A spokesperson for the Zug-based company said that climate change
was a "top priority for Holcim at the heart of our strategy".
"We do not believe that court cases focused on single companies are
an effective mechanism to tackle the global complexity of climate
action," he said.
The civil case was first initiated in July last year by four
residents of the Indonesian island of Pari, which has been
repeatedly flooded as global warming has driven up sea levels.
This was followed by informal negotiations in October which failed,
according to Lorenz Kummer from Swiss Church Aid (HEKS/EPER),
prompting the formal submission of the complaint to the Zug court on
Jan. 30.
The case is the first filing against a Swiss company and demands
"proportional compensation" from Holcim, the statement says.
NGOs backing the complainants said they had singled out Holcim
because the company was one of the major carbon dioxide emitters
worldwide and the largest so-called "carbon major" in Switzerland.
Holcim's website says that it is committed to decarbonising building
and updated its climate targets in 2022.
(Reporting by Emma Farge; Editing by Bernadette Baum)
[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2022 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|