Greenpeace Philippines staged a demonstration on Thursday challenging the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) to stop supporting Shell Pilipinas’ “deceptive environmental practices”.
During the protest, members of the group dressed as Shell executives and delivered a mock “Certificate of Extreme Gratitude” and flowers to environment secretary Maria Antonia Yulo-Loyzaga.
“This obscene partnership between DENR and Shell is a slap on the face of the millions of Filipinos impacted by the climate crisis,” said Khevin Yu, campaigner of the group.
Yu said the environment department is “sleeping with the enemy,” adding. “They need to be reminded that their job is to be on the side of Filipino communities, not the companies who are responsible for climate change in the first place.”
Greenpeace reiterated the findings of the 2022 Climate Change and Human Rights report, which established that fossil fuel companies, including Shell, carry moral responsibility for human rights violations resulting from climate change impacts on the Filipino population.
During the 58th Session of the Subsidiary Bodies (SB58) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Bonn, Germany, Robert Borje, Vice Chairperson and Executive Director of the Climate Change Commission, disclosed that the Philippines had experienced climate loss and damage amounting to USD 12 billion in the past decade.
Yu said Shell is exploiting the DENR for “empty propaganda” to enhance its public image. In reality, he said, “Shell continues to drill for oil and gas even when they know this will worsen climate change”.
According to the group, Shell reported that its global profits for 2022 amounted to a record US$ 40 billion while the “world experienced worsening floods, drought and typhoons that is costing governments and people trillions in damages.”
