Can a Peruvian Farmer Make a German Energy Giant Pay for Climate Change?

In a groundbreaking case, Saul Luciano Lliuya, a farmer from Huaraz, Peru, is suing German energy giant RWE, claiming its emissions contribute to glacier melt threatening his city with floods. Starting March 17, 2025, in Germany, this lawsuit could redefine corporate accountability for climate change, blending law, science, and human stories in a fight for justice.

In the rugged highlands of northern Peru, where the Cordillera Blanca mountains tower over the bustling city of Huaraz, the morning sun casts a golden glow on glaciers that have stood for centuries. It’s a breathtaking sight—until you hear the quiet fear in the voices of those who live below. For Saul Luciano Lliuya, a farmer and mountain guide, those glistening peaks aren’t just a backdrop to his life; they’re a ticking time bomb. Meltwater from these shrinking glaciers feeds Lake Palcacocha, a swelling lagoon that threatens to unleash devastating floods on his hometown. And he’s pointing the finger at an unlikely culprit: RWE, a German energy company thousands of miles away. This Monday, March 17, 2025, Lliuya’s fight lands in the Higher Regional Court of Hamm, Germany. It’s no ordinary lawsuit. Backed by the environmental group Germanwatch, he’s demanding that RWE fork over 17,000 euros—about $18,500—to help fund a $3.5 million flood defense project in Huaraz. His argument? RWE’s historical greenhouse gas emissions, pegged at 0.5 percent of the global total, have fueled climate change, accelerated glacier melt, and put his community at risk. It’s a bold claim, one that could ripple far beyond the Andes and reshape how the world holds corporations accountable for a warming planet.

Lliuya’s story starts in the hilly outskirts of Huaraz, where he tends cornfields and guides trekkers through the rugged Cordillera Blanca. Speaking to Reuters near his home, he admitted the odds felt long when he first filed the case in 2015. “We didn’t start with a lot of hope,” he said, his voice steady but tinged with resolve. “But now it’s caused a lot of attention.” What began as a personal crusade has grown into a global spotlight moment, fueled by a simple idea: polluters should pay. RWE, one of Europe’s biggest energy firms, sees it differently. The company insists the lawsuit is baseless, arguing that pinning global warming on a single emitter is both legally shaky and politically misguided. “This is an attempt to set a precedent whereby every single emitter of greenhouse gases in Germany could be held legally responsible for the effects of climate change worldwide,” RWE said in a statement. To them, it’s a Pandora’s box they’d rather keep shut. The legal tug-of-war hinges on a slice of German civil law about property interference—think of it as a rule that says you can’t let your mess spill onto your neighbor’s yard. Lliuya’s team argues that RWE’s emissions are doing just that, albeit on a planetary scale. A lower court tossed the case out years ago, but Lliuya appealed, landing him in Hamm for what could be a historic showdown.

Up in the mountains, the stakes are painfully real. Lake Palcacocha’s volume has ballooned 34 times since 1974, a direct result of glaciers retreating under rising temperatures. For Huaraz, a city of over 65,000 nestled in the Huaylas Valley, the memory of 1941 looms large—back then, a glacial flood killed thousands. Today’s population is far bigger, and the risk feels closer than ever. Nestor Acuna, a local who lives near the Quilcay River, doesn’t mince words. “The river is always growing,” he told Reuters in mid-March, just as landslides and rains prompted road closures around the lake. “Who wouldn’t be afraid? Sometimes we have family over, and when it’s the rainy season, we’re scared the river will overflow or there’ll be a landslide.” The Peruvian government has installed a dam and drainage pipes to tame Palcacocha’s waters, but officials admit it’s not enough. More defenses are needed—fast. Peru holds nearly 70 percent of the world’s tropical glaciers, fragile giants that store water in winter and release it in summer. A 2023 national glacier inventory laid bare the toll of climate change: over half of these icy reserves have vanished in six decades. In Ancash, where Huaraz sits, 26 lagoons now pose flood risks. Lliuya sees it firsthand. “Every year you visit, the glacier is retreating even more,” he said, a mix of worry and sadness in his tone. Beyond floods, he fears a future where drinking water runs dry.

The case isn’t just about passion—it’s grounded in hard data. A 2021 study in Nature Geoscience tied Lake Palcacocha’s growth to human-driven climate change, spotlighting greenhouse gases as the culprit. Lliuya’s lawyer, Roda Verheyen, is banking on this evidence to connect RWE’s emissions to the mess in Peru. Even if they don’t win, she told reporters, getting their argument on record is a victory. “We can build on that in further cases,” she said, her optimism cutting through the legal jargon. RWE, meanwhile, leans on a broader defense: climate change is everyone’s problem, not just theirs. It’s a stance that’s sparked debate. If every company points fingers elsewhere, who steps up? For Lliuya, the answer’s clear. “The company has polluted,” he said. “It should take responsibility.”

As the trial kicks off, the world’s watching. Climate lawsuits are on the rise—some 230 have hit courts globally since 2015, with many scoring wins. A victory for Lliuya could flip the script, making companies pay a share of the cleanup based on their emissions. Imagine oil giants or coal barons facing similar suits from flood-soaked towns or drought-stricken farms. It’s a tantalizing prospect for climate justice advocates. But a loss could bolster corporate defenses, leaving communities like Huaraz to fend for themselves. Either way, the case is a human story at its core—a farmer staring down a corporate titan, armed with little more than a belief that someone’s got to answer for the chaos unfolding above his home. Win or lose, Lliuya’s fight is already stirring the pot, asking a question that’s tough to ignore: if the planet’s heating up, who picks up the tab?