More than three years after Super Typhoon Odette (international name: Rai) battered the Philippines, killing over 400 people and destroying 1.4 million homes, 67 survivors are fighting back – not with relief goods or aid pleas, but with a groundbreaking legal action against one of the world’s biggest fossil fuel giants.
On October 23, 2025, UK-based law firm Hausfeld served a formal Letter Before Action (LBA) to Shell’s headquarters in London on behalf of Filipino claimants who say the oil company’s carbon pollution – and decades of climate denial – helped make Odette more destructive.
The lawsuit, if filed as planned in December 2025, would be the first civil case to directly connect the role of a fossil fuel company to deaths and injuries in the Global South from a specific climate disaster.
‘With fossil fuel emissions being linked to stronger tropical storms like Odette, vulnerable communities like ours are struggling to keep their head above water. This is not acceptable, this is not just, and we must fight,’ said Trixy Elle, a fishmonger from Batasan Island and one of the claimants.
The case seeks financial compensation and potential injunctive relief, under the ‘polluter pays’ principle, to prevent further violations of the right to a healthy environment.
It is supported by the Odette Case campaign, a coalition coordinated by Greenpeace Philippines, the Legal Rights and Natural Resources Centre (LRC), the Philippine Movement for Climate Justice (PMCJ), and Uplift.
A first-of-its-kind climate case
According to The Odette Case, this is the first known civil claim that aims to hold a fossil fuel company legally liable for specific deaths and injuries already suffered in the Global South as a result of climate change.
Activists rally outside Shell’s London headquarters in solidarity with Filipino survivors of Typhoon Odette, calling for accountability over climate damages. (Photos via The Odette Case)
The legal arguments are grounded in Philippine law, specifically on quasi-delicts, unjust enrichment, and violations of constitutional rights to a balanced and healthy ecology. However, since Shell is headquartered in the UK, the case will be filed in British courts under international conflict-of-law principles, but will apply Philippine legal standards.
The legal team cites a key precedent: the 2022 report of the Philippine Commission on Human Rights (CHR), which found that major fossil fuel producers like Shell could be held accountable for ‘obstructing climate action’ and ‘contributing to climate harms’ under Philippine law.
A disaster made worse by climate change
Super Typhoon Odette, which made landfall on December 16, 2021, was the strongest storm to hit the Philippines that year. According to The Odette Case, new scientific studies have found that climate change more than doubled the likelihood of extreme storm events like Odette – especially those involving high winds and intense rainfall.
One referenced study, by international experts from the Centre for Environmental Policy, the Grantham Institute, and the University of Sheffield, concluded that ‘human-induced climate change has likely more than doubled the risk’ of compound weather events such as Odette.
The Odette Case also points to over 600 peer-reviewed attribution studies that link fossil fuel-driven greenhouse gas emissions to increasingly severe storms, floods, and heatwaves.
‘Shell knew’: Decades of climate deception alleged
Why Shell? According to The Odette Case, Shell is among the world’s top carbon emitters, responsible for an estimated 41 billion tons of CO2e from 1892 to 2023-about 2.5% of all historical emissions.
Leaked documents and academic reviews also show Shell knew as early as 1965 that fossil fuels were altering the climate. An internal Shell document from 1988 warned that climate change would have ‘dramatic’ effects, especially on developing nations.
‘For years, Shell knew fossil fuels could cause dangerous climate change. They had the chance to change course. Instead, they misled the public and helped block our shift to clean energy, all to protect their profits,’ said Tessa Khan, international climate lawyer and executive director of Uplift.
The claimants allege Shell not only continued oil and gas operations despite this knowledge, but actively obstructed climate solutions through lobbying, disinformation, and efforts to delay the energy transition.
The claimants: Ordinary people, extraordinary courage
The 67 claimants hail from the communities hit hardest by Odette, including Ubay and Tubigon in Bohol, Toledo and Mandaue in Cebu, and the islands of Batasan and Inanuran.
They lost homes, livelihoods-and loved ones. Some barely survived the storm surge. Others have since lived in tents, fearing the next disaster.
Among them is Annie, a 54-year-old fishmonger from Batasan, who said:
‘Before Typhoon Odette, we used to catch a decent number of fish. But now, the amount is getting smaller and smaller, and sometimes we’re lucky if we catch just a few kilos.’ Fishers display a bold sea banner in Bohol declaring ‘Shell, we’re suing you for Odette,’ as part of a coordinated protest seeking justice for climate harms.
Hazel, 27, from Inanuran, recalled coming back from evacuation to find her house had been washed into the sea. For months, she and her husband lived in a tent.
‘It’s different now after Odette. We all have our fears now,’ she said.
Arnold, a fisherman from Bilangbilangan, nearly drowned as Odette tore through his home.
‘This battle is not only for me, but also for my children. This could help us in a lot of ways and I could help fight for future generations.’
Their testimonials, shared by The Odette Case, reflect what the campaign calls a pattern of climate injustice: those who contributed least to climate change are among the most vulnerable to its deadly effects.
A global reckoning?
The Odette Case adds to a growing wave of climate litigation targeting fossil fuel companies worldwide. According to a 2024 briefing by Oil Change International, at least 86 cases have been filed to date, with 33 focusing on corporate responsibility for climate-related damages.
So far, no fossil fuel company has been forced to pay for such damages. But a win in the UK could change that.
‘The case seeks to hold Shell accountable to our Filipino clients,’ said Greg Lascelles, partner at Hausfeld. ‘By proving in court that Shell was at fault for this climate change-driven extreme weather event and the suffering it caused, the case highlights the far-reaching and direct impacts on vulnerable communities worldwide of oil and gas company activities.’
Should the case succeed, legal experts say it could set a global precedent-turning what are currently potential liabilities for climate damages into real financial consequences for polluters.
The next step: if Shell fails to respond satisfactorily to the Letter Before Action, proceedings will be formally filed in December 2025.
For now, the Odette claimants press on. Whether they win in court, The Odette Case says the claimants are standing for something greater than damages. ‘From fighting for survival to fighting for justice,’ the campaign declares, ‘the claimants in this case are using the law to hold Shell accountable for its contribution to Super Typhoon Odette.’/tsb