{"id":68981,"date":"2026-03-30T14:24:26","date_gmt":"2026-03-30T06:24:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/philippines\/?p=68981"},"modified":"2026-03-30T14:28:13","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T06:28:13","slug":"our-courage-is-bigger-than-any-storm","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/philippines\/story\/68981\/our-courage-is-bigger-than-any-storm\/","title":{"rendered":"Our Courage is Bigger Than Any Storm"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

People often get my name wrong. It\u2019s Elle\u2014like \u201cEl-yeah.\u201d At the airport, at the store, in the interviews which have become more frequent ever since we announced the case against Shell. I correct them with a smile. But there are bigger things to worry about; I\u2019m fighting for climate justice and accountability.<\/p>\n\n

\"Sea
Sea level rise in Batasan Island.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

I live in Batasan. We are a small Island, a small number of people always battered by climate change. We\u2019ve seen almost every face of the climate crisis: rising water, stronger storms, warmer seas, and unbearable heat when the rains don\u2019t come. We rely on the cycles of rain for drinking water. We depend on the sea for food. When these systems change, everything in our daily life is disrupted.<\/p>\n\n

After Odette, our recovery was slow. If you ask me today, maybe we\u2019re only 70% back\u2014and just because of loans. I was tagged \u201ctotally damaged\u201d\u2014and it wasn\u2019t an exaggeration. There was nothing left, not an item of clothing. I borrowed from microfinance groups\u2014first for our livelihood and again for housing. To this day I\u2019m in debt, for the first time in my life. My husband was a seaman. We started a small business. We were stable. Now, we begin again from zero\u2014and the interest doesn\u2019t stop growing, where storms are concerned.<\/p>\n\n

People ask why I am speaking out. The truth is simple: I woke up to what\u2019s happening. And if I\u2019m awake, I should be a voice for our community. I believe climate justice is a kind of inheritance\u2014something I can pass on to my children and future grandchildren. It\u2019s a hopeful vision that even if you feel small, you can still do something, as long as you speak. We don’t need to be a scientist to know that the climate is changing: we see it, and we feel it.<\/p>\n\n

We have prepared a legal case against a huge company. Yes, it\u2019s big. Yes, I was scared at first. But I think of my children and their tomorrow. That\u2019s where the courage comes from. Doing what is right is not about being fearless; it\u2019s about choosing what matters more than fear.<\/p>\n\n

\"Filipino
Filipino survivors of Super Typhoon Odette (Rai) who 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, which hit the Philippines back in December 2021.
\u00a9 Alecs Ongcal \/ Greenpeace<\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

Why does winning matter? Because accountability matters. If we win, there can be payment for damages\u2014boats, homes, tools we saved up for over years. But more than things, it would mean the effort is not wasted. That standing up to powerful companies was not for nothing. And even if we don\u2019t win right away, we will have done something. We will have told our children: we stood our ground.<\/p>\n\n

People say the Philippines contributes so little to global pollution. Still, we absorb the worst of the impacts. That is the unfairness we live with. The ones who profit from pollution should be the ones held to account. That\u2019s what climate justice looks like from our shoreline: those who caused the harm help pay to repair it\u2014and change their business so others don\u2019t suffer the same.<\/p>\n\n

I don\u2019t pretend this is easy. I carry a notebook of dues and deadlines. I check the sky more than I check my phone. When a squall rolls in, I think about plywood, nails, roofs, and school uniforms. But I also think about what\u2019s possible when people tell the truth about what\u2019s happening to us, and when those with power finally listen.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

So if you\u2019re asking again: Why climate justice? Why accountability? Because our lives are at stake. Because debt should not be our disaster plan. Because the sea should bring life, not fear. Because the future belongs to our children\u2014and they deserve more than survival.<\/p>\n\n

\"Trixy
Trixy Sumabal Elle at COP30.
\u00a9 Marie Jacquemin \/ Greenpeace<\/div><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n

My name is Trixy Elle, from Batasan Island. I used to think my name sounded \u201cforeign.\u201d Now I know it sounds like home\u2014a place worth defending, a story worth telling, and a voice that will not be quiet.<\/p>\n\n

\n\n

Trixy is a resident of Batasan Island, one of the \u201csinking islands\u201d in Bohol, and one of the claimants in the Odette Case. Trixy, along with other survivors of Super Typhoon Odette (Rai), is demanding accountability from Shell for climate-induced damages and the great harm they suffered from the storm, which claimed 405 lives and injured over 1,400 others in 2021.

Climate scientists say the extreme weather brought by Odette was made more likely by climate change driven by fossil fuel combustion. <\/span>This landmark case is the first of its kind and scale against an oil and gas company for deaths, injuries, and property damage that have already occurred.

The case, filed in London where Shell\u2019s global headquarters is located, addresses the company\u2019s historic carbon emissions, as well as its deception and disinformation<\/span> about climate change, which it has known about since 1965.

Support Trixy and other super typhoon survivors in their fight for survival and our common future. Sign the petition.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n

\n
SIGN HERE<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

People ask why I am speaking out. The truth is simple: I woke up to what\u2019s happening. And if I\u2019m awake, I should be a voice for our community.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":68985,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ep_exclude_from_search":false,"p4_og_title":"","p4_og_description":"","p4_og_image":"","p4_og_image_id":"","p4_seo_canonical_url":"","p4_campaign_name":"","p4_local_project":"","p4_basket_name":"","p4_department":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3,2],"tags":[26,24,6],"p4-page-type":[16],"class_list":["post-68981","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community","category-sustainability","tag-justice","tag-activism","tag-climate","p4-page-type-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/philippines\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68981","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/philippines\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/philippines\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/philippines\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/26"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/philippines\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68981"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/philippines\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68981\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":68987,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/philippines\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68981\/revisions\/68987"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/philippines\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/68985"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/philippines\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68981"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/philippines\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68981"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/philippines\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68981"},{"taxonomy":"p4-page-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/philippines\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/p4-page-type?post=68981"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}