Oil, coal, cement and mining sued as greenhouse gas emissions violate human rights

Typhoon Haiyan, known locally as Yolanda,
struck in 2013 and was one of the 
most powerful storms ever recorded.

The world’s largest oil, coal, cement and mining companies have been given 45 days to respond to a complaint that their greenhouse gas emissions have violated the human rights of millions of people living in the Philippines.

In a potential landmark legal case, the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines (CHR), a constitutional body with the power to investigate human rights violations, has sent 47 “carbon majors” including Shell, BP, Chevron, BHP Billiton and Anglo American, a 60-page document accusing them of breaching people’s fundamental rights to “life, food, water, sanitation, adequate housing, and to self-determination”.

The move is the first step in what is expected to be an official investigation of the companies by the CHR, and the first of its kind in the world to be launched by a government body.

Read John Vidal’s story inThe Guardian - “World's largest carbon producers face landmark human rights case.”