From the Swiss Blue Community HEKS- :
⚡ ⚖️ 🌐 upcoming #𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐋𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐠𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Asmania v. Holcim
Crucial hearing upcoming in Switzerland, this could set a precedent for holding climate polluters accountable.
📅 Wed, 3 Sept 2025 – starting at 8:30 am CEST
📍 Cantonal Parliament of Zug🇨🇭
👇 A brief thread🧵by Sébastien Duyck, Senior Attorney – #ClimateJustice & right to healthy environment at the Center for International Environmental Law.
A Swiss Court will hear legal arguments in a case brought by residents of the Pari Island, Indonesia, against one of the world’s top greenhouse gas emitters. The central question: can a multinational corporation be held legally responsible for its role in climate change?
This case is already historic. For the first time in Europe, representatives of a community directly impacted by climate harm will face a major corporate polluter in court to demand compensation for already occurring harms.
More details on the case here
Without urgent action, much of Pari Island could be underwater by 2050. Rising seas, worsening disasters, and dying coral reefs are already threatening livelihoods and casting a shadow over the future prospects of the Pari Islanders.
In 2022, four of them demanded Holcim reduce its emissions & pay its fair share for adaptation + loss & damage costs incurred as a result of its emissions. When the company refused, they took their case to court.
The case already made a breakthrough in October 2023, when the tribunal confirmed the Islanders’ claims were credible enough to merit legal assistance. Tomorrow, the Court will decide whether the case is admissible and moves forward.
This struggle is part of a growing global trend. Communities worldwide are turning to the courts to break the cycle of climate impunity. Read more about climate accountability cases here.
Earlier this year, a German court confirmed in 𝐿𝑙𝑖𝑢𝑦𝑎 𝑣. 𝑅𝑊𝐸 that corporations can be held liable under civil law for the climate damages they help cause and can therefore be required to pay adaptation costs.
Summary of the case here.
For decades, science has warned us. Governments and corporations looked away. Now, the law is catching up. Across the world, tribunals are asked to fulfil their mandate: apply existing legal principles to climate-related harms just as they would in any other context.
𝐴𝑠𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑖𝑎 𝑣. 𝐻𝑜𝑙𝑐𝑖𝑚 is one piece of global efforts to seek accountability and justice. 📝 🐦 I will report live from the courtroom tomorrow—sharing insights into the arguments & what’s at stake. 👀Follow along here for real-time updates.
