On 22 December 2025, 39 farmers from the Sindh region in Pakistan took another step towards climate justice by filing a lawsuit at the German Regional Court in Heidelberg against two of Germany’s largest climate polluters, RWE and Heidelberg Materials. The farmers are seeking partial compensation for the devastating losses they suffered during the catastrophic floods that hit Pakistan in 2022 — floods that destroyed homes, land, and livelihoods across the country.
The case marks a significant step in the growing global movement to hold major polluters accountable for the climate damage their emissions have contributed to cause.
For Abdul Hafeez Khoso, a 42-year-old farmer from Jacobabad whose land was submerged during the floods, the case is about dignity as much as survival:
“The damage caused by the devastating floods in 2022 has plunged us into a spiral of poverty, debt, and despair. For us, the climate crisis is not a distant future but a bitter reality. We are not willing to accept fear of destructive extreme weather as a constant companion in our lives. With this lawsuit, we are demanding not only compensation but justice. We demand that the world take notice from us and that those responsible be held accountable.”
On 28 October 2025, the farmers formally notified both companies of their intention to seek compensation and invited them to enter into a dialogue and mediation process. After the companies refused to engage or take responsibility, the farmers proceeded to file their claim. The claim is now being pursued by 39 farmers.
Scientists found that human-induced climate change – to which RWE and Heidelberg Materials have contributed significantly through their emissions – has substantially increased both the likelihood and intensity of the 2022 extreme rainfall. Since 1965, the two companies together have been responsible for a substantial share of global greenhouse gas emissions, which, according to scientists, make extreme weather events like the flood disaster in Pakistan more likely and more destructive.
Karin Zennig from medico international said:
“While the German government is unreasonably abandoning effective climate policy, our Pakistani partners are literally fighting for their survival. Their fight for justice is the David versus Goliath battle of our time – Pakistani smallholders versus German energy giants. The court proceedings have not even begun, and already there is an echo in Brazil, Kenya, and the Philippines. The Global South is looking to Germany and counting on global justice.”
The 39 farmers are claiming partial compensation for the losses they suffered when unprecedented rainfall submerged their fields and wiped out their harvests during the summer of 2022. Many lost two full growing seasons of crops — including rice and wheat — pushing families already living close to the edge into deep financial insecurity. The total of their damages is over 1 million euros.
Clara Gonzales of ECCHR added:
“Climate change is no longer a future risk, it is a present injustice. Across the world, people on the frontlines of the climate crisis are asserting a simple truth : those who have profited from decades of pollution must no longer be allowed to externalise the human costs of their business. The RWE decision and the recent Swiss decision that declared the climate claim against Holcim admissible show that major polluters can no longer avoid judicial debate. No more should they evade accountability.”
Background information
The case was filed in the District Court of Heidelberg on December 22, 2025. At the heart of the case lies a simple but powerful legal principle: those who cause harm must pay for it. The case relies on two causes of action: § 906 Civil Code (BGB), which is a nuisance-type provision, and tort (§ 823 Civil Code BGB).
The farmers argue that companies that have knowingly and massively contributed to climate change cannot remain shielded from responsibility when climate impacts destroy lives thousands of kilometres away.
This case builds on the landmark Lliuya v. RWE verdict rendered in May 2025 where a German court ruled that major emitters can be held liable for climate-related damages abroad.
While Pakistan contributes less than one percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, it is among the countries most severely affected by climate change. In 2022 alone, floods inundated large parts of the country, affecting over 30 million people. For rural communities, the loss of a harvest is not an abstract economic statistic — it means hunger, debt, and the erosion of the possibility to rebuild.
Notes to editor
- More about this case can be found here.
- The case is being supported by the human rights organizations medico international and ECCHR and the Pakistani organizations HANDS Welfare Foundation and the National Trade Union Federation (NTUF).
- The claimants are being represented by the lawyers Dr Roda Verheyen and John Peters from the law firm Günther Partnerschaft, Hamburg.
