Frequently Asked Questions

Climate change is already threatening the human rights of millions of people around the world. One direct consequence of climate change is the global rise in sea levels. On Pari Island in Indonesia, it has already caused damage to houses, roads and businesses. The inhabitants of Pari Island therefore have to take measures to protect their island. They bear the costs themselves, even though they have not caused climate change. In addition, due to climate change, large parts of Pari Island are expected to be covered in water by 2050, destroying the livelihood of its 1500 inhabitants. This is a situation that is unfair.

The Swiss-based Holcim Group is the world’s leading cement manufacturer and one of the 100 largest CO₂ emitters among companies worldwide. Owing to its decades of excessive CO₂ emissions, the Group has been a major contributor to climate change. As a result, four people—Ibu Asmania, Arif Pujianto, Edi Mulyono and Pak Bobby—representing the inhabitants of Pari Island have taken legal action against Holcim.

They are demanding the following from Holcim:

1. The proportional compensation of the climate-related damage caused on Pari Island
2. A 43% reduction in CO₂ emissions by 2030 and 69% by 2040 compared to 2019.
3. A proportional contribution to the costs of the adaptation measures on Pari Island.

The required reduction in emissions would be in line with the Paris Climate Agreement’s goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C.

Ibu Asmania, Arif Pujianto, Edi Mulyono and Pak Bobby are residents of Pari Island, which belongs to Indonesia. All four have experienced damage or loss of employment caused by the island’s frequent flooding. Ibu Asmania, Arif Pujianto, Edi Mulyono and Pak Bobby filed an application for conciliation in Zug, Switzerland, where Holcim has its headquarters, in July 2022. A conciliation hearing was held in October 2022. As no agreement was reached at this hearing, the four filed a complaint with the Cantonal Court of Zug in January 2023. They are supported by Walhi, the largest environmental network in Indonesia, HEKS/EPER and the Berlin-based European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR).

Holcim is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of cement, the base material used to make concrete, and one of the 100 largest CO₂ emitters among all companies worldwide. Huge volumes of CO₂ are released during the production of cement. A study shows that the Swiss company released over seven billion tons of CO₂ between 1950 and 2021, which equates to 0.42% of all global industrial CO₂ emissions since 1750. In other words, more than twice as much as the whole of Switzerland in the same period. Holcim therefore bears a significant share of the responsibility for the climate crisis and is the largest so-called “carbon major” in Switzerland. (Further information on HEKS/EPER’s criticism of Holcim’s climate behaviour).

With this complaint, the four Indonesians are demanding justice for the climate damage they have suffered. At the same time, they are making the public aware that climate-related damage and losses are a real and existential problem. The consequences of climate change are causing human rights violations, and the prospects for the future are frightening. The four plaintiffs know that the main perpetrators of the climate crisis are primarily located in the Global North, and that carbon majors such as Holcim bear a significant historical responsibility for the damage they have suffered and their future prospects. Rapid reductions in emissions are needed to avert the worst consequences of the climate crisis. By filing their complaint, the four Indonesians are thus also standing up for all those people who are already suffering climate-related damage and losses.

The four Indonesians filed an application for conciliation in Zug, where Holcim has its headquarters, in July 2022. This is the first step required to initiate civil proceedings (see Art. 197 et seq. of the Swiss Civil Procedure Code). With this mandatory procedural step, the judiciary attempted to avoid unnecessary proceedings. The Justice of the Peace sought to find an amicable solution with the parties. Were this to fail, the plaintiffs would have three months to file a complaint with the civil court. Unfortunately, Holcim did not signal any willingness to acknowledge its shared responsibility for climate change at the conciliation hearing in October 2022. The hearing was therefore unsuccessful. As a result, Arif Pujianto, Ibu Asmania, Pak Bobby and Edi Mulyono filed a complaint against Holcim with the Cantonal Court of Zug on 30 January 2023. In the summer of 2023, the Cantonal Court initially limited the proceedings to the question of the admissibility of the complaint. Both sides have since commented on this in writing on several occasions.

The main hearing took place on 3 September 2025, at which the plaintiffs and Holcim were able to comment on these issues once again. The hearing ended at the Cantonal Court of Zug without a decision having been reached.

The main hearing in the climate litigation brought by four Indonesian fishers against the Swiss cement company Holcim ended today, Wednesday 3 September 2025, at the Cantonal Court of Zug without a decision having been reached for the time being. 

The complaint was filed in Zug, where Holcim Ltd has its headquarters. There are international treaties that Switzerland has ratified that govern where an complaint must be lodged if the plaintiff and the defendant are not domiciled in the same country. In the case of an action for damages, the proceedings must be brought at the place of the defendant or at the place where the damaging act was committed. This is derived from the Lugano Convention (Articles 2 and 5) and from the Swiss Federal Act on Private International Law (Articles 33(2) and 129 et seq.).

