23 October 2025, London/Quezon City — In the first climate-related personal injury and property damage case of its scale to be brought against an oil and gas company, Filipino survivors of Super Typhoon Odette (Rai) announced in a press conference in Quezon City that they will be filing a case in the United Kingdom against British oil giant Shell for its role in driving the climate crisis. The press conference was organized by Greenpeace Philippines and Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center who are participating in a campaign to mobilize support for Filipino communities calling for climate accountability.1
The claimants will be using Philippine law in trial proceedings in UK courts.2 The lawsuit will be filed on behalf of 67 Filipinos who lost family members, were seriously injured, or lost their homes in the devastating storm which struck the Philippines on December 16, 2021.
The claimants, residents from Visayas, are holding the company accountable for its historic carbon emissions which have worsened extreme weather events like Odette and deepened the suffering of Filipino communities. In line with the “polluter pays” principle, they are seeking financial compensation for damages suffered, as well as injunctive relief that constrains Shell’s future actions. This is the first civil claim to directly link the acts of oil and gas companies to death and personal injury from climate impacts that have occurred in the Global South.
The case draws on new climate attribution research3 which found that human-caused climate change more than doubled the likelihood of an extreme weather event like Typhoon Odette. Odette killed 405 people, injured over 1,400 and cost the Philippines at least PHP 47.8 billion in damages.4
Shell, which is responsible historically for 41 billion tons of CO2e or more than 2% of global fossil fuel emissions, knew for decades that its operations would fuel extreme weather conditions like Odette, yet chose its profit over people. Shell raked in record profits of USD 40 billion the year after Odette, and the company’s latest full-year profit was posted at USD16.5 billion for 2024.5
This legal action comes at the heels of the International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion on climate change (ICJAO),6 which confirms that States are obligated to regulate businesses for climate harms caused by their emissions regardless of where the harm takes place. It also comes amid revelations of widespread corruption in flood-control and climate adaptation projects in the Philippines—funds meant to protect communities but instead are lost to mismanagement and greed. The Odette survivors’ case is both a call for climate justice and systemic accountability: to make polluters pay, end corruption that leaves communities defenseless, and reclaim the Filipino people’s right to a safe and livable future.
Greenpeace Philippines is calling on President Ferdinand Marcos Jr, to support Filipino communities in this legal action and make climate polluters pay for losses and damages from climate impacts.
Quotes:
“Napakalaking kumpanya ng Shell para banggain dahil sa pagpapatindi nila sa Super Typhoon Odette. Pero iniisip ko ‘yung kinabukasan ng magiging anak ko. Doon po ako humuhugot ng tapang. Napaka-unfair na kami ang dumaranas ng epekto ng climate change kahit na ang liit ng polusyon na naico-contribute namin sa global scale. So bakit kami ang nagdurusa?” — Trixy Elle, claimant
“Makatutulong po ito nang husto kasi kapag manalo kami sa kaso, magbabayad po ang Shell ng danyos perwisyo sa amin. At least ‘yung mga ari-ariang ilang taon naming pinag-ipunan, mabawi namin nang meron kaming maiiwan sa aming mga apo. Hindi sayang ‘yung ipinaglabang kaso ng komunidad namin laban sa malaking kumpanya gaya ng Shell. Manalo man o matalo, at least meron kaming ginawa kahit maliit lang kami. Hindi lang basta pera ang pinag-uusapan dito, pati na rin hustisya.” — Annie Casquejo, claimant
“The case seeks to hold Shell accountable to our Filipino clients. By proving in court that Shell was at fault for this climate change-driven extreme weather event and the suffering it caused, the case highlights the far-reaching and direct impacts on vulnerable communities worldwide of oil and gas company activities.” — Greg Lascelles, Partner at Hausfeld, leading the legal team
