43 farmers from Pakistan demand compensation from RWE and Heidelberg Materials for climate damage
medico works based on the principle of "build back better". We not only help repair the damage caused by a disaster, but also highlight and prioritise the needs of stakeholders during the reconstruction process. At the same time, we address the structural conditions that cause misery, deprivation and injustice. This is the only way to truly improve people's prospects in life. We also apply this principle to our work for climate justice:
For example, in the wake of a flood disaster in 2010, our partner organisations in Pakistan succeeded in making afflicted village communities more resilient, strengthening their democratic self-organisation and raising awareness among the people about how they can shape their environment. When large areas were hit by floods once again in 2022, however, many hard-won achievements were washed away. People were robbed of their life's work. Their situation reveals how unchecked CO₂ emissions are causing ever greater climate damage, while the capacity to cope with each disaster is diminishing.
Not aid, but justice
For us in our capacity as an aid organisation, this raises the question of how the cycle of destruction, reconstruction and another destruction can be stopped. To achieve this, we have been supporting the organisation of thousands of stakeholders into climate justice committees in recent years. Among their ranks, 43 farmers are now demanding compensation for the 2022 floods. They are holding those responsible for the climate crisis accountable. And these parties – RWE and Heidelberg Materials – are also headquartered in Germany. Both enterprises operate based on an economic model that ruthlessly generates profits by outsourcing social and ecological costs – even though the link between their business and its destructive effects has been apparent and proven for decades.
medico, together with the ECCHR, is supporting the Pakistani farmers' claim because we know that only justice, and not aid, can truly mitigate their situation. And this not only goes for them. If the Pakistani farmers' claim is upheld, it could force corporations such as RWE and Heidelberg Materials to factor in the true costs of their destructive business practices in future – and climate-damaging businesses would no longer be profitable.
Polluters have to pay!
Climate Cost Case
In every disaster, there is room for justice: the climate crisis is man-made, and so is climate justice. You will find the campaign page here:
