{"id":965,"date":"2018-11-06T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-11-05T16:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/master.k8s.p4.greenpeace.org\/southeastasia\/press\/965\/survivors-fight-for-climate-justice-in-london-five-years-after-philippines-deadliest-typhoon\/"},"modified":"2024-05-28T14:35:20","modified_gmt":"2024-05-28T07:35:20","slug":"survivors-fight-for-climate-justice-in-london-five-years-after-philippines-deadliest-typhoon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greenpeace.org\/southeastasia\/press\/965\/survivors-fight-for-climate-justice-in-london-five-years-after-philippines-deadliest-typhoon\/","title":{"rendered":"Survivors fight for climate justice in\u00a0London, five years after Philippines\u2019\u00a0deadliest typhoon"},"content":{"rendered":"
London\/Manila \u2013 Survivors of Super Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines \u2013 the deadliest storm to hit the country \u2013 are in London to give personal\u00a0testimonies at a landmark inquiry to determine whether the world\u2019s largest carbon producers are violating the human rights of communities\u00a0worst affected by climate change.[1] The hearings conclude on 8 November, which is also the fifth anniversary of Typhoon Haiyan.<\/div>\n
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\u201cYou could not distinguish between the road and the dead bodies of people and animals\u00a0everywhere. We feared for our safety all the time, especially during the night. We just wanted to\u00a0leave Tacloban\u2026I was traumatised,\u201d says Marielle Bacason, a 27-year old Haiyan survivor who\u00a0migrated to London to work as a research nurse when unemployment rose as a result of the event,\u00a0and who will be testifying at the hearing.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll I ask of these big companies is to allow our children, grandchildren, and future generations to\u00a0be able to enjoy an unspoiled planet. I just ask that they consider the long-term effects of their\u00a0actions.\u201d<\/p>\n

The investigation by the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines is the first of its kind to\u00a0be launched by an independent constitutional body. It is considering whether 47 coal, oil, gas and\u00a0cement companies, including ExxonMobil, Shell, Chevron, and BP, endanger lives and livelihoods\u00a0of Filipinos, wherever they may be situated, by knowingly contributing to the devastating impacts\u00a0of climate change through carbon pollution from their products and business activities.<\/p>\n

The investigation was triggered in 2015 by a\u00a0Climate Justice and Human Rights petition\u00a0filed\u00a0before the Commission by representatives of communities and non-profit organisations across the\u00a0Philippines.\u00a0During the typhoon, which hit on 8 November 2013, thousands more than the official\u00a0death toll of 6,343 are thought to have died, with millions of lives still being affected to this day.[2]<\/p>\n

Professor Myles Allen, a coordinating Lead Author of the recent United Nations Intergovernmental\u00a0Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report will appear as an expert to discuss the attribution of recent\u00a0climate change and assess what these changes mean for global climate simulations of the future and\u00a0the Philippines. The IPCC has analysed mitigation pathways limiting warming to 1.5 degrees\u00a0Celsius above pre-industrial levels. In an analysis by\u00a0Greenpeace International and CoalSwarm\u00a0we\u00a0would require a near-total reduction in coal use for electricity generation by 2050, with reductions\u00a0of approximately two-thirds by 2030.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe probabilities of many potentially damaging extreme weather events, including heatwaves and\u00a0short-duration extreme precipitation events, increase predictably with rising global temperatures,\u201d\u00a0says Myles Allen, Professor of Geosystem Science in the School of Geography and the\u00a0Environment, University of Oxford and Head of the Climate Dynamics Group in the University\u2019s\u00a0Department of Physics.\u00a0\u201cHence, this hearing provides a basis for relating harm associated with\u00a0extreme weather events with attributable changes in global temperature.\u201d<\/p>\n

The inquiry is part of a growing number of cases across the world, where people are applying\u00a0pressure on governments and fossil fuel companies, to demand more ambitious climate action.[3]<\/p>\n

\u201cThis landmark investigation is not just for Filipinos but for vulnerable communities everywhere,\u201d\u00a0says Desiree Llanos Dee, Campaigner at Greenpeace Southeast Asia. \u201cWe are seeing a growing\u00a0global movement of people who are not just asking questions of accountability, but who are ready\u00a0to stand up to big polluters largely responsible for the climate crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n

Following the London hearing, there will be one final public inquiry in the Philippines on 11-12\u00a0December 2018. It is expected that the Commission will wrap up its investigation by the end of the\u00a0year and issue its findings in early 2019.<\/p>\n


\nPhoto and video\u00a0can be accessed\u00a0here<\/a>
\n<\/strong><\/em>
\nNotes:
\n<\/em><\/strong>[1]\u00a0The hearings will take place at the London School of Economics between November 6-8, 2018<\/p>\n

[2]\u00a0The official total is 6,343 fatalities with 1,058 missing, though local people have reported that\u00a0Haiyan claimed more than 10,000 lives. Final Report on Effects of Typhoon \u201cYolanda\u201d (Haiyan)\u00a0(PDF) (Report). The Philippine National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council.\u00a0December 11, 2015. Archived from the original on May 6, 2016, available\u00a0here.<\/p>\n

[3]\u00a0Other cases include: the historic\u00a0Urgenda victory\u00a0in the Netherlands, in which an association\u00a0successfully held their government to account for failing to take adequate action on climate change;\u00a0actions brought by\u00a0Greenpeace Germany\u00a0and three farming families to force the German Federal\u00a0Government to meet its national 2020 climate targets;\u00a0KlimaSeniorinnen, an association\u00a0representing more than 1,000 senior women who are suing over inadequate climate policies and\u00a0mitigation measures;\u00a0Nature and Youth and Greenpeace Nordic\u00a0concerning violations of the\u00a0Norwegian constitution for opening up a vast new area for oil and gas drilling in the Norwegian\u00a0Arctic; and families in the EU, Kenya and Fiji who are challenging the EU\u2019s climate policies.<\/p>\n

Contacts:
\n<\/em><\/strong>Graham Thompson, Press Officer, Greenpeace UK,\u00a0graham.thompson@greenpeace.org<\/a>