German court gives initial backing to hear climate activist's suit against RWE
Peruvian farmer and mountain guide Saul Luciano Lliuya appeals to the high regional court of Hamm, to take RWE, one of Europe's biggest electricity companies, to court, in Hamm, Germany, November 13, 2017. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay
BERLIN (Reuters) - A German court on Monday gave its initial backing to hearing a lawsuit by a climate activist suing energy utility RWE for its role in causing climate change, in a test case other environmentalists will be watching closely.
Peruvian farmer Saúl Lliuya launched an appeal with the higher regional court in Hamm after a lower court last year rejected his call for compensation from RWE.
In his appeal he argued that greenhouse gas emissions from RWE's plants were partly to blame for melting an Andean glacier that is threatening to cause flooding and damage his house.
Roda Verheye, lawyer of Peruvian farmer and mountain guide Saul Luciano Lliuya (not pictured), welcomes Herbert Poster, one of five lawyers of RWE, one of Europe's biggest electricity companies, before their appeal against RWE for causing the climate change at the high regional court of Hamm, Germany, November 13, 2017. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay
On Monday, the court in Hamm said that at present it considered the plaintiff's claim to be conclusive and that it would decide on Nov. 30 whether or not to hear evidence on the matter.
RWE on Monday dismissed the farmer's complaint as unfounded, saying a single emitter could not be held responsible for global warming. The court said it has given RWE a chance to respond in writing to its views.
Peruvian farmer and mountain guide Saul Luciano Lliuya, his lawyer Roda Verheyen and his translator react after a high regional German court ruled against RWE, one of Europe's biggest electricity companies, in Hamm, Germany, November 13, 2017. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay
(Reporting by Andreas Cremer; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
Judges Astrid Uelwer, Rolf Meyer and Tanja Kothes of the high German regional court of Hamm are pictured before the trial of Peruvian farmer and mountain guide Saul Luciano Lliuya against RWE, one of Europe's biggest electricity companies, in Hamm, Germany, November 13, 2017. REUTERS/Wolfgang RattayPeruvian farmer and mountain guide Saul Luciano Lliuya reacts with his lawyer Roda Verheyen and Germanwatch president Klaus Milke, as he leaves a high regional German court after the court ruled against RWE, one of Europe's biggest electricity companies, in Hamm, Germany, November 13, 2017. REUTERS/Wolfgang RattayPeruvian farmer and mountain guide Saul Luciano Lliuya reacts with his lawyer Roda Verheyen and Germanwatch president Klaus Milke, as he leaves a high regional German court after the court ruled against RWE, one of Europe's biggest electricity companies, in Hamm, Germany, November 13, 2017. REUTERS/Wolfgang RattayPeruvian farmer and mountain guide Saul Luciano Lliuya, his lawyer Roda Verheyen and his translator talk to the media after a high regional German court ruled against RWE, one of Europe's biggest electricity companies, in Hamm, Germany, November 13, 2017. REUTERS/Wolfgang RattayPeruvian farmer and mountain guide Saul Luciano Lliuya and his lawyer Roda Verheyen react after a high regional German court ruled against RWE, one of Europe's biggest electricity companies, in Hamm, Germany, November 13, 2017. REUTERS/Wolfgang RattayPeruvian farmer and mountain guide Saul Luciano Lliuya and his lawyer Roda Verheyen react after a high regional German court ruled against RWE, one of Europe's biggest electricity companies, in Hamm, Germany, November 13, 2017. REUTERS/Wolfgang RattayPeruvian farmer and mountain guide Saul Luciano Lliuya and his lawyer Roda Verheyen react after a high regional German court ruled against RWE, one of Europe's biggest electricity companies, in Hamm, Germany, November 13, 2017. REUTERS/Wolfgang RattayPeruvian farmer and mountain guide Saul Luciano Lliuya and his lawyer Roda Verheyen talk after a high regional German court ruled against RWE, one of Europe's biggest electricity companies, in Hamm, Germany, November 13, 2017. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay
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