Looking at world events, it’s hard to avoid the word ‘chaotic’ when summing up 2022 – but Greenpeace supporters still created so many reasons for optimism.

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The UK had three different Prime Ministers as political chaos reigned in Westminster. They included Liz Truss, who unleashed economic chaos, despite having the shortest term in office of any UK leader in history. In Ukraine, Putin’s war threw millions of people’s lives into chaos, causing a humanitarian disaster and sending energy bills soaring, as we saw the true impact of our reliance on fossil fuels with devastating clarity. And, across the world, the climate crisis wreaked havoc on the people least responsible for causing it. From drought in East Africa to flooding in Pakistan, the urgent need for climate action was clear.

So it is testament to the commitment and determination of Greenpeace’s supporters, staff, volunteers and partners that there is still so much impact to cover in this report. Despite the uncertainty unfolding around us, the Greenpeace community turned around oil tankers, transformed fast food menus and used pioneering science to safeguard previously unexplored areas of the Atlantic. We would like to send a huge thank you to all of you for your incredible efforts.

We also want to send our thanks to John Sauven and Pat Venditti, who showed that changes in leadership do not need to be chaotic. John stepped down as Executive Director after 14 years of tireless innovation, and Pat acted up until we began our roles in October. The progress you can read about here was inspired by their thoughtful leadership and clear vision.

That brings us neatly to our own vision for the green, fair, peaceful future we want to see. At this critical time for our planet – and despite the huge challenges we face as a society – we are filled with optimism, because we know the creativity and courage that exists within the environmental movement.

We believe we need to look outside of our usual allies, and take risks. Business as usual won’t cut it. We are focusing on three principles:

  1. Strong relationships: We need to trust each other, celebrate victories together, and recognise our collective responsibility when things aren’t working out.
  2. Alliance building: We will either win as a movement or lose as single organisations.
  3. Ambition: We need to be fearless and ready to take risks as we do everything we can to avoid climate breakdown, and protect the natural world on which we depend.

None of this will work unless we can convey a message of hope in all that we do. Hope itself is an act of defiance, and desperately needed to bring people together to take action. Thank you so much for being with us.

Areeba Hamid and Will McCallum

Co-Executive Directors, Greenpeace UK

 

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Climate crisis: relentless action in a turbulent year

The conflict in Ukraine and our soaring energy bills laid bare why the era of oil and gas has to end. As climate campaigner Mel Evans explains, we made sure the pressure on politicians and fossil fuel companies was never allowed to drop.

The signs of devastation caused by our dependence on oil and gas were everywhere in 2022. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine caused an unprecedented spike in energy prices. Nine million UK adults found themselves living in fuel poverty. As global temperatures broke all records, wildfires burned across the world, and the people who have done least to cause the climate crisis paid the biggest price. In East Africa, millions of families battled the worst drought in 40 years, while in Pakistan 30 million people were affected as floods left one third of the country underwater.

To judge by our politicians’ actions throughout the year, you’d never know fossil fuels were the root of both the climate crisis and the cost of living crisis. But Greenpeace supporters’ generosity helped us get that message heard loud and clear.

Calling for an energy windfall tax on BP and Shell’s profits

We were one of the leading voices calling for a windfall tax on BP and Shell’s obscene, record-breaking profits. The idea gained traction throughout 2022, with Greenpeace’s demands featured everywhere from the Daily Mail to the front page of the Financial Times. We briefed the Treasury and opposition parties on how a tax could fund the transition to sustainable, renewable energy, and a windfall tax was finally announced in May. But while it did increase tax on the oil and gas giants, it also contained a loophole that allows firms to claim bumper tax breaks for drilling for new fossil fuels. One step forward, two steps back.

It’s our belief that new oil and gas exploration isn’t just senseless, it’s illegal. So in 2022 we also launched two separate legal actions against the government. The first began after ministers approved plans to drill for gas at the Jackdaw gas field off the Aberdeen coast. We’re taking the government to court because it approved Jackdaw without checking its full climate impact. Then in December we began another legal challenge, after ministers announced dozens of North Sea oil and gas licences, again without fulfilling their legal duty to assess how much CO2 would be generated.

Scientists agree we have already discovered more fossil fuels than we can afford to burn to limit global warming to 1.5°C, and we’ll do everything we can to make Rishi Sunak live up to his claim to be a ‘clean energy champion’. Our legal tactics are already helping to make the North Sea less attractive to fossil fuel investors, with one law firm saying it’s now the highest risk area in the world for oil and gas disputes.

A climber hanging on a large metal structure holds a yellow banner reader 'Fossil Fuels War', in the misty background there is a suspension bridge.

