Pakistani flood-hit farmers sue German firms over climate damage
Organizers said case will be filed under German law and guided by "polluter pays" principle, seeking compensation for climate-related losses
KARACHI, Pakistan (MNTV) — Farmers devastated by Pakistan’s 2022 floods say they are taking their fight for climate justice to German courts, arguing that major global polluters should be held financially accountable for losses caused by extreme weather.
Farmers from Pakistan’s flood-ravaged Sindh province on Thursday announced they are filing a climate accountability lawsuit in Germany against two major carbon-emitting corporations, saying the unprecedented 2022 floods exposed the country’s extreme vulnerability to climate change.
The announcement was made at a news conference at the Karachi Press Club by farmer claimants Hamza Khan Kalhoro, Abdul Hafeez Khoso and Abdul Khaliq Leghari from the districts of Larkana, Jacobabad and Dadu.
Organizers said the case will be filed under German civil law and guided by the “polluter pays” principle, seeking compensation for climate-related losses that contributed to the disaster.
The claim targets German energy company RWE and construction materials producer Heidelberg Materials, both cited by climate researchers as among the world’s largest carbon dioxide emitters.
The farmers said the floods destroyed crops, livestock and homes, plunging thousands of farming families into long-term economic distress.
They noted that Pakistan contributes less than 1 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions but has suffered disproportionately from climate-driven extreme weather, arguing that historically high-emitting corporations must be held accountable for climate-related loss and damage.
A total of 43 farmers from Sindh are joining the lawsuit, seeking compensation for losses suffered during the 2022 floods, they said.
National Trade Union Federation leader Nasir Mansoor described climate change as a labor and livelihood issue, saying repeated climate shocks were undermining rural employment and food security.
Dr. Shaikh Tanveer Ahmed of the HANDS Welfare Foundation said the floods were not merely a natural disaster but a consequence of global warming. “Our farmers are paying the price for emissions they did not cause,” he said.
Speaking by phone from Germany, constitutional lawyer Miriam Saage-Maab of the European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights said the case aims to amplify the voices of flood-affected communities in international legal forums.
Karin Zennig of Germany-based Medico International said climate litigation was increasingly being used worldwide to bridge climate science, human rights and justice.
Zehra Khan of the Home-Based Women Workers Federation also attended the news conference.
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