London / Quezon City — Filipino survivors of Super Typhoon Odette (Rai) have filed a civil case in a United Kingdom court, taking a decisive step to hold oil giant Shell accountable for the deaths, injuries, and destruction left by the climate-fueled storm. What the survivors announced last October[1] has now become a full legal action that Shell is compelled to answer in court.
The case was filed by a British law firm on behalf of 103 Odette survivors from Cebu, Bohol, and nearby provinces. It seeks compensation for lives lost, injuries sustained, and homes destroyed, as well as injunctive relief to curb Shell’s destructive activities. The case uses Philippine law as basis and applied before a UK court, anchoring the action in the realities of affected Filipino communities. None of the petitioners were present during the filing in the UK.[2]
The filing of the case was announced in the Philippines in a press conference in Quezon City attended by eight of the petitioners. Greenpeace Philippines, Philippine Movement for Climate Justice (PMCJ), and Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center (LRC), are campaigning to gather broad support for the Filipino plaintiffs who are seeking climate justice.
The case draws on scientific evidence, including new research which can now directly attribute individual extreme weather events to climate change, and emissions to specific fossil fuel companies.[3] Scientists have also recently found that human-induced climate change more than doubled the likelihood and intensity of Odette.[4] The typhoon, the strongest of 2021, killed 405 people, injured 1,371, and caused at least Php 34.4 billion in damages.[5]
Survivors contend that Shell—responsible for over 41 billion tonnes of CO₂e,[6] or more than 2% of global fossil fuel emissions—cannot claim ignorance. Even after Odette, the company scaled back climate commitments and expanded oil and gas investments, contradicting clear scientific guidance that no new fossil fuel development is compatible with a livable future.[7] This comes on top of a long history of industry disinformation and lobbying that delayed climate action.[8] For survivors, Shell’s recent decisions show that despite understanding the risks, Shell continued to expand its fossil fuel operations.
The filing comes at a moment when Filipino communities are still reeling from typhoons Tino and Uwan, which struck only days apart and again exposed how poor climate policies, corruption, and mismanagement are leaving Filipinos defenseless against intensifying storms.
The legal action also gains momentum from the International Court of Justice’s Advisory Opinion on Climate Change,[9] making clear that governments have a duty to regulate corporate actors whose emissions cause harm even beyond their borders. Greenpeace, PMCJ, and LRC are calling on the Marcos Jr administration to support the Filipino petitioners in their demand for climate justice from giant fossil fuel companies.
The Filipino petitioners and climate justice groups see the Odette Case as a vital contribution to the growing global push to challenge the impunity of fossil fuel companies. In asserting their right to justice, survivors are opening doors for other communities and helping to shape a future where those most responsible for the climate crisis can no longer escape accountability.
Quotes from petitioner:
“Napakalaking kumpanya ng Shell, pero hindi na kami pwedeng manahimik. Para sa amin, ang kasong ito ay paghahanap ng hustisya at pagbawi muli ng kapangyarihan na matagal nang itinanggi sa amin. Hindi makatarungan na kami ang patuloy na magdusa sa krisis na hindi naman kami ang gumawa.” –Trixy Elle, petitioner
(While Shell is a huge company, we can’t remain silent anymore. For us, this case is about finding justice and taking the power back. It’s unfair that we continue to bear the brunt of a crisis we barely had anything to do with.)