Greenpeace UK climbers block tanker carrying 33,000 tonnes of Russian diesel to UK. © Fionn Guilfoyle / Greenpeace

Taking action against Russian diesel in Essex

We celebrated victory in November when 12 Greenpeace activists were cleared of aggravated trespassing charges after climbing an Essex oil terminal to prevent a tanker carrying 33,000 tonnes of Russian diesel from docking. The judge agreed with our case that the Russian war could be described as terrorism, and that we had stopped activity that could have funded terrorism. Having taken direct action and successfully turned the tanker around, we made the moral case – and won.

Our activists were able to follow the tanker’s movements using our Russian tanker tracker. A collaboration between Greenpeace’s investigators and data specialists – and built in just three weeks – this online tool shows exactly where Russian oil is headed. It led to more than 25 direct actions around the world, as campaigners from Italy to the USA used the tracker to block and delay Russian fuel deliveries.

Disrupting Liz Truss’ speech at the 2022 Conservative Party Conference

We also formed new partnerships to broaden our knowledge of the impact of fuel poverty and share our platform with others fighting for change. In October, 30 activists from Greenpeace and the grassroots campaign group Fuel Poverty Action occupied the central lobby of the House of Commons, proudly displaying ‘Chaos Costs Lives’ banners. It was just weeks after Greenpeace activists had summed up the national mood and made news bulletins worldwide by interrupting Liz Truss’s conference speech with the simple message: ‘Who voted for this?’ Now, with Truss having resigned, we wanted to show that weeks of political disarray were a deadly distraction from the dangers people were facing because they couldn’t afford to heat their homes.

A crowded theatre full of predominantly white men in suits. Two women standing wearing lanyards are holding a yellow Greenpeace banner reading 'Who Voted For This' as a man in a lanyard reaches over to grab it, and another man takes a photo from the side. In the background are large TV cameras

Activists hold a Greenpeace banner reading ‘Who voted for This’ as Britain’s Prime Minister Liz Truss delivers her keynote address on the final day of the annual Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham, central England, on October 5, 2022. (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP) (Photo by OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images)

Supporters read out experiences from people struggling across the UK, as together we demanded urgent government action to insulate our homes, invest in renewables and put a proper, ambitious windfall tax in place. The government did respond in November by announcing more money to make our homes energy efficient. But no one will see this money until the next parliament – and we need an emergency plan now.

Climate justice camp in Tunisia

Finally, ahead of November’s COP27 climate conference in Sharm El Sheikh, we joined with like-minded organisations from around the world to support the week-long Climate Justice Camp in Tunisia. Almost 400 campaigners from more than 65 countries took part, including many from places where the climate crisis is already having a disproportionate impact. It gave grassroots activists the chance to come together, share experiences and plan how to fight for collective justice at the conference.

Two people up to their waists in flood water push their motorcycle held up by an inflatable tyre

High tidal flood in Tanjung Emas port, Semarang, Indonesia, 23 May 2022. © Aji Styawan / Greenpeace

Young activists from countries including Sudan and Bahrain then travelled on our ship Rainbow Warrior to Sharm El Sheikh, where negotiations ended with an historic agreement to create a loss and damage fund for countries most affected by the climate crisis. Campaigners from the climate camp made their demands clear throughout COP27, and will now be watching closely to make sure world leaders finally deliver on their vital pledge.

Two young women hold a large yellow Greenpeace banner reading 'United for Climate Justice'. In the background a green and white ship is visible which has a colourful pink and green banner hanging on its sails.Youth climate champions Watan Mohammed (left) from Sudan, and Alia Hammad from Egypt, hold a banner for the United for Climate Justice campaign, in front of the Rainbow Warrior, in the Mediterranean Sea near Egypt.

“My aim is to show that we are not victims but a force to be reckoned with. We will find strength in our small differences and unity of purpose to stop the exploitation of Global South resources and instead push for real solutions.”
Omar Elmawi, a young activist from Kenya, who took part in the Climate Justice Camp Tweet this

Against a blue sky a smiling dark-skinned young man holds his fist in the air and a microphone. Another young girl is central, also with her fist in the air, and another young woman holds both her hands up in front of her face, which has a scrunched expression as if she is shouting. There are more people of colour visible in the background, where there are white tents and a sliver of sea.

Led by climate groups across the Middle East and North Africa, youth organisers and mobilisers from 65 countries attended the week-long Climate Justice Camp in Tunisia.

What's next?

We will build a broad-based campaign demanding bold action on climate across our heat, power and transport systems to offer everyone in the UK warm homes, clean air, lower bills - and a safe future. We’ll stand with communities in the Global Majority World who are most impacted by climate change, and demand polluters stop drilling and start paying.

