

Hezbollah SG reveals war details on Al Mayadeen for the first time

  • Politics
  • 8 Jul 2025
Major ambush in Gaza kills 6 Israeli troops, injures dozens

Major ambush in Gaza kills 5 Israeli troops, injures 14

  • Politics
  • 8 Jul 2025
Israeli soldiers are seen in Beit Hanoun ahead of an operation by the al-Qassam Brigades, undated (Al-Qassam Brigades Military Media)

'Israel' on blast as media exposes report discrepancies in Gaza ambush

  • Palestine
  • 8 Jul 2025
Yemen Navy sinks ETERNITY C ship, shares footage of operation

Yemen Navy sinks ETERNITY C ship, shares footage of operation

  • Politics
  • 9 Jul 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
The Freedom Flotilla ship Handala as it departs for Gaza, where it aims to break the maritime blockade at a port in Syracuse, Sicily in southern Italy on July 13, 2025. (AFP)
Palestine

Freedom Flotilla's Handala departs Sicily in bid to break Gaza siege

The container ship CMA CGM Laperouse, left, docks at the Georgia Ports Authority's Port of Savannah, Sept. 29, 2021, in Savannah, Ga (AP)
Politics

US shipbuilding woes deepen as tariffs, outdated policies backfire

Gaza war raises ethical questions for ex-Obama, Biden officials
Politics

Mercenary firm tied to Gaza war crimes hires Obama-Biden PR operatives

'Israel' targets children in Gaza collecting water
Palestine

'Israel' strikes Gaza kids fetching water, blames it on 'malfunction'

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