Frontline Communities Take Carbon Majors to Court, Press for Binding Funds

Indonesian fisherfolk and Pakistani farmers are asking European courts to make some of the world's largest emitters pay for flooded land and lost livelihoods. At a COP 31 side event on Nov. 13, 2026, lawyers, researchers and community groups presented lawsuits against Holcim, RWE and Heidelberg Materials, new loss data from Fiji and demands for long-term funding. No votes were taken, but the message was clear: voluntary loss and damage money is not enough.

• Four Pari Island fisherfolk are suing Holcim in Switzerland; the case was ruled admissible in late 2025 and is on appeal
• More than 30 Sindh farmers filed a 2025 German case against RWE and Heidelberg Materials over the 2022 floods
• Fiji study finds about 40% declines in food, fish and water, plus $321 million in average annual losses
• Jo Jikum and SDS urge accessible, long-term funding for non-economic losses such as culture and displacement
• Nepali lawyer contrasts $4.7 billion in flood losses with a roughly $20 million fund payout

The basics: "Loss and damage" refers to climate harms that adaptation cannot prevent. "Carbon majors" are the large companies tied to significant shares of global emissions. Attribution science links specific extreme events to climate change.