Forests: changing fast food; calling out forest destroyers

Forest campaigner Daniela Montalto recalls a year when we fought to reverse the nature crisis and fought for justice, standing with Indigenous People in Brazil whose land and rights have been stolen.

Three years ago, Greenpeace climbers launched a campaign by scaling Burger King’s iconic Leicester Square restaurant, unveiling a giant banner to let customers know that the fast food chain was ‘flame-grilling the Amazon’. Vast areas of South American rainforest were being torched to make way for industrial farming, and globally Burger King was sourcing meat and animal feed from the companies responsible.

Skip forward to January 2022 and following a series of meetings with Burger King, the chain announced it would make half its UK menu meat free by 2030. It also ran a meat free menu pilot in the same Leicester Square restaurant where Greenpeace activists served up the truth about Burger King’s recklessness. This is another step forward in the fight for our forests and our climate, and it’s testament to the power of long-term, multifaceted campaigning.

A woman with a blue yellow and red feather headdress and blue patterned dress stands on a road with her arm held high, in front of a colourful and glittery display of large lettering under which the legs of the people holding them can be seen

The petition “Enough Violence Against Indigenous People”, signed by over 500 thousand people, was delivered to the Ministry of Justice, in Brasília. © Diego Baravelli / Greenpeace

Vigil at Brazilian Embassy for Dom Philips and Bruno Pereira

It was also a year when we closely supported colleagues and allies in Brazil, as violence against activists, Indigenous leaders and journalists intensified under then-President Bolsonaro. When Bruno Pereira, a Brazilian Indigenous expert, and Dom Philips, a British journalist, went missing in the Amazon, we worked with Dom’s family to organise a vigil at London’s Brazilian embassy within 24 hours. Everyone at Greenpeace was devastated to learn that Bruno and Dom had been murdered. As our Acting Executive Director Pat Venditti said at the time: “The greatest tribute we can pay Dom and Bruno now is to continue their vital work until all of Brazil’s peoples and their forests are fully protected.”

In the aftermath of the murders, we needed to make sure Bolsonaro’s war on nature and environmental defenders was seen worldwide. We arranged projections across the globe demanding justice, including one onto Tower Bridge. It called on Boris Johnson to speak out against Bolsonaro, who had systematically rolled back Indigenous rights and environmental protections. We also worked with colleagues and civil society in Brazil to fight Bolsonaro’s ‘destruction package’ – a series of bills that would open up mining in Indigenous Territories and encourage further land grabbing.

Amazon fires season and Indigenous solidarity

In the summer, we gained major UK media coverage of the Amazon fire season, after inviting scientists and journalists to join Greenpeace researchers as we documented fires and collected evidence of Amazon biodiversity. This included a front page story in the Daily Mirror.

A close up of fire burning with the silhouettes of tree twigs, with a deep black border around the brightness of the orange and yellow fire glow

Forest fire in a newly deforested area of over 1900 hectares, inside a protected area of the Manicoré River, Amazonas state, Brazil. © Christian Braga / Greenpeace

And across all our work last year, we stood in solidarity with Indigenous Peoples. We supported Brazilian Indigenous leaders’ advocacy efforts in Brussels and Paris, which, together with years of campaigning by hundreds of organisations, including Greenpeace, led to a world-first EU legislation forcing companies to show that their products haven’t contributed to deforestation. And we also helped to make Indigenous rights and Amazon protection key issues in Brazil’s media and its election campaign. With Bolsonaro having lost the presidential election in October, our focus is now on delivering a fairer, greener future for the Amazon and its people.

What's next?

We’ll work to ensure Indigenous People’s rights are upheld, and to protect the Amazon rainforest and other key battlegrounds against industrial meat and dairy - which, unchecked, would push the world past 1.5C of global heating.

“Witnessing the splendour of the Amazon again renewed my determination to fight for it. Local leaders spoke to scientists who had travelled with Greenpeace and I felt in the midst of a profound exchange of knowledge.”
Cris Mazzetti, from Greenpeace Brazil, travelled to the heart of the Amazon to show scientists and journalists the truth about forest destruction. Tweet this

Oceans: building momentum for worldwide protection

Everywhere from unexplored parts of the Antarctic to the heart of UN talks, we revealed and confronted threats to our blue planet, as Oceans Campaigner Ariana Densham explains.

The year began with US scientists joining us on the Arctic Sunrise and undertaking the most southerly submarine dive in history. We found a bustling underwater world of corals, sponges and vulnerable species on the Antarctic seafloor, and in October the Antarctic Ocean Commission designated seven sites we discovered as Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems. We were only able to do the dive because sea ice levels had reached record lows, and on the same voyage we also discovered new Gentoo penguin colonies in places that would previously have been too icy for them to raise chicks. Both are worrying signs.

