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Court throws out Peruvian farmer’s climate lawsuit against energy giant

The Washington Post · last updated

A German court on Wednesday dismissed a Peruvian farmer’s lawsuit against one of the country’s largest energy giants in a ruling that left open the possibility for other polluters to be held liable for climate change.

The high-profile case alleged that planet-warming emissions from German utility firm RWE had contributed to the melting of a glacier above Saúl Luciano Lliuya’s home city of Huaraz, making the company obligated to help pay for the cost of protecting the Andean community from a catastrophic outburst flood.