The Cantonal Court of Zug takes up the lawsuit filed by four Indonesians against the Swiss group Holcim. For Switzerland, this is uncharted legal territory.
afp | A court in Switzerland, according to activists, will deal with a climate lawsuit brought by residents of an Indonesian island threatened by rising sea levels against the cement company Holcim. It would be the first time a Swiss court has allowed a lawsuit against a multinational corporation in connection with climate change, NGOs said on Monday.
The cantonal court in Zug has addressed all points of the climate lawsuit filed by four fishermen against the Swiss cement group Holcim. The case could therefore be examined in principle, the NGOs supporting the plaintiffs, including HEKS, the Swiss aid agency of the Evangelical Churches, said.
This decision is a “significant milestone” for the four residents of Pari Island in the Java Sea near Jakarta, the statement continued. The plaintiffs are demanding from Holcim compensation for damages already caused, participation in flood protection measures, and a rapid reduction of its CO2 emissions.
Holcim, which has its headquarters in Zug, is according to researchers among the hundred companies in the world that emit the most CO2. Cement production accounts for about eight percent of global CO2 emissions.
The lawsuit against the Swiss group was filed in 2023. In early September, there had been a first hearing. Holcim merged with the Swiss company Lafarge in 2015.
The lawsuit by the four Indonesian plaintiffs resembles that of Peruvian farmer Saúl Luciano Lliuya, who had also sued RWE in civil court because global warming increased the danger of flooding his hometown.
The Higher Regional Court of Hamm did indeed confirm that RWE could be held liable for damages due to its contribution to climate change. However, it did not regard the specific danger to Lliuya’s house as proven to be large enough to convict the corporation in this particular case.
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