Shark longlines confiscated in the North Atlantic

Wider protection will only come through a strong Global Ocean Treaty. So, to build pressure ahead of the fifth round of negotiations in August, we released a research report, Hooked on Sharks. It revealed that fishing fleets are targeting baby shark breeding grounds in EU waters. We also took direct action at sea, with activists confiscating 30.2km of longline from North Atlantic waters. The action took place in a Marine Protected Area, but we released a blue shark, swordfish and other marine creatures from the deadly hooks. This work gained widespread media attention, and exposed the pitiful failure of existing safeguards.

A shark's body head with its mouth slightly open and a line coming from it are rising from a wavey sea, with a vessel just visible in the corner of the frame

Greenpeace UK and Greenpeace España activists from the Arctic Sunrise free a Mako shark from a longline. www.pedroarmestre.com

At the Global Ocean Treaty talks themselves, ministers came to Greenpeace campaigners for advice, and our media team helped set the wider narrative. Our warning that the talks lacked ambition was covered everywhere from the BBC to CBS and led to talks rapidly gaining new energy. A treaty wasn’t quite agreed – but all this changed in 2023, making real ocean protection closer than ever.

Action against industrial fishing in UK waters and building the Cornwall boulder barrier

We also used every tool in our arsenal to safeguard UK waters in 2022. We launched a new film, ‘High and Dry,’ to show how industrial fishing is pushing coastal communities and ecosystems to the brink. We supported a momentous mid-Channel action between French and English fishermen, who held banners across their boats to show how destructive fishing is ruining their livelihoods. And in August we created a new boulder barrier off the coast of Cornwall, protecting a vulnerable area of the UK seabed from bottom trawling.

The moment a large rock splashes into deep blue water, with a large spray as the boulder is last seen before it submerges

A boulder bearing Caroline Lucas’ name is placed in the sea. © Kristian Buus / Greenpeace

In Scotland, we teamed up with charity Open Seas to research and document Marine Protected Areas and the damage being done to them, highlighting the voices of fishing communities, and pushing Holyrood to ban industrial fishing. For example, Open Seas mapped out underwater seagrass around the Orkney Islands. Seagrass is a critical carbon trap, but a lack of ocean protection is contributing to its rapid decline. Thanks to drone photography, we now have a baseline picture to help monitor changes and demand action.

And we ended 2022 at the COP15 UN biodiversity summit, where governments around the world agreed to protect 30% of the oceans by 2030. During the talks we published All At Sea, a report showing that the UK is nowhere near fulfilling its pledge to protect 30% of UK waters by 2030. We’ll keep piling pressure on ministers to convince them to follow the roadmap for ocean protection we’ve set out.

What's next?

In March 2023 we secured a new Global Ocean Treaty following a 15 year campaign from Greenpeace. Now we will build pressure on the UK government to ratify the Treaty and put forward the first set of high seas sanctuaries, as well as launch an urgent campaign to stop deep sea mining before it starts.

“It was wonderful to see the boulder being launched and the excitement of the crew. Marine authorities radioed to say what we were doing was illegal, but as we see it we are doing their work for them, by preventing industrial fishing vessels from plundering the deep.”
Patti, teacher and volunteer on board the Arctic Sunrise during our boulder action off the Cornish coast. Tweet this

Plastics: from record-breaking engagement to UN progress

The Big Plastic Count inspired individuals, schools and MPs across the UK to demand an end to plastic waste, and world leaders finally set their sights on getting the plastics crisis under control. Nina Schrank explains more.

The Big Plastic Count

If anyone doubts the strength of public feeling about plastic waste, they only need to look at the number of people who took part in The Big Plastic Count in 2022. We launched the event with social enterprise Everyday Plastic, to show how much packaging waste leaves UK homes – and what happens to it. For one week in May, we asked people to count every piece of plastic they threw away. It turned into the country’s biggest ever investigation into plastic waste.

Nearly 100,000 households took part, each throwing away an average of 66 pieces of plastic. That translates into nearly 100 billion pieces of plastic each year nationwide – and at most 12% of them are likely to be recycled in the UK.

The investigation attracted incredible media attention everywhere from Blue Peter to the One Show. Over 2,000 school classes and 30 MPs counted their plastic waste, and politicians including Theresa May and Ed Miliband attended our mass lobby of MPs in parliament. We also organised a parliamentary event to target key politicians and civil servants, and 126,000 people signed our petition urging the government to tackle the plastic waste crisis. The event coincided with a government consultation on plastic waste, and over 60,000 people submitted their views. The Big Plastic Count was big in every sense.

