A court in Germany ruled against a Peruvian farmer who was seeking redress from the energy company RWE for its role in the melting of Andean glaciers, which has put the farmer and his community in Huaraz at risk of flooding. But climate activists are celebrating the ruling as a major victory, as the German court also found major polluters can be held responsible for the consequences of climate change, setting up a possible precedent as similar cases play out in other countries. This is German lawyer Roda Verheyen, who represented Saúl Luciano Lliuya in the landmark case.

Roda Verheyen: “But what is important is the legal obligation of companies like RWE has been established here today. The legal obligation to deal with the consequences of their actions and to bear responsibility for them is something that has never before been established anywhere in the world in this form.”