Shouldn’t those responsible for climate change — wherever they may be — be the ones who bear the costs of the necessary protective measures? Lutz Weischer tells the story of Saúl Luciano Lliuya, a farmer and mountain guide of the Peruvian Andes, who decided to fight against one of the biggest injustices and threats that the world is facing today: the global climate crisis. The City of Huaraz lies below the Palcacocha glacial lagoon. Since the glaciers in the Andes are melting faster and faster due to climate change, the city is threatened by a possible outburst flood from the glacial lake. Emitters of greenhouse gases must accept responsibility for the hazards associated with global warming worldwide. Saul managed to create a judicial precedent with immediate implications on the legal duties of emitters all around the globe, and he became an unlikely superhero.
Lutz Weischer is Team Leader – International Climate Policy at Germanwatch, a development and environment NGO with offices in
Bonn and Berlin. He leads a team analyzing the state of the international climate negotiations and advocating for solutions that protect the interests of those most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change and that promote a transformation towards zero-carbon and climate-resilient societies. His work focuses in particular on climate change mitigation and finance. Prior to his work for Germanwatch, he worked as a research analyst for the World Resources Institute in Beijing, Washington and Frankfurt on renewable energy financing, innovation policy, technology cooperation and the links between trade and climate policy. He holds a Master in International Affairs with a specialization in sustainable development from Sciences Po Paris and a diploma in political science from FU Berlin