In front of a blue sky and Big Ben, five schoolchildren stand in yellow high viz jackets and 'visitor' lanyards stand. One is holding up pieces of lined paper high with her hand, another is holding a foot shape with children's writing on it

Children from schools around the country are invited to Westminster for a day full of plastic and politics themed fun, having taken part in the Big Plastic Count. © Angela Christofilou / Greenpeace

It was backed up by our ongoing research into what happens to household plastic waste that is dumped overseas. Our new report, Game of Waste, revealed that the five dump sites in Turkey where we found British plastics were all dangerously contaminated. Our findings were covered in The Times, Independent, Daily Express and more, and we were invited to give evidence to the government’s Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee (EFRA). The EFRA Committee later supported our call for an export ban to all countries – citing our evidence from Turkey.

Towards a binding treaty on plastic pollution

All of our 2022 plastics work showed that we can’t recycle our way out of this crisis. Instead, plastic production and use needs to be slashed, with the focus on reusing and refilling, instead of recycling. Plastic producers also need to be held to account, and the worst- affected communities need to be at the heart of finding solutions. Those were the messages we made sure were heard throughout the year – including through our political lobbying, after 175 countries agreed at the UN to finally develop a globally binding treaty on plastic pollution. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for the natural world, human rights, biodiversity and our climate, and it’s time for companies and governments to deliver decisive change.

What's next?

We’ll be working to secure a strong, legally binding global plastics treaty that sets us on a path to a plastic-free future, with significant reductions in the production of plastic, and an end to single-use plastics - starting with the most unnecessary and harmful.

A woman in red with long black hair and glasses smiles with young girl in a high viz with a ptin bobble hat and backpack. They are holding a box piles high and overflowing with plastic rubbish, with a flyer on it reading 'The Big PLastic Count'. They are stading in front of the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs

Schoolchildren who took part in the Big Plastic Count hand in a petition at Defra (Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs) ask politicians to tackle the plastic crisis by reducing single use plastic, ban plastic waste exports and roll out a deposit return scheme. © Angela Christofilou / Greenpeace

“I thought the young people that Greenpeace brought to the House of Commons were absolutely brilliant. They asked me great questions about plastic waste. They’re passionate about the issue. And what they show is we need to do a lot more.”
Ed Miliband MP spoke to children from across the country during our Big Plastic Count mass lobby of parliament Tweet this

Unearthed: telling the stories others tried to bury

Environmental news might receive more coverage than ever, but Unearthed journalists are still first to discover many stories that politicians and companies would rather keep hidden. Joint Editors Alice Ross and Crispin Dowler explain more.

2022 began with a bang. Working with Swiss NGO Public Eye, we revealed that the UK is shipping thousands of tonnes of toxic pesticides to developing countries, years after banning the chemicals from its own farms to protect bees, the environment and human health. Then later in the year we exposed the companies exploiting French legal loopholes to keep exporting toxic chemicals. This led the French government to promise to tighten its laws on banned pesticides, and the story was nominated for an Association of British Science Writers Award.

We followed this in May with a major investigation using satellite imagery to monitor mass burning of England’s protected peatlands and grouse moors. The story featured everywhere from the BBC to the New York Times, and led Natural England to launch an investigation into peatland burning.

And the year ended with Unearthed stories highlighting climate injustice in action. First, we revealed the UK government was accused of funding environmental racism for subsidising Drax Biomass, a UK company that has been forced to make settlement payments in the US for causing air pollution in majority-Black communities.

Then, partnering with the BBC, we showed how BP and others are using a loophole to hide the emissions from burning off excess gas – ‘flaring’ – in Iraq, prompting the Iraqi environment minister to admit flaring is contributing to cancer levels.

And as the year ended, together with Source Material, Sky News and the French outlet Mediapart, we revealed how communities in Congo were being forced from their land to make space for a carbon offsetting project for oil giant Total.

Read Unearthed’s latest stories

Anti-racism and allyship

We kept learning and fighting environmental racism throughout 2022, building new alliances and increasing our support for grassroots campaigners, as Allyship Coordinator, Sandra Ata, and Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism Lead, Nina Rahel, explain.

We partnered with The Runnymede Trust in 2022 to produce a new report, Confronting Injustice: Racism and the Environmental Emergency. It showed how the legacy of colonialism and systemic racism persists today, for example with countries in the Global Majority World, (often referred to as ‘the Global South’) still being used to dump waste, and almost half of the UK’s waste-burning incinerators in areas with high populations of Global Majority People (often referred to as ‘ethnic minorities’).

