BANGKOK (AP) — Philippine victims of a 2021 typhoon are seeking compensation from energy giant Shell for deaths and damage that they say were intensified by climate change partly resulting from the oil and gas company’s carbon emissions.
Shell says it is not legally liable for the disaster wreaked by 2021 Super Typhoon Odette, known as Typhoon Rai internationally. It killed more than 400 people and was the second most costly storm in Philippine history.
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FILE -A man carries pails beside damaged homes due to Typhoon Rai in Talisay, Cebu province, central Philippines on, Dec. 17, 2021. (AP Photo/Jay Labra, File)
FILE -The remains of a damaged boardwalk caused by Typhoon Rai in Siargao island, Surigao del Norte, southern Philippines on, Dec. 22, 2021. (AP Photo/Alren Beronio, File)
FILE -A 'help' sign is painted on the roof beside damaged homes caused by Typhoon Rai in Siargao island, Surigao del Norte, southern Philippines on, Dec. 22, 2021. (AP Photo/Alren Beronio, File)
FILE -Bernardino Aspacio walks past rubbles from his damaged house due to Typhoon Rai in Alegria, Cebu province, central Philippines, Dec. 22, 2021. (AP Photo/Jay Labra, File)
The nearly 70 Filipinos who lost family members, suffered injuries or damage sent a “Letter Before Action” this week to Shell seeking an unspecified amount of compensation. If the company does not provide a satisfactory response, they say they plan to file a lawsuit in Britain in mid-December.
The group hopes to set an example ahead of the United Nations COP30 climate conference in Brazil next month.
“It is really important for me to carry our story outside the island, outside the Philippines, and tell the whole world that we are here, we exist,” Trixy Elle, one of the people participating in the case, told The Associated Press. "We have to fight, we have to stand, we need to speak up for our rights.”
Elle said she plans to attend the climate conference next month to share her experiences.
Groups supporting the effort — Greenpeace Philippines, the Legal Rights and Natural Resources Center, the Philippine Movement for Climate Justice and the green energy transition group Uplift — said they focused on Shell because of its “high historic emissions and early knowledge of the causes and effects of climate change."
The Carbon Majors Database, run by the global, nonprofit think tank InfluenceMap, ranks Shell as one of the largest corporate emitters of greenhouse gases, contributing 2.1% of global emissions since the beginning of the industrial revolution.
“We agree that action is needed now on climate change," a Shell spokesperson told The Associated Press after the Letter Before Action was delivered to the company’s headquarters in London. "As we supply vital energy the world needs today, we are transforming our business to supply lower-carbon fuels for the future. The suggestion that Shell had unique knowledge about climate change is simply not true.”
Last year, Shell succeeded in getting a landmark climate ruling overturned in the Netherlands, where a court had ordered the company to drastically cut its carbon emissions.
Southeast Asia is extremely vulnerable to climate change. The Philippines is often near the top of the Global Climate Risk Index. This year brought several deadly storms, such as Bualoi, Ragasa, Co-may and Matmo.
The case against Shell cites research by Ben Clarke, an associate at the Imperial College of London's Centre for Environmental Policy, who found that the heavy rains and high winds made typhoon Odette more dangerous.
The Typhoon Odette case shows vulnerable communities can use legal means to seek damages over climate change, said Jameela Joy Reyes, of the London School of Economics' Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment.
Globally, at least 226 lawsuits over climate issues were filed last year, according to the Grantham Institute. It is tracking nearly 3,000 cases across 60 countries.
Past watershed climate cases focused on potential future damage, so initiatives addressing past damage are a testing ground, said Sara Phillips at the Stockholm Environment Institute.
"Courts have generally accepted that climate change is human-induced, but they have been cautious about assigning liability to individual companies,” she said.
The Associated Press’ climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.
FILE -A man carries pails beside damaged homes due to Typhoon Rai in Talisay, Cebu province, central Philippines on, Dec. 17, 2021. (AP Photo/Jay Labra, File)
FILE -The remains of a damaged boardwalk caused by Typhoon Rai in Siargao island, Surigao del Norte, southern Philippines on, Dec. 22, 2021. (AP Photo/Alren Beronio, File)
FILE -A 'help' sign is painted on the roof beside damaged homes caused by Typhoon Rai in Siargao island, Surigao del Norte, southern Philippines on, Dec. 22, 2021. (AP Photo/Alren Beronio, File)
FILE -Bernardino Aspacio walks past rubbles from his damaged house due to Typhoon Rai in Alegria, Cebu province, central Philippines, Dec. 22, 2021. (AP Photo/Jay Labra, File)
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A federal officer shot a person in the leg in Minneapolis after being attacked with a shovel and broom handle while trying to make an arrest Wednesday, federal officials said.
The shooting took place about 4.5 miles (7.2 kilometers) north of where an immigration agent fatally shot Renee Good on Jan. 7.
The Department of Homeland Security said in a statement on the social media platform X that federal law enforcement officers stopped a person from Venezuela who was in the U.S. illegally. The person drove away and crashed into a parked car before taking off on foot, DHS said.
After officers reached the person, two other people arrived from a nearby apartment and all three started attacking the officer, according to DHS.
“Fearing for his life and safety as he was being ambushed by three individuals, the officer fired a defensive shot to defend his life,” DHS said.
The two people who came out of the apartment are in custody, it said.
A large group of officers wearing gas masks fired tear gas into a crowd gathered at a north Minneapolis intersection near where Wednesday's shooting took place.
Earlier Wednesday, a judge gave the Trump administration time to respond to a request to suspend its immigration crackdown in Minnesota, while the Pentagon looked for military lawyers to join what has become a chaotic law enforcement effort in the state.
