Four inhabitants of the Indonesian island of Pari have sued Swiss-based major buildings materials company Holcim (from 2015 to 2021: Lafarge Holcim). In July 2022, they filed a request for conciliation before the Justice of the Peace of the Canton of Zug, Switzerland. This is a necessary step required by the Swiss Civil Procedure Code.
The plaintiffs are supported by three NGOs: HEKS/EPER (Switzerland), the European Center for Constitutional and European Rights (ECCHR) and WALHI (Indonesia).
The plaintiffs request:
•	proportional compensation for climate change-related damages on Pari
•	reduction of CO2 emissions by 43 % by 2030 and by 69% by 2040, relative to 2019 levels
•	financial contribution to adaptation measures on Pari
The claim can be seen as novel and unprecedented as it combines two approaches: reduction of GHGs and compensation.

On February 1, 2023, following a Conciliation Hearing before the Justice of the Peace in October 2022 where no settlement was reached, the NGOs supporting the plaintiffs announced that the plaintiffs had formally lodged a lawsuit against Holcim with the Cantolnal Court of Zug (Kantonsgericht Zug). 

In October 2023, Cantonal Court of Zug granted the plaintiffs’ request for free legal aid (art. 117 et seq Civil Procedure Code). According to a press release of HEKS, the judge held that the two requirements for granting free legal aid, (a) insufficient sufficient funds to pay for legal cost and (b) the legal petition does not seem to be lacking any chance of success, were met.

The legal basis on which the plaintiffs rely is Article 28 of the Swiss Civil Code (infringement of personal rights) and Article 41 of the Code of Obligations (redress for unjust harm). As to Holcim's historical emissions, the plaintiffs rely on a Study by Richard Heede/Climate Accountability Institute. 

On 17 December 2025, the Cantonal Court of Zug rendered a procedural decision, allowing the case to proceed to the merits. In particular, the decision holds that the plaintiffs have standing to sue. The respondent announced to appeal the decision.

Asmania et al. vs Holcim

<p>This entry was provided by the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law. Please see the terms of use for citation and licensing of third party data.</p>

Asmania et al. vs Holcim - Other

Filed

The Climate Litigation Database

Find climate change litigation data and indicators for {text}.

{text} litigation

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law provides Climate Litigation Database, a comprehensive database of US and Global climate change caselaw

Quickly and easily search through the complete text of thousands of climate change law and policy documents from every country.

Search the Climate Litigation Database

An aim to achieve a quantifiable outcome within a given time-frame, set by an institution such as a national government.

Policy instruments are techniques or tools used by governing authorities to promote certain policies in order to achieve predetermined goals. Put simply, instruments are how a government tries to achieve its goals, with this taxonomy being focused on national policy instruments.

Risk is the potential for adverse consequences resulting from the dynamic interplay between (climate-related) hazards, exposure, and vulnerability of affected human or ecological systems.

Groups  of people who are adversely affected by climate change or the response to it

A set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy.

Justice is the ethical and political framework that addresses fairness, including issues of responsibility, rights, and structural inequity.

Renewable energy means all forms of energy produced from renewable sources in a sustainable manner.

Fossil fuel is a generic term for non-renewable energy sources such as coal, fossil gas, and oil (including crude oil, and petroleum products), that can be used for electricity and heat generation. Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons formed from pressurised and heated organic material buried over millions of years.

Molecules in the atmosphere that play a key role in the greenhouse effect by trapping heat radiating from Earth’s surface.

Area of the economy in which actors engage in identical or related activities.

In human systems, the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate change and its effects, in order to moderate harm, increase resilience or exploit beneficial opportunities. In natural systems, the process of adjustment to actual climate change and its effects; human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate change and its effects.

The management and allocation of funds, assets and investments to meet various objectives

Codes and standards are regulatory instruments that specify minimum standards to protect health and safety. This ranges from performance standards, which prescribe outcomes while allowing flexibility to achieve compliance, to the more prescriptive approach of technology-specific standards.

A target to reduce the prevalence of a greenhouse gas over a specific time frame

Either money or something of monetary value is transferred between two or more organisations, people or countries.

Actions or measures to adapt terrestrial systems to climate change.

Actions or measures to adapt freshwater systems to climate change.

Coastal zone and marine-related actions and measures to adapt and increase resilience to climate change

Actions or measures to adapt freshwater, coastal and marine systems to climate change.

A long-lived, colourless gas, chiefly emitted from fossil fuel combustion, deforestation and cement production.

A potent, short-lived greehouse gas, largely released from livestock, fossil fuel extraction and waste management.

Actions to reduce emissions in energy generation and supply.

Terrestrial means "of the earth" and relates to the risks to ecological system that includes all living organisms and their interactions within land-based environments, such as forests, grasslands, and deserts.

Air pollution involves harmful contaminants in the air, affecting both indoor and outdoor environments. It can lead to health issues like respiratory diseases and heart problems, and climate impacts such as global warming. Pollutants can damage plants, trees, habitats, and water bodies like rivers and lakes.

Oil is a combustible liquid fossil fuel composed mainly of hydrocarbons, occurring as crude oil and refined into petroleum products such as petrol, diesel and kerosene.

Fossil gas, commonly known as natural gas, is a fossil fuel consisting chiefly of methane with smaller amounts of other hydrocarbons and trace gases, found in underground deposits.

Coal is a combustible sedimentary rock formed from carbonised plant matter, rich in carbon and hydrocarbons, and occurring in several main types including hard coal and brown coal.

Activities of industries that extract natural resources, such as mining, oil, and gas, for commercial use.

The activities of industries that transforms raw materials into finished goods through industrial processes.

This sector involves managing waste treatment, sanitation, pollution control and environmental cleanup.

Activities that involve planning, designing and building infrastructure, residential, and commercial structures.

This sector involves activities to move goods and people, alongside the storage of products.

Activities that involve the cultivation of crops and raising of livestock for food, fibre, and other products essential for human life and industry.

This sector involves the distribution, treatment, and conservation of water resources.

Asmania et al. vs Holcim - Other

Target

Policy instrument

Risk

Renewable energy

Fossil fuel

Greenhouse gas

Economic sector

Adaptation/resilience

Finance