Filipinos must lead the way to make climate polluters pay

For disaster-prone countries like the Philippines, the climate crisis does not wait for negotiations. It tears roofs away and floods homes while government leaders abroad argue over commas in agreements and funding pledges. And every November, as the world gathers for the Conference of Parties (COP) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Filipinos brace for another storm.

This year is no different. After Typhoon Tino battered the country, another developing cyclone near Guam has a high chance of intensifying into a super typhoon before entering the Philippine area of responsibility. Forecasts show possible landfall in northern Luzon just days before COP30 opens in Belem, Brazil. These parallel crises underscore the importance of Filipino voices in climate negotiations, which, as of late, seem far from the lived realities of the most climate-vulnerable.

After Super Typhoon Yolanda in 2013, COP19 established the Warsaw International Mechanism (WIM) – a product of years of campaigning by vulnerable, small-island, least-developed and developing states to finally address loss and damage.

Despite the landmark outcome, the mechanism lacked teeth and did not compel those responsible for the crisis to pay their fair share. In the years that followed, the devastation left by Yolanda and growing outrage from the Global South strengthened demands for accountability, ultimately leading to the inclusion of loss and damage in the Paris Agreement through Article 8. Yet even this progress came with a caveat. In the final section, countries ensured that Article 8 could not be used as a basis for liability or compensation.

Then came Super Typhoon Odette in 2021, which ravaged Surigao, Cebu, Bohol and other parts of the Visayas and Mindanao, making it the second costliest typhoon after Yolanda. Barely a year later, COP27 finally agreed to establish a Loss and Damage fund, which was considered another landmark moment in global climate negotiations.

It was a historic decision, but progress has stalled. Developed nations have contributed a mere 0.2 percent of what is needed globally. Fund access remains slow and burdensome. The risk is clear: without major support, the facility could fail before it ever delivers justice for the most vulnerable states that have fought for this mechanism for decades.

The Global North’s dilatory approach to paying for historical emissions means the fund must draw on additional sources. The most obvious are major oil and gas companies that continue to pollute despite decades of knowledge about their climate harms.

As COP30 and another super typhoon loom closer, Filipinos must take on the moral responsibility to demand accountability from major climate polluters and fossil fuel corporations. Just recently, House Bill 4420 or the Climate Accountability (CLIMA) Bill was filed in the 20th Congress. If passed, the law will ensure that frontline communities have a fighting chance by establishing accountability mechanisms to make climate polluters pay, which will help accelerate emissions reductions from carbon-intensive companies.

The International Court of Justice has also affirmed that states failing to address climate harms may face liability for “internationally wrongful acts.” This opens the door for Global South countries to finally seek reparations if national policies such as the CLIMA Bill are in place.

For the longest time, the Philippines has felt only suffering and pain from the endless parade of extreme typhoons yearly. It is high time that Filipinos also feel a sense of courage and hope. The government must ensure that frontline communities feel that their elected leaders are fighting to protect their future and are making sure that those most responsible for their suffering are held responsible. The President must heed the clamor of Filipinos. He must prioritize the passage of the CLIMA Bill and ensure that despite the pace of global climate negotiations, the Philippines is still leading the way when it comes to climate accountability.

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Jefferson Chua is a Climate Campaigner at Greenpeace Philippines, working in the areas of climate litigation, policy and finance.