The report gained major media attention and gave new impetus to our campaigning work. It also strengthened our climate justice messaging and helped shape our Stop Drilling Start Paying campaign, which we went on to launch in 2023. We followed the report by setting up our Movement Support Fund. Community groups linked to our mission can now apply for funding to push their campaigns, projects, events and research forward. We funded 26 grassroots initiatives in this way in 2022, including projects focused on racial justice, helping young people access nature and climate-focused community spaces.

The new fund sits alongside our Open Workshop initiative, which gives grassroots groups the chance to use our warehouse space for workshops and training. Our work this year including supporting torture survivors and refugees with press training to help them share their experiences. And we also increased our work with young people, raising awareness of ways to get involved with climate justice work, and sharing the stories of role models in our sector who can inspire and offer advice to the young activists.

Global impact

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Australia

Over an 18 month campaign, Greenpeace Australia Pacific and their supporters, as well as a diverse range of organisations, exposed Australia’s largest energy company AGL as Australia’s biggest climate polluter. After AGL sued Greenpeace (and lost), the spotlight turned to the company’s failing leadership. By mobilising AGL’s customers and staff, they managed to bring forward coal closure deadlines to 2035 (13 years earlier than planned), halt a planned demerger, and add independent climate experts to AGL’s board.
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Brazil

Fighting further deforestation in the Amazon is of vital importance in combating climate change, and Greenpeace Brazil worked tirelessly to resist the package of anti-environmental bills making their way through Congress. Along with supporting the protests of Indigenous movements and mobilising during the election period, they held the line in preventing environmental destruction and enter 2023 with renewed hope for the future of the Amazon.
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Cameroon

In a huge win for the planet, Greenpeace Africa won the fight to stop deforestation-linked products being sold in the EU. Thanks to their campaigning, including a demonstration at the EU headquarters in Cameroon, companies will have to prove that forest was not recently cleared in any part of the supply chain in order to sell their products in the EU, or face fines. The law was also extended to include rubber, in a massive win for local communities and Indigenous Peoples in the Congo Basin, who have suffered from mass deforestation by the rubber industry.
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France

There was cause for celebration for Greenpeace France as French President Emmanuel Macron announced that he supports an outright ban on deep sea mining. The team’s campaigning, including at the One Ocean Summit in Brest, eventually led to the French Parliament voting to ban the damaging practice in January. It is hoped that other countries will follow their lead in what would be an amazing win for the planet.
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Indonesia

Greenpeace supported the campaign by migrant fishers in Indonesia who welcomed a new regulation that enshrines their rights, protection and employment on board foreign fishing vessels. This is a significant win towards curbing illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and abuse within a damaging industry. The hope is that other countries will follow suit to end the practice of slavery at sea and enforce more socially and environmentally responsible fishing practices.
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Norway

Greenpeace Norway celebrated stopping the world’s most northerly oil field from going into production, keeping 200 million tonnes of CO2 in the ground. The Norwegian state-owned energy company had planned to open up the field at Wisting, but have postponed its construction, which in reality means that the plans have been scrapped. This is another crucial win in the midst of a climate crisis.
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Russia

In challenging circumstances, Greenpeace Russia continued to fight for the planet. In June they submitted fire fighting proposals to the government, which included provisions to force firefighters to extinguish as many fires as possible in designated areas. The new ruling will come into force in Spring 2023 and will mean that areas of forest where fires can be left to burn will be significantly reduced.
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USA

In February 2022 the world’s biggest plastic polluter Coca-Cola committed to making at least 25% of their packaging reusable by 2030. While there is still much more to do, they now have the opportunity to lead other big brands towards the zero waste economy our planet and communities desperately need. Greenpeace USA and other environmental groups have criticised the impact Coca-Cola’s packaging has on the environment, as well as communities located near petrochemical manufacturing plants.

Our ships

In 2022 our fleet of ships – Rainbow Warrior, Arctic Sunrise, and our new small sailing vessel Witness – travelled almost 60,000 nautical miles around the world. From blocking Russian oil tankers fuelling war, to investigating destructive industrial fishing in the North Atlantic, your generosity has ensured our ships could provide invaluable support to Greenpeace campaigning around the world.

The Arctic Sunrise supported the most southerly human submersible dive ever recorded in the Antarctic Ocean, and discovered Gentoo penguins breeding further south than ever before. It sailed to the western English Channel to create a protective boulder barrier on the seafloor, putting part of the South West Deeps Marine Protected Area off-limits to bottom-trawling.

The Rainbow Warrior hosted young activists from across the Middle East and North Africa as they inspired the next generation of climate activists in a tour from the Maldives to Dubai, ahead of UN climate talks in November.

