Several farmers from Pakistan have filed a lawsuit against RWE and Heidelberg Materials at the Heidelberg Regional Court, seeking damages linked to severe flooding in Pakistan during the summer of 2022.
According to a statement from the European Centre for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), which is supporting the case, the plaintiffs argue that climate change contributed to the scale and intensity of the flooding. They allege that RWE, as one of Germany’s largest energy producers, has made a significant contribution to climate change through carbon dioxide emissions, thereby increasing the likelihood of extreme weather events.
RWE said it rejects the legal basis of such claims, arguing that holding German companies civilly liable for global climate-related damage would undermine legal certainty and harm Germany as an industrial location. The company said German firms that comply with applicable laws should not face claims for damages arising elsewhere in the world.
The utility described the case as another attempt to move climate policy disputes into German courtrooms, maintaining that claims brought by non-governmental organisations against German companies for alleged climate damage globally are legally inadmissible. RWE said it has always operated its facilities in line with prevailing legal requirements.
The company added that it would be contradictory for the state to permit and regulate carbon emissions through legislation, while simultaneously allowing retroactive civil liability for those same emissions.
RWE pointed to previous climate-related lawsuits in Germany — including cases against Volkswagen, Mercedes-Benz and BMW — which were dismissed by courts at both first and second instance. It also cited a separate climate lawsuit against RWE that was dismissed as unfounded by the Higher Regional Court of Hamm in May 2025, after proceedings that lasted more than nine years.
RWE said its corporate strategy is aligned with the Paris Climate Agreement and that it is decarbonising its operations in line with a 1.5°C pathway, validated by the Science Based Targets initiative. The company said it has more than halved its CO₂ emissions since 2018, plans to phase out lignite by 2030, and aims to achieve climate neutrality by 2040.
