October 30, 2025 | 7:44am
MANILA, Philippines — Filipino typhoon survivors are taking their case to an international court in the United Kingdom, suing British oil giant Shell for personal injury and property damages after Typhoon Odette killed hundreds and displaced millions in 2021.
This would be the first climate-related case that the Philippines will be filing since the International Court of Justice ruled in July that vulnerable nations have the right to demand reparations from major polluting nations or companies.
According to Greenpeace Philippines, 67 Filipinos will be filing the civil lawsuit to seek climate justice for relatives and loved ones who lost their lives, homes, or were severely injured when Odette ravaged the country.
“The claimants, residents from Visayas, are holding the company accountable for tis historic carbon emissions which have worsened extreme weather events like Odette and deepened the suffering of Filipino communities,” the statement read.
There were around 405 people killed and 1,400 injured. The total damages recorded for Odette alone had also reached P47.8 billion.
Why Shell though? The survivors believe that for one, the oil giant is one of the leading energy providers in the world that has contributed to a large volume of carbon dioxide emissions while gaining a growing profit, thereby worsening the effects of climate change.
One of the claimants, Trixy Elle, said she could only think of her children’s future. Despite Shell being a huge firm, she stressed how unfair it is for families like hers to be forced to bear the brunt of climate change even when they are likely the smallest contributors.
“So bakit kami ang nagdurusa?” she asked.. (So why are we the ones suffering?)
Shell has been responsible for 41 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions for more than two centuries already, according to think tank InfluenceMap’s Carbon Majors. This is roughly 2% of the total global emissions recorded.
The firm’s earnings have also boomed, with a $16.5 billion profit reported in 2024. Even after Odette pummeled through the Philippines, mostly Visayas, Shell earned record-breaking profits amounting to $40 billion.
While victims do recognize that the case they will file would face serious challenges, given that Shell is a key player in the fuel industry, claimant Annie Casquejo said what matters is that they tried and exhausted all means possible.
“Manalo man o matalo, at least mayroon kaming ginawa kahit maliit lang kami. Hindi lang basta pera ang pinag-uusapan dito, pati na rin hustisya,” she said.
(Win or loses, at least we did something even if we’re just small people. It’s not only a matter of money but also about justice.)
Greg Lascelles, who serves as the victims’ legal representative, explained that the lawsuit is also crucial to expose the “far-reaching and direct impacts” that global oil and gas companies have on vulnerable communities.
“The culpability of those who have contributed, and earned the most from this planetary catastrophe is long overdue,” said senior legal fellow Ryan Roset of the Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center.
Philippine Movement for Climate Justice Visayas coordinator Estela Vasquez pointed out that the lawsuit, which demands reparations as a civil case, is actually just a “fraction of what they owe for their climate atrocities.”
“This rotten system proliferates injustice and environmental death. We are holding them accountable and making them pay for their sins against the people and planet,” she said.
This case, Vasquez added, would set a “clear precedent” for communities who suffer the most that they are far from powerless.
“Filipino Odette survivors are leaders in this fight for justice by taking on one of the biggest climate polluters in the world for the damages they experienced due to Odette,” Greenpeace Philippines climate campaigner Jefferson Chua said. “This is a fight for their future.”