The four plaintiffs are each seeking individual damages from Holcim, compensation for psychological stress and a contribution to the costs of adaptation measures on the island (for the planting of mangroves and the construction of breakwaters—referred to in Indonesian as “bronjongs”—to protect the island). When converted into Swiss francs, their damages total around 3600 francs per person.

It is important to emphasise that the plaintiffs are only demanding 0.42% of the actual costs to cover the damage and initiate adaptation measures, as a study carried out by the Climate Accountability Institute states that the company is responsible for 0.42% of all industrial CO₂ emissions generated since 1750.

In addition, and this is the most important point, the plaintiffs are demanding a 43% reduction in Holcim’s greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and a 69% reduction by 2040. This is the only way to prevent further, even more serious damage for the inhabitants of Pari Island, as well as for millions of people living on islands and in low-lying coastal areas.

The plaintiffs argue that their island is being flooded more often and more intensively. These floods are a consequence of rising sea levels, which are constantly increasing due to climate change.

 

The plaintiffs claim that their personal rights have been violated, basing this on Article 28 et seq. of the Swiss Civil Code (CC). They assert, among other things, that rising sea levels and the increasingly frequent and severe flooding of their island are directly affecting their livelihoods, their right to life, their right to physical integrity and their economic prosperity, and that if emissions are not reduced, there is a risk of even more serious damage in the future. Compensation and gratification are based on the provisions set out in the Swiss Code of Obligations. In this sense, traditional legal remedies under Swiss law are applied.

The case is based on a wide range of scientific evidence and studies that focus on the causes and consequences of climate change and the attributability of individual contributions to global warming. These include, among others, the reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (e.g. the Sixth Assessment Report, a scientific report on the effects of sea-level rise on Pari Island (in German) and a study conducted by the Climate Accountability Institute, which deals with Holcim’s historical responsibility for global warming. According to this study, Holcim has emitted twice as much CO2 as the entire Swiss population since the era of industrialisation. This makes the Group one of the 100 companies that have contributed the most to climate change globally.

The concept of class actions does not exist in Switzerland. Any person whose rights have been violated must initiate their own civil proceedings. However, as the four individuals have been harmed by the same occurrences and by the same liable party (Holcim), they have filed their respective claims jointly.

The primary goal of HEKS/EPER’s work is systemic change at a social, economic and political level. We are doing our part to improve the living conditions of people in Switzerland and around the world, to promote their rights, raise awareness and mobilise society, policy-makers, business and churches to this end For this purpose, we harness synergies derived from interconnecting programme and policy work, and also work at home and abroad and are guided by the reference framework of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The cooperation with local communities in Indonesia as part of the climate litigation is a good example of the holistic, multidimensional work carried out by HEKS/EPER.

HEKS/EPER has long been committed to the issue of climate justice on the basis of its strategy: Everyone has the right to a clean and healthy environment. Climate justice is based on the UN principle of “Common but Differentiated Responsibilities” and thus on the principle that the party responsible is liable for the damages. The main responsibility for the climate crisis lies with those actors who emit the most greenhouse gases, damage biodiversity or disproportionately exploit natural resources. At the same time, people who have barely contributed to the climate crisis are suffering from the consequences of climate change. Climate justice calls for a fair distribution of the burden between states, companies, individuals and generations. This is why the main causers of global warming—such as companies and countries that generate a high volume of emissions—bear a particularly large responsibility for the rapid and large-scale reductions of emissions as well as for the consequences of climate change, such as tangible or intangible climate-related damage and losses and climate-related human rights violations.

In Switzerland, HEKS/EPER raises public awareness of the global connections between the causes and effects of the climate crisis and calls for the main causers of climate change located in Switzerland to participate in tackling the climate crisis.

Based on its positions on climate justice, HEKS/EPER is therefore helping the four people from Indonesia by means of a support and awareness-raising campaign (see callforclimatejustice.org). HEKS/EPER is conducting this together with its long-standing Indonesian partner organisation Walhi and a renowned network of lawyers (ECCHR). For example, HEKS/EPER is organising various events to mark the main trial in September 2025. HEKS/EPER itself is not taking any legal action and is therefore not a party to the proceedings. The four plaintiffs are represented in court by a Swiss lawyer.

