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4 years after Odette

Raphael Bosano

ABS-CBN News

<div><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/17659014840241765901482104.jpeg" style="width:960px;display:block;height:auto" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="Photo of the destruction left by Typhoon Odette in Tisa, Cebu City during a visit by President Rodrigo Duterte on December 23, 2021. Alfred Frias, Presidential Photo" width="960"/>Activists from Fossil Free London, Greenpeace Philippines, Greenpeace UK, Uplift and members of the Filipino diaspora held a protest in support of climate survivors of Super Typhoon Odette who have filed a civil case in a United Kingdom court against oil giant Shell for the deaths, injuries, and destruction left by the storm that hit the Philippines in December 2021. © Fossil Free London / Angela Christofilou </div>MANILA — Four years ago, as floodwaters rose and violent winds tore through their community in Tubigon, Bohol, Super Typhoon Odette survivor Trixie Elle locked arms with her family, bracing for what could have been their final moments together. Survival was uncertain. Fear was overwhelming. And in the aftermath of the storm, grief came easily.Today, Elle says she has made a quiet promise to herself — she will not cry anymore.Exactly four years since Odette devastated large parts of the Visayas, Elle&#x27;s story, and the stories of other survivors, has shifted from loss to resolve. For the first time since the super typhoon, they have taken a bold step toward climate justice.More than a hundred Odette survivors, including Elle, are now petitioners in a case filed against oil giant Shell in the United Kingdom. It is a landmark move that seeks accountability from one of the world&#x27;s biggest fossil fuel companies for its role in driving climate change and the extreme weather events that disproportionately impact vulnerable countries like the Philippines.Yet when the case was formally filed in a UK court, none of the Filipino petitioners were physically present. Their visa applications had been denied.Still, Elle considers the moment a victory.&quot;I&#x27;m done playing the victim. I&#x27;m now in my fighter era,&quot; Elle said jokingly in Filipino.&quot;Parang panalo na ito sa amin. Kasi that means, kahit maliit kami, kaya namin gawin. Eye-opener din yan sa ibang community na kung kaya namin, kaya niyo rin.&quot;(The filing is already a win for us. This shows that even us just ordinary citizens can still go up against a big company. It&#x27;s an eye-opener for other communities. If we can do it, so can they.)<div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/weather-traffic/2025/11/17/as-super-typhoons-become-norm-victims-say-it-s-time-for-world-to-know-their-story-1430">READ: As super typhoons become norm in PH, victims say it&#x27;s time for world to know their story, demand accountability</a></div>Fresh from participating in dialogues at the recently concluded United Nations Climate Change Summit in Brazil, Elle described the journey from surviving Odette to filing a case against Shell as long and arduous. Even from thousands of kilometers away, she said the solidarity shown during the filing was something that moved her deeply.&quot;It made me emotional. I saw the solidarity. They don&#x27;t know us. We are strangers to them, and yet they picketed, stood there, and shouted &#x27;justice for the Philippines.&#x27;&quot;Environmental group Greenpeace, which is supporting the case, says the legal action is firmly grounded in science. Through attribution science, researchers can now identify how climate change, driven largely by fossil fuel emissions, has intensified extreme weather events such as super typhoons.Data from Carbon Majors, a data base of historical production data of the world&#x27;s largest fossil fuel and cement producers, show that Shell is responsible for a little over two percent of global emissions. It ranks ninth out of 180 companies in terms of cumulative carbon emissions, amounting to around 41 billion tonnes.The contrast with the Philippines is stark. The country contributes only about 0.5 percent of global emissions. Yet it consistently ranks among the most climate-vulnerable nations in the world according to the World Risk Report.For Virginia Llorin, National Coordinator of Greenpeace Philippines, the case represents more than legal action but also a fight against climate injustice.&quot;This is not a fight for them alone. This is a fight for the Filipinos that are impacted by climate change,&quot; Llorin said.&quot;Karamihan sa kanila pag nakakausap namin, ang unang sinasabi, para sa future ng mga anak nila. Alam nila na ipinaglalaban nila ang para sa mga Pilipino.&quot;(A lot of those we talk to, the first thing they say is that this is for the future of their children. They know that they are fighting for the future of Filipinos.)Beyond the case against Shell, Greenpeace is also urging the Philippine government to take a more assertive stance by filing cases against identified carbon majors. <div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://www.abs-cbn.com/news/weather-traffic/2025/7/24/what-the-icj-s-advisory-opinion-on-climate-means-for-the-ph-2327">READ: What the ICJ&#x27;s advisory opinion on climate means for the PH</a></div>Llorin points to the International Court of Justice&#x27;s Advisory Opinion issued last July, which while not legally binding, states that countries affected by climate change may explore legal remedies and that states have obligations to address the climate crisis. Failing to act, according to the opinion, opens the door to reparations.The timing of the case is difficult to ignore. It was filed just weeks after the Philippines was again battered by Typhoon Tino and Super Typhoon Uwan in November — fresh reminders of a warming world where extreme weather is becoming the norm.Elle knows the court&#x27;s decision could go either way. But she says the outcome, favorable or not, will not define their fight. This, she insists, is only the beginning.Accountability, she says, must go beyond words and legal filings. It must be seen in real-world outcomes, those that give vulnerable communities an actual fighting chance in a warming planet.&quot;Enough is enough. You&#x27;ve already disrupted our planet. It&#x27;s clear that you chose money over our planet. It&#x27;s time to stop,&quot; Elle said, addressing Shell directly.For Elle and other Odette survivors, survival was once about holding on through the storm. Now, it is about standing their ground long after the winds have calmed down.<div> </div>

More than 100 Odette survivors are now petitioners in a case filed against oil giant Shell in the United Kingdom.

More than 100 Odette survivors are now petitioners in a case filed against oil giant Shell in the United Kingdom.

4 years after Odette: Survivors take first step towards climate justice

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4 years after Odette: Survivors take first step towards climate justice

Raphael Bosano,

ABS-CBN News

Published December 16, 2025 07:46 PM PHT

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Updated December 17, 2025 12:12 AM PHT

Read More:

Climate change

Greenpeace

International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion

Shell

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