From Andes, Peru to Hamyang, South Korea

Across the world, individuals and communities affected by climate change are increasingly turning to the courts to seek accountability from major greenhouse gas emitters for climate-related harm.

Saúl Luciano Lliuya is a Peruvian farmer and mountain guide from Huaraz, a city in the Andes. As climate change accelerates glacier melt, the risk of flooding from a nearby glacial lake threatens his home and community. In response, he brought a lawsuit against German energy company RWE, seeking to establish the company's responsibility for its contribution to the climate risks facing his community.

After more than a decade of litigation, the case was ultimately dismissed by a German appellate court in May 2025. Nevertheless, the proceedings marked an important development in climate litigation. The court recognized that, in principle, a major greenhouse gas emitter could be held civilly liable for climate-related harm in proportion to its contribution to global emissions, while finding that the specific requirements for liability had not been met in this case.

In South Korea, farmers facing climate-related threats to their crops and livelihoods are also seeking corporate accountability through litigation. Farmers from Hamyang, Dangjin, Icheon, Sancheong, and other regions filed a lawsuit in 2025 against Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) and its power generation subsidiaries, seeking to establish their responsibility for climate-related harm associated with greenhouse gas emissions.

Although the two cases arise in different legal and factual contexts, both raise fundamental questions about corporate responsibility for climate change: how can the contribution of major emitters to climate-related harm be established, and under what circumstances can they be held legally accountable?

From the Peruvian Andes to rural South Korea, these cases bring the experiences of climate-affected communities into the courtroom and contribute to the evolving legal debate on corporate climate accountability.

Event Overview

Saúl Luciano Lliuya, plaintiff in the landmark climate case Lliuya v. RWE, will visit South Korea for a roundtable bringing together perspectives from climate litigation in Peru and South Korea.

The Rountable event will examine the legal and scientific issues arising in both cases, with a particular focus on corporate responsibility for greenhouse gas emissions, the establishment of causation, and the role of climate science in climate litigation. Plaintiffs, legal practitioners, and a climate scientist will discuss the significance of the RWE proceedings, the current status of South Korea's farmers' climate lawsuit, and the broader implications for corporate climate accountability.

1. Date & Time: Tuesday, November 3, 2026 | 2:30–5:00 PM

2. Venue: Seoul Club Hall, 18th Floor, Korea Press Center

3. Organizer: Solutions for Our Climate (SFOC)

Registration

• Anyone interested in climate litigation, corporate accountability, and climate justice.

• Registration Required: Register here

Program Overview

• Session 1: Peruvian and Korean Farmers Meet: Why Did They Turn to the Courts?

  -Saúl's Story: Lliuya v. RWE

  -A Conversation with Korean Farmer Plaintiffs in Ma v. KEPCO

• Session 2: What Do These Cases Tell Us?

  -Panel Discussion on Key Legal and Scientific Issues

  -Assessing Corporate Climate Responsibility and the Causal Chain

  -The Role and Development of Climate Science

  *Featured Panelists
  
  Saúl Luciano Lliuya — Plaintiff in Lliuya v. RWE

  Jae-Cheol Nam — Research Professor, Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Seoul National University; former Administrator of the Korea Meteorological Administration

  Caroline Schroeder — Communications Officer at Germanwatch, involved in communications related to Lliuya v. RWE

  Yeny Kim — Attorney at Solutions for Our Climate (SFOC), representing the plaintiffs in Ma v. KEPCO.

  Yong-un Ma and Seong-yeol Hwang — Plaintiffs in Ma v. KEPCO.

• Session 3: After These Cases: What Lies Ahead?

  -How the Lliuya v. RWE Judgment Has Changed the Climate Litigation Landscape

  -The Potential and Challenges Ahead for Ma v. KEPCO