The aim of the HEKS/EPER, Walhi and ECCHR campaign is to help the Swiss population recognise and question existing injustices. Switzerland and Swiss companies contribute significantly to climate change through their global activities, but have not yet been held liable for this. The costs of the climate crisis have so far been borne primarily by people in the Global South. They must be able to claim compensation for their damages and losses. HEKS/EPER wants to support them in doing this.

HEKS/EPER has been supporting people affected by climate change in Indonesia for many years through its partner organisation Walhi with adaptation measures designed to combat climate change. In recent years, however, it has become increasingly clear that the causes of their situation must also be clearly identified and addressed in order to improve the situation in the long term. These legal steps are therefore one way in which the affected communities can be supported indirectly and in the long term. This can only be achieved by improving the framework conditions to compensate for losses and damage, to enforce the protection of their human rights and to demand reductions in emissions and thus mitigate the direct effects of global warming.

We are always in contact with the companies that we publicly criticise. For us, this is a question of both quality and decency. HEKS/EPER has analysed Holcim’s climate strategy and discussed it with Holcim several times – both verbally and in writing. In order to preserve the livelihoods of people in the Global South in the long term, HEKS/EPER is demanding, among other things, that Holcim reduce its environmentally harmful emissions. So far, the company has not responded sufficiently to these demands. HEKS/EPER is therefore supporting the legal action of the plaintiffs from Indonesia and is running an information and awareness-raising campaign in connection with their legal proceedings.

As the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states in its Sixth Assessment Report, there is an urgent need to reduce CO₂ emissions worldwide in order to limit global warming to 1.5°C. Given the severity and irreversibility of the negative effects of global warming and Holcim’s historical responsibility and economic performance, HEKS/EPER is calling on the company to set at least the following emission reduction targets in order to do its part to limit global warming to 1.5°C:

• A reduction in absolute and relative emissions of at least 43% by 2030 compared to 2019 levels
• A reduction in absolute and relative emissions of at least 69% by 2040 compared to 2019 levels

HEKS/EPER confronted Holcim with these demands back in June 2022. As Holcim has not agreed to take the average emissions reduction path necessary to limit global warming to 1.5°C, HEKS/EPER is supporting the civil action filed by the four Indonesians against Holcim. The measures and targets currently set voluntarily by Holcim have proven to be insufficient due to the urgency of the climate crisis. (Further information on Holcim’s climate behaviour (in EN))

The aim of the callforclimatejustice.org campaign organised by HEKS/EPER, Walhi and ECCHR is to help ensure that the injustices caused by climate change are recognised and questioned by the Swiss population. Switzerland and Swiss companies such as Holcim contribute to climate change through their global activities, but have not yet been held liable for this. The effects of climate change particularly affect poor people in the Global South, who have so far had no means of claiming compensation for the damage and losses the have suffered. HEKS/EPER wants to support them in doing this.

HEKS/EPER supports the approach that everyone should help to tackle the climate crisis to the extent that they are responsible and able. Holcim has contributed excessively to this situation and has the financial means to adjust its actions accordingly.

According to its foundation statutes, HEKS/EPER has a mandate to engage in development policy. Involvement in development policy is therefore part of HEKS/EPER’s core activities. HEKS/EPER has been committed to the issue of climate justice for many years and has repeatedly communicated this in various campaigns as well as in our magazine for donors. We can therefore assume that donors are aware of our commitment to climate justice. The material costs and salary costs incurred by the employees involved in the campaign are financed by earmarked program donations and from undesignated funds.

The plaintiffs have submitted an application to the court for legal aid for the filing of their complaint. The Cantonal Court subsequently granted them legal aid.

HEKS/EPER has examined Holcim’s climate behaviour in detail and published a detailed report on this on 1 February 2023. The report analyses the past and current climate impacts of Holcim’s activities and the Group’s plans for reducing emissions in the future. It shows that Holcim has contributed significantly to the climate crisis due to the huge volume of emissions that the Group has generated since it was founded. In 2021, the company was still generating three times as many emissions as the whole of Switzerland. According to the latest climate science findings, there is a 50% chance of meeting or only slightly exceeding the 1.5°C limit if absolute emissions are reduced by 43% by 2030, 69% by 2040 and 84% by 2050 in comparison with 2019 levels. However, Holcim has predominantly set itself relative emission reduction targets. The company is therefore aiming to reduce emissions per tonne of cement without setting itself targets for reducing its total (absolute) emissions by 2030 and 2040. The report concludes that Holcim’s targets for reducing emissions are not compatible with limiting global warming to 1.5°C. Although Holcim states that its targets for reducing its emissions are based on science, it does not take the 1.5°C emission reduction pathway of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPPC) into account when setting its targets. Holcim acted too late and is still doing too little (see also Summary of the analysis of Holcim’s climate behaviour).