Plumes of tear gas, bursts of chemical irritants and the screech of protest whistles have become common on the streets of Minneapolis, especially since Good's shooting.
Agents have yanked people from cars and homes and been confronted by angry bystanders who are demanding that officers pack up and leave.
“What we need most of all right now is a pause. The temperature needs to be lowered," state Assistant Attorney General Brian Carter said during the first hearing in a lawsuit filed by Minnesota and the cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul.
Local leaders say the government is violating free speech and other constitutional rights with the surge of law enforcement. U.S. District Judge Katherine Menendez promised to keep the case “on the front burner” and gave the U.S. Justice Department until Monday to file a response to a request for a restraining order.
The judge said these are "grave and important matters,” and that there are few legal precedents to apply to some of the key points in the case.
Justice Department attorney Andrew Warden suggested the approach set by Menendez was appropriate.
The judge is also handling a separate lawsuit challenging the tactics used by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and other federal officers when they encounter protesters and observers. A decision could be released this week.
During a televised speech Wednesday evening, Gov. Tim Walz described Minnesota as being in chaos, saying what's happening in the state “defies belief.”
“Let’s be very, very clear, this long ago stopped being a matter of immigration enforcement," he said. "Instead, it’s a campaign of organized brutality against the people of Minnesota by our own federal government.”
Walz added that “accountability” will be coming through the courts.
The Department of Homeland Security says it has made more than 2,000 arrests in the state since early December and is vowing to not back down. The Pentagon is preparing to send military lawyers to Minneapolis to assist.
CNN, citing an email circulating in the military, says Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is asking the branches to identify 40 lawyers known as judge advocate general officers or JAGs, and 25 of them will serve as special assistant U.S. attorneys in Minneapolis.
Pentagon spokesperson Kingsley Wilson appeared to confirm the CNN report by posting it on X with a comment that the military “is proud to support” the Justice Department.
The Pentagon did not immediately respond to emails from The Associated Press seeking more details.
It’s the latest step by the Trump administration to dispatch military and civilian attorneys to areas where federal immigration operations are taking place. The Pentagon last week sent 20 lawyers to Memphis, U.S. Attorney D. Michael Dunavant said.
Mark Nevitt, an associate professor at Emory University School of Law and a former Navy JAG, said there's concern that the assignments are taking lawyers away from the military justice system.
“There are not many JAGs but there are over one million members of the military, and they all need legal support,” he said.
Jonathan Ross, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer who killed Good, suffered internal bleeding to his torso during the encounter, a Homeland Security official told The Associated Press.
The official spoke to AP on condition of anonymity in order to discuss Ross’ medical condition. The official did not provide details about the severity of the injuries, and the agency did not respond to questions about the extent of the bleeding, exactly how he suffered the injury, when it was diagnosed or his medical treatment.
There are many causes of internal bleeding, and they vary in severity from bruising to significant blood loss. Video from the scene showed Ross and other officers walking without obvious difficulty after Good was shot and her Honda Pilot crashed into other vehicles.
She was killed after three ICE officers surrounded her SUV on a snowy street a few blocks from her home.
Bystander video shows one officer ordering Good to open the door and grabbing the handle. As the vehicle begins to move forward, Ross, standing in front, raises his weapon and fires at least three shots at close range. He steps back as the SUV advances and turns.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has said Ross was struck by the vehicle and that Good was using her SUV as a weapon — a self-defense claim that has been deeply criticized by Minnesota officials.
Chris Madel, an attorney for Ross, declined to comment on any injuries.
Good’s family, meanwhile, has hired a law firm, Romanucci & Blandin, that represented George Floyd’s family in a $27 million settlement with Minneapolis. Floyd, who was Black, died after a white police officer pinned his neck to the ground in the street in May 2020.
The firm said Good was following orders to move her car when she was shot. It said it would conduct its own investigation and publicly share what it learns.
“They do not want her used as a political pawn,” the firm said, referring to Good and her family, “but rather as an agent of peace for all.”
Waving signs reading “Love Melts ICE” and “DE-ICE MN,” hundreds of teenagers left school in St. Paul and marched in freezing temperatures to the state Capitol for a protest and rally.
The University of Minnesota, meanwhile, informed its 50,000-plus students that there could be online options for some classes when the new term starts next week. President Rebecca Cunningham noted that “violence and protests have come to our doorstep.” The campus sits next to the main Somali neighborhood in Minneapolis.
Associated Press reporters Julie Watson in San Diego, California; Rebecca Santana in Washington, D.C.; Ed White in Detroit; Giovanna Dell’Orto in Minneapolis; Graham Lee Brewer in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma; and Hallie Golden in Seattle contributed.
Federal immigration officers at the scene of a reported shooting Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
A woman confronts a federal immigration officer at the scene of a reported shooting Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
People react after a firework was set off near the scene of a reported shooting Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Federal immigration officers shoot pepper balls as tear gas is deployed at the scene of a reported shooting Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Law enforcement officers stand amid tear gas at the scene of a reported shooting Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
Federal immigration officers are seen Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)
Hundreds of protesters gather in front of the Minnesota State Capitol in response to the death of Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer last week, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Protesters gather in front of the Minnesota State Capitol in response to the death of Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer last week, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Protesters gather in front of the Minnesota State Capitol in response to the death of Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer last week, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026, in St. Paul, Minn. (AP Photo/John Locher)
Federal officers stand guard after detaining people outside of Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
People visits a makeshift memorial for Renee Good, who was fatally shot by an ICE officer last week, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/John Locher)
A person is detained by federal agents near the scene where Renee Good was fatally shot by an ICE officer last week, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2026, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)
