of the climate system, increasing the likelihood of severe, pervasive, and irreversible impacts for
people and ecosystems.”9
The Carbon Majors should be held accountable for violations or threats of violations of
Filipinos’ rights (a) to life; (b) to the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health;
(c) to food; (d) to water; (e) to sanitation; (f) to adequate housing; and (g) to self-determination
resulting from the adverse impacts of climate change. Special attention should be paid to
marginalized and disadvantaged people and communities particularly vulnerable to the effects of
climate change, including women, children, persons with disabilities, those living in extreme
poverty, indigenous peoples, and displaced persons; as well as the right of Filipinos to
development. The workers and workers’ organizations among the Petitioners also seek
accountability for the human rights implications of climate change on the workers’ health, labour
productivity, work environment and safety, and job protection.10 One potential way to determine
the level of responsibility of an individual Carbon Major is by indentifying the company’s share
in the estimated global industrial emissions of carbon, and when it is supposed to have allegedly
acquired knowledge of its product’s harmful effects, including the impacts on the climate,
ecological balance, and people’s health, or was informed of those impacts.11
Hindi po makatarungan na magbilang na lamang kami, o mapabilang sa susunod na
statistics, ng mga biktima ng climate change.12 This Petition seeks vindication of our human
rights through a comprehensive investigation into the responsibility of the Carbon Majors for
violations or threats of violations of human rights resulting from the impacts of climate change.
Jurisdiction of the Commission
The human rights violations or threats of violations that are the subject of this Petition
include the rights of the Filipinos (a) to life; (b) to the highest attainable standard of physical and
mental health; (c) to food; (d) to water; (e) to sanitation; (f) to adequate housing; (g) to selfdetermination; and (h) of those particularly likely to be affected by climate change, including (1)
9
IPCC, 2014: Climate Change 2014: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Fifth
Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Core Writing Team, R.K. Pachauri and L.A.
Meyer (eds.)]. IPCC, Geneva, Switzerland, pp. 151, Summary for Policymakers, at 8.
10
For more information on climate action as a trade union concern, please see, ITUC Frontlines Briefing, Climate
Justice: There are No Jobs on a Dead Planet, Mar. 2015, http://www.ituc-csi.org/ituc-frontlines-briefingclimate?lang=en (last accessed on Sept. 15, 2015).
11
A recent peer-reviewed article concluded that “major investor-owned fossil energy companies carry significant
responsibility for climate change.” P. Frumhoff, R. Heede, & N. Oreskes, The Climate Responsibilities of Industrial
Carbon Producers, CLIMATIC CHANGE, 132 Climatic Change 157 (2015). Available at
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs10584-015-1472-5.
12
English translation: It is unjust that we end up simply counting the victims or becoming victims ourselves of
climate change.
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