Nearly 70 Filipinos affected by a deadly 2021 typhoon are planning to sue oil giant Shell in its home country of the U.K. for the damages they suffered.
Typhoon Rai, known in the Philippines as Super Typhoon Odette, was one of the most devastating storms in the Philippines’ recorded history. It killed more than 400 people, displaced thousands of families and damaged millions of homes.
The 67 plaintiffs bringing the lawsuit are all from communities in the Philippines’ central Visayas archipelago, who either lost their loved ones, their homes, or were seriously injured during the typhoon. They accuse Shell of contributing historic carbon emissions that have worsened extreme weather events like Odette and deepened Filipino communities’ suffering, according to a press release from Greenpeace Philippines, one of the NGOs supporting the plaintiffs’ campaign.
The claimants are seeking financial compensation for the damages caused to them, and their legal team has delivered a legal notice to Shell, inviting a response. If Shell’s response is unsatisfactory, the team plans to file a case in a U.K. court in December.
A factsheet on the case by Greenpeace Philippines notes this legal action aligns with the polluter pays principle, which recognizes “that the costs of environmental and climate change-induced harms should be borne by those responsible.”
“Our demand for reparations from rich, polluting nations and corporations like Shell is just a fraction of what they owe for their climate atrocities,” Estela Vasquez, Visayas coordinator of the Philippine Movement for Climate Justice, said in the press release. “We are setting a clear precedent: oppressed communities can overthrow the powers-that-be that continue to harm and obliterate our people. We are taking back our power.”
The lawsuit draws from climate attribution research, including a recent study that concluded that human-caused climate change had “likely more than doubled” the likelihood of an event like Typhoon Odette and “played a significant role in amplifying the damage.”
The case also relies on a 2022 report by the Philippine Commission on Human Rights, which concluded that fossil fuel companies, including Shell, have historically contributed to the climate crisis, had knowledge of their products’ harms, and may be compelled to provide remediation.
The planned lawsuit follows a landmark advisory opinion by the International Court of Justice that found that countries are legally obligated to protect present and future generations from the impacts of climate change.
Confirming that Shell had received the legal notice, a spokesperson for the company told Mongabay “[t]he suggestion that Shell had unique knowledge about climate change is simply not true. The issue of climate change and how to tackle it has been part of public discussion and scientific research for decades.”
The spokesperson added the company agrees “that action is needed now on climate change” and that the group is transforming its business “to supply lower-carbon fuels for the future.”
Banner image: Sixty-seven Filipinos are suing Shell for damages suffered during Typhoon Rai in 2021. Image ©Miguel de Guzman/Greenpeace.
This story first appeared on Mongabay
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