Four inhabitants of the Indonesian island of Pari have sued Swiss-based major buildings materials company Holcim (from 2015 to 2021: Lafarge Holcim). In July 2022, they filed a request for conciliation before the Justice of the Peace of the Canton of Zug, Switzerland. This is a necessary step required by the Swiss Civil Procedure Code. The plaintiffs are supported by three NGOs: HEKS/EPER (Switzerland), the European Center for Constitutional and European Rights (ECCHR) and WALHI (Indonesia). The plaintiffs request: • proportional compensation for climate change-related damages on Pari • reduction of CO2 emissions by 43 % by 2030, compared to 2019 levels (or according to findings of climate science in order to limit global warming to 1.5°C) • financial contribution to adaptation measures on Pari The claim can be seen as novel and unprecedented as it combines two approaches: reduction of GHGs and compensation. Note: Case documents are currently not available - the information presented here is based on media releases of the NGOs that support the plaintiffs. More detailed information is not available at this time.

Key environmental legal questions:

Civil liability of major GHG emitter for climate change-related damages suffered in a different jurisdiction