Thirty-nine farmers from Sindh have taken two German companies to court over the floods that devastated their province in 2022. The Sindh farmers climate lawsuit targets energy firm RWE and cement maker Heidelberg Materials, in a rare attempt to make big polluters pay for climate damage.
They blame the companies’ greenhouse gas emissions for driving the climate change that supercharged the rains which wiped out their crops, livestock and homes. The case has been filed in Heidelberg, Germany, where both firms are based.
Abdul Hafeez Khoso, 43, from Jacobabad, is one of the 39. He visited Germany to file the case, and told AFP the floods of 2022 were unlike anything his elders had seen. “The year 2022 was an apocalyptic scene — not even our elders had ever witnessed such weather,” he said. “We had nothing left.”
A third of Pakistan was hit by the floods, which killed 1,700 people and affected 30 million. The lawsuit draws on research that recorded the farmers’ losses. Dawn reported the case on Monday, drawing on AFP reporting from Jacobabad and Dadu.
Why the farmers blame the two firms
The plaintiffs estimate that RWE contributed 0.68 per cent of global industrial emissions and Heidelberg Materials 0.12 per cent. They are not suing over any operation in Pakistan, but over the firms’ overall emissions. Lawyers say a ruling that forces a company to pay compensation in proportion to its emissions would mark a major breakthrough.
Both firms reject the claims as unfounded. Heidelberg Materials told AFP it had operated within German law and that firms could not be expected to face different standards applied retroactively. RWE described the suit as “yet another attempt to shift climate policy demands to German courtrooms”, and said it would be a contradiction for the state to allow carbon dioxide emissions by law and then permit retroactive civil liability for them.
A case built on a Peruvian precedent
The principle of emitter liability moved a step closer in Germany last year, when a Peruvian farmer brought a case against RWE. His compensation claim was rejected, but the courts left the door open to holding emitters liable — and Roda Verheyen, a German lawyer involved in both cases, told AFP the Sindh farmers’ suit builds on that ruling and also accuses the companies of “wrongful behaviour”.
“Large companies knew about the general impacts of climate change since the 1960s,” Verheyen said. “They should have exercised due diligence and actually at least tried to reduce emissions, which they didn’t do enough.”
What the Sindh farmers climate lawsuit means for Pakistan
Pakistan is among the countries worst hit by climate change, even though it produces less than one per cent of global emissions. The same week the case reached the courts, world leaders gathered for COP31 in Antalya, where finance for climate-hit countries is a central dispute. COP31 climate summit opens in Antalya as finance row grows A win in Heidelberg would give Pakistan’s climate-hit communities a new route to compensation, through foreign courts rather than aid pledges.
The human cost is already clear at home. Munawar Khatoon, 43, a rare female landowner in her area, said the floods struck just before the wheat harvest and wiped out her family’s main income. “We worry about how the next generation will manage to live if this continues,” she said. “Now when the rainy season comes, we feel fear.”
Abdul Khalique Laghari, 55, from Dadu, estimates he lost $14,000 in assets, including his house, 40 acres of crops and livestock. “To this day, we are unable to repay our debt,” he said. “When we wake in the morning, we start getting calls from the people we owe money to.”
The case is backed by Pakistani and European organisations, including the HANDS Welfare Foundation, which mobilised the farming communities. Mir Keerio, a development expert at HANDS, said the fight had to go to the major polluters. “Those who have contributed significantly to this crisis must be held accountable,” he said.
The case will go through a civil process likely to take years. For the litigants, the attempt is worth it. “This case is for justice,” Khatoon said. “We hold these companies responsible for our destruction.”
The pressure of a warming climate is already visible across Pakistan. A United Nations report has warned that heatwaves in Punjab threaten farm output and food security. Punjab heatwaves threaten food security, UN warns In Sindh, farmers have started sowing cotton weeks early as temperatures shift. Climate change brings early cotton sowing in Sindh Lahore’s air has crossed hazardous levels this week, and the province recorded a steep monsoon shortfall this year. Lahore AQI crosses 600 as smog chokes city Sindh records 50.8% monsoon rainfall deficit in 2026, PMD data shows
Frequently asked questions
Who are the farmers suing?
Thirty-nine farmers from Sindh are suing German energy firm RWE and cement maker Heidelberg Materials in Heidelberg, Germany. They blame the firms’ greenhouse gas emissions for the climate change behind the 2022 floods.
What do the farmers want?
They want compensation for their losses from the 2022 floods, paid in proportion to each firm’s share of global industrial emissions. Lawyers say such a ruling would mark a major breakthrough.
How big were the 2022 floods?
The floods hit a third of Pakistan, killed 1,700 people and affected 30 million. They wiped out crops, livestock and homes across Sindh and beyond.
What have the companies said?
Both firms call the claims unfounded. Heidelberg Materials says its operations complied with German law. RWE says the suit is an attempt to shift climate policy demands into German courtrooms.
How long will the case take?
The case will be heard in a civil process likely to take years. It builds on a Peruvian farmer’s case against RWE, where German courts left the door open to holding emitters liable.
