Pakistan farmers sue German firms over flood damage

Thirty-nine farmers from Pakistan's southern Sindh province are suing German energy firm RWE and cement maker Heidelberg Materials, seeking damages for losses from Pakistan's 2022 floods.

The lawsuit argues that the companies' greenhouse gas emissions contributed to climate change and intensified the rains that wiped out crops, livestock and homes. The companies are being targeted for their climate-warming emissions, not for specific operations in Pakistan.

The plaintiffs estimate that RWE and Heidelberg Materials contributed 0.68 percent and 0.12 percent of global industrial emissions respectively. Both firms deny wrongdoing and call the claims unfounded.

Heidelberg Materials said its operations complied with German laws and that companies should not retroactively face different standards. RWE described the case as an attempt to shift climate policy demands into German courtrooms.

The case follows a German legal ruling in a Peruvian farmer's case against RWE. That compensation claim was rejected, but lawyers involved in the Pakistani case say the ruling left open the possibility of holding emitters liable.

The 2022 floods hit a third of Pakistan, killed 1,700 people and affected 30 million. The civil process is expected to take years.