Historic Climate Litigation Ruling Coincides with New Avalanche Disaster in the Swiss Alps
- Post by: Randy Muñoz
- June 12, 2025
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Just hours before the devastating ice-rock-debris avalanche in Blatten, Switzerland, the Higher Regional Court in Hamm, Germany, delivered its long-awaited ruling in the Lliuya v RWE climate litigation case.
EClim’s Christian Huggel, expert witness in the case and specialist in high-mountain hazards, reflected on both events and the deeper connection between them.
🔹 Court ruling on Lliuya v RWE:
The court acknowledged that major private emitters can be held liable for climate impacts, even if their past actions were legal. It traced liability back to the 1960s, when companies like RWE became aware of the climate risks associated with their emissions. Importantly, the court confirmed the causal chain linking emissions to glacier lake risks, but dismissed the case on the basis of a <1% risk probability for Saúl Lliuya’s house in Huaraz, Peru—based on a methodologically flawed expert report.
🔹 Urgency of high-mountain expertise:
The Blatten disaster underscores the need for qualified, interdisciplinary experts in assessing alpine risks. Huggel notes the court-appointed expert had no experience in high-mountain environments—an omission that undermines the rigor of the ruling’s technical foundation.
This case sets a powerful precedent for climate litigation worldwide, reinforcing the legitimacy of holding emitters accountable and pushing courts to treat climate impacts as actionable civil matters.
🔗 Read Huggel’s post on LinkedIn
📰 Coverage in The Guardian