The Carbon Majors findings are of serious importance and consequence to the Philippines due to the country’s high vulnerability to the impacts of climate change. The findings call attention to the role of the Carbon Majors because these producers contribute a significant portion of the estimated emissions of greenhouse gases. According to the IPCC, continued emission of these gases “will cause further warming and long-lasting changes in all components 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 identifying the company’s share in the estimated global industrial emissions of carbon, and when it is supposed to have allegedly acquired knowledge of its products’ 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 Filipinos’ 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. !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 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, see, ITUC Frontlines Briefing, Climate Justice: There are No Jobs on a Dead Planet, Mar. 2015, http://www.ituc-csi.org/ituc-frontlines-briefing-climate?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. ! 6! ! ! ! ! !