Quotes from advocates and legal experts:
“This case is about holding Shell accountable to our Filipino clients for climate-driven harm. It advances the polluter-pays principle and as well as remedial measures to further their right to a healthy environment and underscores the real, far-reaching impacts of fossil fuel companies on vulnerable communities.” –Greg Lascelles, Partner at Hausfeld, leading the legal team (based in London)
“Filipinos are tired of the endless cycle of extreme weather fueled by impunity and greed. This case demonstrates that those responsible for the suffering of millions cannot escape accountability no matter where they are. Survivors of Odette are finding ways to hold those in power like Shell accountable, and this should serve as an inspiration to Filipinos who are just as sick and tired of the very systems and powerful interests that perpetuate this injustice.” –Jefferson Chua, Campaigner, Greenpeace Philippines (in London from Dec. 11-13)
“This kind of devastating weather event was anything but natural. It was a disaster born out of decades of extraction and profiteering. The bravery demonstrated by the survivors makes clear that fossil fuel companies can no longer act with impunity. This case strengthens the growing push by communities to hold fossil fuel giants to account for the harm they have caused.” –Tessa Khan, International Climate Change Lawyer and Executive Director, Uplift
“Communities in the Global South have long borne the brunt of effects of climate change from the unfettered business interests of the fossil fuel companies, which privatize and monetize public good. In so doing, communities are left to languish and suffer disproportionately while corporate entities flex their earnings to their shareholders. We at the Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center thus offer our full and unwavering support to marginalized and vulnerable communities to claim and assert their rights to corporate interests accountable for their harmful conduct.” –Atty. Ryan Roset, Senior Legal Fellow, Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center (LRC)
“It is utterly enraging to see the same communities devastated by Odette in 2021 suffer more typhoons, intensifying in both speed and scale. This case is filed to issue a warning to major polluters and those who have long escaped climate responsibility: the era of impunity is ending. Those who have profited while our communities bear the deadly costs of corruption, pollution, and political negligence will finally be made to pay.” –Elle Bartolome, Senior Executive Officer for Policy, Campaigns, and Communications, Philippine Movement for Climate Justice
Messages of support for the petitioners:
“As we enter the Christmas season, I am reminded that Christ was born among the poor and displaced—those whose dignity was overlooked, much like the communities today still burdened by the worsening impacts of the climate crisis. I stand in deep solidarity with the Odette survivors seeking justice in their case against Shell; their courage embodies the Gospel’s call to defend life and uphold truth. Their struggle reminds us that climate disasters are not merely natural events, but are intensified by corporate negligence and by corruption in systems meant to protect the vulnerable. This Christmas, may the light of Christ awaken in us compassion, accountability, and a deeper care for our common home, so that those who have been harmed may be fully heard, supported, and uplifted in their pursuit of justice.” –Bishop Gerry Alminaza, Chairman of the CBCP Episcopal Commission on Social Action, Justice and Peace, and President of Caritas Philippines
“Manawari Southeast Asia stands in solidarity with the survivors of Typhoon Odette as they file a case against Shell for its historic carbon emissions that contributed to the worsening extreme weather events like Super Typhoon Odette. Losses of lives, property, livelihoods, and cultural heritage should not be part of the realities faced by climate-vulnerable communities. Carbon Majors, like Shell, have long profited from their inaction and diversion, at the expense of the lives of people at the frontlines. There must be accountability for this seemingly endless cycle of climate disasters caused by the very few.” –Keith Ancheta, Junior Policy Specialist, Parabukas
“The courage shown by Odette survivors in bringing this case abroad is a reminder of how deeply our systems have failed them. Communities should not have to cross oceans just to be heard, yet they did so because corporations like Shell continue to profit while families in places like Bohol struggle to rebuild. It is time for President Marcos Jr to make a choice: stand with the Filipino people who have lost everything, or stand with the corporations that helped create this crisis. This case marks the beginning of a shift where survivors refuse to be silent and impunity can no longer hide behind politics.” –Charles Deluna, Greenpeace Philippines Volunteers Bohol
Notes to editors:
[1] Filipino communities to sue Shell for damages linked to Super Typhoon Odette
[2] The petitioners were unable to attend the case filing in the United Kingdom as their visa applications were not approved.
[3] Database of historical production data from 180 of the world’s largest oil, gas, coal, and cement producers
[4] The influence of anthropogenic climate change on Super Typhoon Odette (Typhoon Rai) and its impacts in the Philippines
[5] Philippine government’s final situation report for Typhoon Odette
[6] Shell’s historical emissions
[9] The Court gives its Advisory Opinion and responds to the questions posed by the General Assembly
For more information, contact:
Karl Isaac Santos
Media and Communications Consultant | Greenpeace Philippines
[email protected] | +639176758883
