A new dynamic is emerging in climate litigation. Nicolas Bueno, Professor of International Law and specialist in corporate responsibility for sustainability, highlighted this in an article in Le Temps: “We are moving from a situation where climate responsibility is so diluted that no one is accountable, to the idea of shared responsibility.” He was referring to the case of Holcim, the Zug-based cement producer and one of the world’s largest CO₂ polluters. Residents of an Indonesian island accuse the company of fuelling climate change. They report increasingly frequent floods as well as rising water temperatures that threaten local fish farming. A civil case is currently pending before the court in Zug.
A similar case was recently heard in Germany: the energy company RWE was held accountable for the effects of its CO₂ emissions on the melting of a glacier in Peru. Earlier this year, the court dismissed the case, as the causal link between the glacier’s retreat and the damage to the claimant’s property could not be sufficiently established. “The court nevertheless confirmed the principle that a CO₂-emitting company must repair the damage it causes,” explains Prof. Dr Nicolas Bueno.
According to a database compiled by Columbia University in New York, there are around one thousand climate-related proceedings under way worldwide, including some twenty in Switzerland. Most involve cases of greenwashing or are domestic in scope. Last year, Switzerland was condemned by the European Court of Human Rights for climate inaction, following a complaint by the association KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz (Senior Women for Climate Protection Switzerland). “It is easier to establish responsibility for a state because the rules are more precise,” says Nicolas Bueno, pointing to the Paris Agreement, which places obligations solely on states.
