Inspired and emboldened by the courageous efforts of people around the world all standing up for human rights to protect current and future generations from climate change, Greenpeace Southeast Asia - Philippines, together with 13 organizations and 18 individuals opened another new chapter in our collective history. They filed a groundbreaking legal petition with the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines (CHR) on September 22, 2015. Now the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines has started its investigation on behalf of the Filipino people and needs YOUR support.
The Petitioners will no longer accept the risk of losing their homes, livelihoods, and family members in order to support a way of life that is driving all of humanity towards a bleak future. They’re doing their part and asking those responsible to do theirs. They have asked the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines (CHR) to focus on the existing 46 investor-owned fossil-fuel Carbon Majors because the public, shareholders, and the governments that regulate the companies have the power to change the practices of these businesses. The Petition is forward-looking and aims to improve corporate conduct to protect the rights of those most vulnerable to climate change.
Below are the 47 investor-owned entities’ cumulative MtCO2e (Million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent) with data through 2013. Corporate information contained in this website is based on publicly available information accessible as of September 9, 2016 and may be subject to change.
Research on cumulative million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent is from: Heede, Richard (2014) Tracing anthropogenic CO2 and methane emissions to fossil fuel and cement producers 1854-2010, Climatic Change, vol. 122(1): 229-241; For the original report see: Heede, R. 2014. Carbon Majors: Accounting for Carbon and Methane Emissions 1854-2010, Methods and Results Report, April 7, 2014. For more details on the Carbon Majors Updates see Climate Accountability Institute: here.
People from climate-impacted communities from Tuvalu, Kiribati, Fiji and the Solomon Islands as well as representatives from the Philippines vow to seek ‘Climate Justice’ and hold big polluters accountable for fuelling global climate change during a workshop held in Vanuatu.
Typhoon survivors and civil society groups in the Philippines deliver a complaint to the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines (CHR) calling for an investigation into the responsibility of big fossil fuel companies for fuelling catastrophic climate change that is resulting in human rights violations.
The Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines announces its investigation of the Big Polluters. Watch the announcement here.
Petitioners submit copies of their petition in compliance with CHR’s Order, which also enjoins the big polluters to answer within 45 days upon receiving their copies.
The Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines (CHR) sends copies of the complaint filed by the Petitioners, including disaster survivors, community organisations and Greenpeace Southeast Asia - Philippines, as well as an official order, to the headquarters of the world’s largest investor-owned fossil fuel and cement producers.
Despite apparent opposition from fossil fuel companies, the Commission on Human Rights announces that it will proceed in 2017 with the investigation.
The Petitioners file a consolidated response, requesting the Commission on Human Rights (CHR) to deny the Big Polluters’ demands for a dismissal, and challenging CEOs to be part of the solution by fully participating in the national inquiry.
Conservation Law Foundation, an NGO that fights for clean air, clean water, and clean energy on behalf of communities in New England in the United States, notified Exxon that it would sue the company for pollutants that are leaking out of one of the company’s shoreline terminals. They also allege that Exxon has not adequately prepared the terminal in the event of flooding from rising sea levels or a catastrophic storm, which Exxon had knowledge would happen. The case was filed in September 2016 in a U.S. District Court in Boston, Massachusetts.
Filipino disaster survivors and other brave individuals, along with 14 NGOs including Greenpeace Southeast Asia-Philippines, triggered a first-ever national investigation into the responsibility of fossil fuel companies for human rights impacts resulting from climate change. The Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines launched an investigation into the responsibility of carbon producers for human rights impacts resulting from climate change in December 2015, during the historic Paris climate summit. The Commission requested the companies to respond to the Petition by the end of September 2016 and now it is moving forward with a national inquiry, which carries significant weight since such procedures are only rarely used for matters of great importance to the country and citizens. The Petitioners are calling for public hearings to be held in early 2017.
ClientEarth, a legal NGO committed to securing a healthy planet, alerted the Financial Reporting Council (FRC, the UK’s independent financial regulator, responsible for corporate governance oversight) to breaches in reporting by two oil and gas companies (Cairn and SOCO) alleging that they failed to adequately disclose climate change risks. The matter is now in the hands of the FRC. It can issue a Committee reference, Press Notice, or apply for a court order compelling the company to re-issue the annual report (and the costs of this can be recoverable from the companies’ directors personally).
A Peruvian farmer, Saúl Luciano Lliuya, has sued a German fossil producer and utility - RWE - in Germany. He is asking for RWE to pay its share (based on the company’s contribution of greenhouse gases) of the costs to prevent further harm to his property from glacial flooding. On December 15, 2016, the Regional Court of Essen will announce whether the farmer’s legal challenge will proceed to evidentiary phase of the case.
Exxon knew about climate change almost four decades ago and chose to spread climate denial over taking action. The Attorneys General of New York and Massachusetts have launched investigations to determine whether Exxon misled the public, consumers, and investors about the risks of climate change. In addition, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC - the US financial regulator) is investigating whether Exxon committed accounting violations in disclosures about its reserves.