“Countries that contribute the least to climate change suffer the most; the impacts are further amplified insofar as the most vulnerable communities are concerned. As world leaders dawdle with just transition in their gilded offices, it is the fisherfolk, the indigenous cultural communities, the farmers, women and children, low-income and vulnerable communities, who are left to grapple with its devastating effects. The culpability of those who have contributed, and earned the most from this planetary catastrophe is long overdue.” — Atty. Ryan Roset, Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center (LRC) Senior Legal Fellow
“There is a rising tide of climate litigation from the Global South, signaling that communities are putting oil and gas giants like Shell on notice for their continued profiteering while those least responsible for the climate crisis suffer most. 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. This is a fight for their future. Shell must pay and be held accountable for their role in supercharging storms like Odette,” — Jefferson Chua, Greenpeace Philippines Climate Campaigner
“Our demand for reparations from rich, polluting nations and corporations like Shell is just a fraction of what they owe for their climate atrocities. Their greed has intensified the climate crisis and destroyed lives, livelihoods, and futures. Communities in Cebu and Bohol continue to suffer from environmentally degrading projects pushed for by these dirty corporations. 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. 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.” — Estela Vasquez, Philippine Movement for Climate Justice Visayas Coordinator
“Pag-abot sa kusog nga bagyo, natumpag ang konkretong bongbong sa building nga naglubong buhi sa akong igsoong babaye. Ingon nila nga walay angay manubag kay usa lang kini ka bagyo. Apan kinsa man ang nagmugna sa mga kusog nga bagyo? Wa nadawat nga tabang, way hustisya.” [When the typhoon came, a building wall collapsed and buried my sister alive. They said no one was responsible because it was just a typhoon. But who made the storms this strong? We received no help, no justice. We deserve accountability for what was taken from us.] — “Betty”, claimant
Unya pananglitan ug moingon sila ug, “Nganong kami man inyong pasanginlan nga kuan?” Ato lang i-kuan nga tungod sa kanang mga trahedya nga kanang mikuan diri, misulod diri sa Pilipinas. Maglibog ko unsay akong isulti ni ana kay ug moingon sila nga, moingon ta nga, “Kamoy hinungdan aning mga katalagman diri sa Pilipinas, aning bagyo, mga lunop, kay tungod na sa inyohang kuan.” [If Shell were to ask us why we blame them, I will tell them that they are the cause of the tragedy that struck the Philippines, like typhoon, flooding, they did those to the environment. If they were to ask me, I’ll say, “You are the culprits of this calamity, typhoon, flooding, these are due to your pollution.”] — “Mon”, claimant
Messages of support from
Notes to editors:
[1] Greenpeace Philippines, the Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center (LRC), the Philippine Movement for Climate Justice (PMCJ) and Uplift (a UK-based NGO) have partnered on an international campaign (the Odette Case Campaign) to support the claimants in their fight for justice. The Odette Case Campaign is independent of the litigation; none of the groups are litigants nor are they involved in the legal strategy.
[2] The case relates to actions taken by a UK company in the UK as well as their global operations. Consistent with well-established legal principles, the case will be brought to courts in the UK, where the defendant is headquartered. However, the law that will be applicable to the case is the law of the Philippines, the country in which the damage occurred.
[4] ReliefWeb: Philippines, Asia Pacific: Typhoon Rai (Odette)
[5] Annual Report and Accounts 2024
[6] OBLIGATIONS OF STATES IN RESPECT OF CLIMATE CHANGE
Link to PHOTOS HERE
Download our factsheet HERE
Read a Q&A HERE
For more information, contact:
James Relativo, Greenpeace Communications Campaigner
[email protected] | +63 919 069 3424 (SMART) | +63 960 480 0297 (Viber & WhatsApp)
Madeleine Lynch, Uplift Legal Campaigns Coordinator
[email protected] | +44 7446054146
Sheila Abarra, Philippine Movement for Climate Justice
Senior Media & Communications Officer [email protected] | +63 938 089 8327 (WhatsApp) | +63 991 669 2356 (Viber)