Our 20 year old ship the Esperanza, meaning ‘Hope’ in Spanish, was retired in 2021, leaving our fleet a vessel down in 2022. We are working on how to replace the Esperanza with the greenest and most cost effective option, fit for our Net Zero future. With your support, we hope to make that inspiring vision a reality in the near future.

 

A world map with blue sea and beige continents, with faint lines marking borders. in the space beween Africa and Australia a photograph of a Greenpeace ship on still waters. From left to right, bottom to top, annotations as follows: A large red label with a point at the tip of South America reads 'Arctic Sunrise 26,610 nautical miles Ports of call: 25 Open boat visitors: 316'. There aer two red dots at the tip and a further four up the eastern coast of Argentina. A red line follows this coastline, up to the Atlantic coast of Africa and out to the mid Atlantic with a further 3 red dots, that then leads to the UK. Near this line a red label reads 'Investigating destructive industrial fishing in the North Atlantic'. Over Canada is a blue label reading 'Conducting marine mammal population survey in the Mediterranean Sea'. A large blue label with a point at the sea between Sweden and Finland reads: 'Witness 10,994 nautical miles Ports of call: 30' A squiggly blue line traces all the way out of northern Europe, via the English Channel and then down around the Iberian Peninsula through the Mediterranean with blue dots all along the route. The last large pointy label is green, it is pointing at a spot in the sea just below the tip of India. It reads ' Rainbow Warrior 21,628 nautical miles Ports of call: 24 Open boat visitors: 3,120' Just underneath a smaller green label reads: 'Mobilising en route to the climate talks in Egypt'. At the point of the Rainbow Warrior label, a green squiggly line goes from the Indian Ocean, to Egypt, back out to the Indian Ocean a little and then up around the Middle East , through the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean, and around Italy, then France, Spain Portugal (following the blue line), then deviating to a spot in the Bay of Biscay before ending apparently underneath the UK. There are green dots all along the route.

Voyage map of Greenpeace ships in 2022

Funding our mission

While the cost of living crisis inevitably impacted our income, Greenpeace supporters’ generosity remained a huge source of inspiration, says Interim Fundraising Director Deborah McLean.

2022 was a challenging year with the cost of living crisis and rising energy bills affecting us all. Our legacies income was lower than in previous years (mostly due to Covid-driven delays with estates and probate) which meant we raised less money than we hoped.

We saw a decrease in income from some of our supporters but we were fortunate to receive large donations from some of our most generous supporters which helped our income increase overall. We owe an enormous thank you to them, and everyone who was able to continue donating last year.

You’ll see our events income increased, and it was a pleasure to make a full return to festivals.

We also want to thank everyone who helped protect our planet in other ways – from signing petitions to sharing our online videos to using our teaching resources. This report shows that our campaigns were just as powerful and impactful as ever.

It was clear throughout the year that the environmental movement – and people’s determination to halt the climate emergency and protect biodiversity – is only continuing to grow. It was a truly challenging time, so however you supported Greenpeace in 2022, we really can’t thank you enough.

Where our money came from

GP Funding 2022
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What we spent it on

GP Spending 2022
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Protecting our planet together

Every year, we shine a spotlight on a generous supporter. The WFH Foundation is a supporter of our charitable arm, Greenpeace Environmental Trust. They have been investing in our Greenpeace Speakers programme since the end of 2021– a project that inspires and engages the next generation of environmental activists across the UK to speak out for our planet and its future.

“This funding has allowed us to educate and inspire tens of thousands of young people about how best they can protect the planet and take action in order to protect our natural world. In fact, after hearing a talk from a Greenpeace Speaker, 86% of recipients took action, from introducing meat free Mondays at their school canteen to lobbying their MP to support important environmental legislation in parliament””
Eleonore Michels, Outreach Campaigner, Greenpeace. Tweet this

Martin Blain, a trustee of the WFH Foundation is a headteacher and environmentalist who is championing the project. He also encouraged his school to participate in The Big Plastic Count and took a group of young people from his school to visit the Greenpeace Science Labs in Exeter, to develop their knowledge of the important research our scientists undertake in support of tackling environmental problems across the Greenpeace movement.

We’d like to thank the WFH Foundation for their transformational support and hope they are as proud as we are of all the work delivered to empower young people across the UK to demand a better future for our planet.

