Why adaptation and accountability must go hand-in-hand

A warning delivered today to the UK public relays a message that people in the Philippines have known for years – climate change is no longer a distant threat. It’s here, and it’s getting worse.

The UK Climate Change Committee’s “A Well-Adapted UK” report tells us that the UK was built for a climate that no longer exists today and will be increasingly distant in years to come. The weather extremes the country has witnessed over the years will become a new normal – a future marked by more extreme heatwaves, devastating floods, droughts, and wildfires.

While the UK prepares for these dramatic changes to its climate, countries across the world have long been grappling with these “unnatural disasters” primarily fuelled by fossil fuels. The same human-induced climate change that made the UK’s 40°C summers 20 times more likely¹ also doubled the likelihood of storms like the catastrophic Super Typhoon Odette in the Philippines in 2021.²

Adapting to these events and this new normal is crucial to save the lives of vulnerable communities, but so is accountability. Evidence suggests that oil giant Shell has known for over sixty years that their emissions could cause dangerous climate change.³ Yet, they ignored the science and did not change course. We can adapt all we want to the damage companies like Shell have inflicted on us, but accountability must also be part of the solution.

Currently, over 100 survivors of Super Typhoon Odette are leading the charge to hold Shell accountable for this damage. They’re taking the historic step to sue Shell in the UK courts – something never done before. These people, whose lives were devastated by this storm that killed hundreds, argue that Shell’s contribution to global emissions has fuelled climate change, and in turn, made Super Typhoon Odette more likely and more severe.

While communities like these in the Philippines and in the UK pay the price of these climate impacts, Shell has continued to prioritise profits as it always has – making nearly $7 billion in the first three months of 2026.⁴ For every $1 invested in “low-carbon energy solutions” in 2025, Shell also invested $9 in oil and gas and handed $15 to shareholders.⁵

Whether it is protecting the elderly from heatwaves in the UK or seeking justice for typhoon survivors in the Philippines, the message is the same: the true source of this crisis is fossil fuel companies, and their era of consequence-free polluting must end.

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SOURCES

[1] Climate Change Committee, A Well-Adapted UK, The Fourth Independent Assessment of UK Climate Risk (CCRA4-IA), 2026, p.41  

[2] Clarke, B., Li, S., Toumi, R., and Sparks, N.: The influence of anthropogenic climate change on Super Typhoon Odette (Typhoon Rai) and its impacts in the Philippines, EGUsphere [preprint], https://egusphere.copernicus.org/preprints/2025/egusphere-2025-665/

[3] Centre for International Environmental Law, A Crack in the Shell, New Documents Expose a Hidden, Climate History, 2018

[4] BBC, Shell latest oil giant to see profits surge due to Iran war impact, 2026

[5] Shell, Annual Report and Accounts 2025