Memorandum for the Petitioners |167 The right to live [and die] with dignity is the most fundamental right humans possess. It is the foundation on which all civil, political, and economic, social, and cultural rights stand. The standard for protecting this right should therefore be strictly and rigorously applied. When it is threatened by the actions of others -- as it is when the wrongful conduct of respondent Carbon Majors accelerates the climate crisis -- defending it should be the paramount concern of all. The petitioners neither believe nor pretend Commission’s decision will solve the climate crisis. that the Honorable However, holding the respondent Carbon Majors legally and morally responsible for their contribution to climate change is a significant step towards achieving climate justice. To that end, the petitioners present the Honorable Commission with the opportunity to change the narrative of the Filipino people from one of victimhood to one of empowerment by holding those responsible to this climate crisis accountable. Much has been said and argued in the last year since the Honorable Commission opened the first public hearings in March 2018. Ultimately, the petitioners’ plea does not differ from the plea of children and others most exposed to the impacts of climate change around the world. As Greta Thunberg fiercely told the French Parliament on 23 July 2019: The science is clear and all we children are doing is communicating and acting on that united science. Now political leaders in some countries are starting to talk. They are starting to declare climate emergencies and announcing dates for so-called climate neutrality. And declaring a climate emergency is good. But only setting up these vague, distant dates and saying things which give the impression of that things are being done and that action is on the way, will most likely do more harm than good. Because of the changes required are still nowhere in sight. Not in France, not in the EU, nowhere. And I believe that the biggest danger is not our inaction. The rea] danger is when companies and politicians are making it look like real action is happening, when in fact almost nothing is being done, apart from clever accounting and creative PR. XXX . .. Some people have chosen not to listen to us and that is fine. We are, after all, just children. You don’t have to listen to us, but you do have to listen to the united