"A group of Pakistani farmers whose livelihoods were devastated by floods three years ago has fired the starting shot in legal action against two of Germany's most polluting companies. Lawyers acting for 43 men and women from the Sindh region sent the energy firm RWE and the cement producer Heidelberg formal letters before action on Tuesday warning of their intention to sue later this year."
"Pakistan was the nation most affected by extreme weather events in 2022, according to the global Climate Risk Index. That summer, extreme rains flooded one-third of the country, killing at least 1,700 people, displacing 33 million people, destroying vast tracts of farmland and causing economic losses of up to $30bn. The Sindh region bore the heaviest toll, with many districts remaining underwater for over a year."
"Those who cause the damage should also pay for it, said Abdul Hafeez Khoso, a landowner and teacher who lives in the village of Molabuxkhoso in northern Sindh, and is one of the claimants. We, who have contributed the least to the climate crisis, are losing our homes and livelihoods while corporations in the wealthy north continue to make profits."
Forty-three farmers from Sindh sent formal letters before action to energy firm RWE and cement producer Heidelberg, warning of planned lawsuits later this year. The claimants say floods in 2022 submerged entire landholdings, wiped out at least two rice and wheat harvests, and produced estimated damages of 1m for which they seek liability acknowledgement and compensation. Pakistan suffered extreme rains in 2022 that flooded one-third of the country, killed at least 1,700 people, displaced 33 million, and caused up to $30bn in losses, with Sindh hardest hit. RWE and Heidelberg are identified as major historical greenhouse gas emitters.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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