Pari Island sues – Climate justice in court
The Indonesian Island of Pari, part of Berlin’s partner city Jakarta, is acutely threatened by rising sea levels – by 2050, it will largely be flooded. However, the residents are resisting: They have filed a climate lawsuit in Switzerland against the cement company Holcim – one of the largest CO₂ emitters in the world.
In this event, we discussed this groundbreaking lawsuit with Edi Mulyono, one of the plaintiffs from Pari Island, Suci Fitria Tanjung (WALHI Jakarta), Carolina Schröder (Germanwatch), Theresa Mockel (ECCHR) and Gusti Agung Made Wardana (UGM). What significance do climate lawsuits have beyond the individual case, and what value do even legal setbacks hold, as in the case of the Peruvian farmer Saúl Lliuya against RWE?
More about the Pulau Pari case and the campaign: https://callforclimatejustice.org/de/webreport/
The event took place on July 14th, 2025; Berlin time: 2pm-4pm ; Jakarta-time: 7pm-9pm in Berlin Global Village and ONLINE.
A follow-up event on September 12th 2025 brought together three cases of how climate change is impacting local areas – all connected to water. The social and ecological costs of climate crisis are disproportionately borne by the Global Majority compared to the so-called Global North. These climate injustices significantly impact regional development issues in varied ways. Our event showcased examples from the Spreewald (120 km from Berlin), Pari Island (Jakarta), and Kupang (Timor) to spark an engaging discussion.
We welcomed Asmania and Suci Fitria Tanjung, two key figures in the climate lawsuit Pari Island against the Swiss construction giant Holcim, along with the Oebelo salt-farming community experts Untung Nomleni und Horiana Yolanda and Sabine Minninger, a climate policy expert at Bread for the World, specializing in climate change and development challenges. The audience from Berlin and Jakarta explored what climate justice looks like, how we can confront injustices, and the vital role the Global North must play in taking responsibility.
This events were organized by Watch Indonesia! and WALHI as part of the “Sister Cities in Action” project, funded by the State Office for Development Cooperation (LEZ) Berlin.