A special thank you

We can’t thank you enough for your support. As the pressures on our planet keep on growing, your support makes all of the progress in this report possible. We would like to acknowledge the following individuals and organisations for their generous contributions in 2022:

  • Adam and Jessica Sweidan
  • Alex Dale
  • Becht Foundation
  • Birthday House Trust
  • Brian Gaze and Family
  • Brian Mercer Trust
  • Britta and Jeremy Lloyd and family
  • Carl Freedman
  • Clare Milne
  • Dave Roberts
  • Dr Jack Barker
  • Emily Feldberg and Elizabeth Atkinson
  • Energy Transition Fund
  • European Climate Foundation Foundation VRM
  • Gideon Israel
  • Graeme Brooks
  • Greg and Sam Nasmyth
  • Henocq Law Trust
  • James Arnell
  • James Gibson Charitable Trust
  • James McGrane
  • Jamma International
  • John Peck and Bindy Saywood
  • Jonathan Mitchell
  • Jones Family Charitable Trust
  • Jorge and Lindsey Villon – Grace Fund
  • Joseph O’Brien
  • Julia Davies – We Have The POWER
  • Keith Clarke CBE
  • König Family
  • Levine Family Foundation
  • Lister Charitable Trust
  • Mairi Mickel
  • Martin and Åsa Hintze
  • Matthew and Audrey Lawfield
  • Michael and Emily Eavis
  • Mick Braddick
  • Miel de Botton
  • Nick Flugge Marsh
  • Paul Goodenough
  • People’s Postcode Lottery Peter and Valerie King
  • Peter Rigg
  • Philip Breeze Will Trust
  • Richard Coates
  • Ridgeback Trust
  • Robert Diament
  • Rod and Diane Wood
  • Roger de Freitas
  • Roger Ross and all at Lots Road
  • Sir Quentin Blake
  • Sophie Conran
  • Stephen Brenninkmeijer
  • Susan Cooper
  • Susie Hewson
  • Tahir Sharif
  • The Adlard Family Charitable Trust
  • The Dashlight Foundation
  • The Esmee Fairbairn Foundation
  • The Frederick Mulder Foundation
  • The John Ellerman Foundation
  • The Laura Kinsella Foundation
  • The Moondance Foundation
  • The Peter Smith Charitable Trust for Nature
  • The Roderick Cooke Trust
  • The Rowlands Scott Charitable Trust
  • The Sheepdrove Trust
  • The Sunrise Project
  • The Underwood Trust
  • The Waterloo Foundation
  • Tim Yetman and Catherine Bryan
  • Tinsley Charitable Trust
  • Tristan Ramus
  • Val Carlill
  • WFH Foundation
  • William Chalmers

Gifts in Wills

Every year we are honoured to receive gifts from supporters who include Greenpeace in their Will. We would like to pay tribute to the compassion and generosity of the following people:

  • John Arthur Goodrum 
  • Brian Meredith
  • Lorna Eastwood
  • John William Browne 
  • Audrey Lee
  • Dora Mary Clayton
  • Christopher Charles Harrison
  • John Christian Gibson
  • David Frederick Poulsom
  • Melanie Fisher-Smith
  • Iris Wright
  • Edward Wyndham Gwynne
  • Elizabeth Shirley Moore
  • Sylvia Maud Aish
  • David Paul Pinnington
  • Dorothy Mary Davies
  • Lukie Hewat
  • Gillian Sincock
  • Jonathan Walker
  • Audrey Annie Williams
  • Justin Denis Patrick 
  • Christopher Ryan
  • Keith John Rennolds 
  • Frank Dixon Cox
  • Neil Frederick Berwick 
  • Jill Hood
  • Alan Johnson
  • Alison M Mann
  • Raymond Leslie Bispham
  • Richard Irving
  • Brenda Lawfer
  • Angus Cuthbert Fleetwood 
  • Benjamin Findon 
  • Margaret Jane Rashleigh Berwick
  • Rev Kenneth Gordon Thornton
  • Gerald Lyons
  • Dr Pat Beresford West
  • Susan Elizabeth
  • Russell Marshall
  • Moira Hunter-Watts
  • Jennifer Joyce Smith
  • Dreena Margaret Chamberlain
  • Joyce Valerie Taylor
  • Steven Archibald 
  • Naysmith Allan
  • Jane Ann Robinson
  • Barbara Bolton
  • Janice Mary Boughton
  • Nancie Maureen Crowther 
  • Brenda Pauline Grogan
  • John Edward Hancock
  • Stella Jessie Jarvis
  • Brunhilde Maria Luise Poyner 
  • Isabella Mary Strachan
  • Daphne Ann Thomas
  • Valerie Elizabeth Weston 
  • Tegwyn Williams
  • Anthony Murray Crowe
  • Michael George Bradley
  • Jean Ralphs
  • Helen Gail Vickers
  • Janetta Grace Lambert
  • Jean Mortimer
  • Jonathan Martin 
  • Cameron Choat
  • Plus 107 others

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