US EditionSwiss Court to Hear Landmark Climate Case by Indonesian Island Residents Against Cement Giant
The plaintiffs seek CHF 3,600 each and demand Holcim cut emissions by 43% by 2030, linking the cement firm to climate impacts threatening their island.
- On Dec 22, a cantonal court in Zug, Switzerland admitted a climate complaint by four residents of Pari island, Indonesia against Holcim, Swiss cement maker, NGOs including Swiss Church Aid said Monday.
- Four residents of Pari island filed the complaint in January 2023 after repeated flooding, with environmentalists saying 11 percent of the 42-hectare island has disappeared and plaintiffs blaming Holcim despite its 2019 divestment and the cement industry's 7% global CO2 emissions.
- The plaintiffs seek 3,600 Swiss francs each and demand a 43% reduction in Holcim's emissions by 2030, while Holcim aims for net zero by 2050 and has cut direct CO2 by over 50% since 2015.
- Both sides received the ruling before Monday's publication and can still appeal, and Holcim said it intends to appeal, with two islanders who traveled for a September hearing supporting the decision, NGOs said.
- The case forms part of a wider international push to expand corporate liability, NGOs including Swiss Church Aid said this is Switzerland's first climate litigation against a large firm.
52 Articles
52 Articles
A Swiss court has agreed to consider a dispute for climatic damage between the inhabitants of an Indonesian island, threatened by rising waters, and the Swiss cement giant Holcim.
A court in Switzerland has admitted a lawsuit against the cement group Holcim, in which the group is given a co-responsibility for climate change.
The island paradise Pari fights against floods – now the dispute about CO2 emissions is going to a Swiss court. The plaintiffs speak of a stage victory.
The Indonesian island of Pari is at risk of rising sea levels. Inhabitants in Switzerland are suing a building material company whose CO2 emissions are to endanger the island.
Residents of Pari, Indonesia, fear that their island could be submerged forever due to climate change. A Swiss court has now accepted their legal complaint.
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