Small island, big fight: Why Pari’s fisherpeople are taking on a corporate giant

By Maju Varghese* 

The climate crisis has triggered multiple crises across the world. One of the worst impacts on the frontlines is being faced by fishing communities, with increasing climate extremes leading to loss of livelihood, destruction of coasts, homes, and basic infrastructure. In Kerala, the shorelines are battered each year by sea surges and erosion, displacing thousands. In the Sundarbans, rising sea waters are redrawing the maps. This story, however, is about the struggle of fisherpeople from a tiny island called Pari Island in Indonesia, which has become the face of one of the most important climate justice struggles of our time.

Pari Island is just four kilometers long, a few hundred meters wide, and rises no more than three meters above sea level. It is home to fishing families and small tourism operators who have long depended on the ocean for their survival. But now, the tides of the ocean are rising, caused by melting ice and global warming. Already, 11 percent of Pari’s surface has disappeared beneath the waves. Tidal floods have destroyed homes and boats, saltwater intrusion has made wells undrinkable, and mangroves and coral reefs — natural protectors of the coastline — are eroding. By 2050, much of the island could vanish entirely.

The inhabitants of Pari Island, like most coastal communities in the Global South, have contributed almost nothing to global emissions. Yet, they are among the first to lose homes and livelihoods to climate change. While their very existence is threatened, those responsible for the climate crisis — the big polluters — continue to profit.

This is why four residents of Pari — Asmania, Arif, Edi, and Bobby — have taken the extraordinary step of suing Holcim, the Swiss cement giant, in a civil court in Switzerland. With the backing of Indonesian and international groups including HEKS/EPER, and ECCHR, they are demanding proportional compensation, urgent emission cuts of at least 43% by 2030, and contributions to adaptation measures.

Their case goes beyond one island. It is a direct challenge to the corporate impunity that has long characterized the climate crisis. According to the Climate Accountability Institute, 70 percent of historical industrial CO₂ emissions can be traced to just 108 companies. Holcim is one of them. Between 1950 and 2021, it released more than seven billion tonnes of CO₂ — double Switzerland’s national emissions in the same period.

Cement, the company’s product, is one of the most carbon-intensive materials in the world. Holcim promotes itself as climate-conscious, yet its targets fall far short of what the science demands. Its emissions have played a significant role in driving the very sea level rise now threatening to wipe Pari Island off the map.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has warned that global warming beyond 1.5°C will bring severe, irreversible impacts. To prevent this, rapid and absolute cuts in emissions are non-negotiable. Yet time and again, corporations have shifted responsibility onto governments, consumers, or future technologies. What the Pari case does is cut through this deflection and place responsibility where it belongs: on the companies that profited while destabilizing the planet.

This case could set a global precedent. If the Swiss court holds Holcim accountable, it will open the door for other vulnerable communities to seek justice from polluters in their home jurisdictions. It would mark a turning point where climate victims are no longer powerless, and corporate giants are no longer untouchable.

For communities in Kerala and elsewhere in India, the story of Pari resonates deeply. Government data shows that more than one-third of India’s coastline is already facing erosion, with 55 percent of Kerala’s coast classified as vulnerable. Coastal erosion and surging tidal waves are pushing coastal communities away from their coasts. Every year, the sea is closing in; extreme climates and changing tidal currents are uprooting livelihoods and homes.

The fisherpeople of Pari are not just fighting for themselves. They are fighting for every coastal community that has traditionally depended on the sea for its livelihood and the coast for its habitat. The fight is for every family that watches their home destroyed and for every fisher whose livelihood is at risk. The courage and initiative of the fisherpeople of Pari — not to passively submit to their fate but to question the companies and profiteers who caused this destruction — is an invitation for us to stand in solidarity, to demand accountability, and to reject the narrative that climate destruction is inevitable.

Pari’s case is not just about one island. It is about justice — justice long denied to those at the frontlines of climate change. The residents of Pari have taken their fight all the way to Switzerland, confronting one of the world’s largest polluters. They should not stand alone.

Theirs is a fight that belongs to all of us — from the coasts of Indonesia to the shores of Kerala. It is time to hold corporations accountable for the destruction they have caused. Climate justice will not be handed down; it must be demanded. And Pari Island has shown us how.

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*Internationalist Solidarity System (ISS) Focal Point, Friends of the Earth International