In 2024, our movement continued the fight to protect the oceans, combat climate change, stand up to polluters and tackle deforestation.
These highlights reflect shared hope for a greener, more peaceful future.
And it’s the courage and commitment of volunteers, activists and supporters like you that makes it all possible.
Exploring a golden floating rainforest in the Sargasso Sea
In May, we explored the Sargasso Sea in the North Atlantic and carried out vital research. This included e-DNA sampling e-DNA sampling lets scientists see which creatures have swum through a patch of ocean. It works by examining the tiny traces left behind by creatures as they move through the water, helping us to understand the variety of life in that part of the ocean. and surveys of seabirds, whales, dolphins, and porpoises.
These studies provide vital evidence supporting our call to make the Sargasso one of the world’s first ocean sanctuaries on the high seas.
Bastille frontman Dan Smith joined us in the Sargasso, and performed his then-unreleased song, Blue Sky & the Painter.
Floating artists and a giant pink octopus unite against deep sea mining
From the Pacific to the Arctic, Greenpeace’s campaign against deep sea mining stepped up in 2024. This dangerous industry threatens people and wildlife, and could make our oceans less able to shield us from climate change.
In September, Greenpeace activists held the first Arctic anti-deep sea mining protest. They stood up against Norway’s plans to mine in this precious habitat.
They joined forces with musicians Jacob Collier and Aurora to highlight the urgent need to protect the oceans and stop deep sea mining. The stars appeared together on a platform floating among the icebergs in front of the imposing Sveabreen glacier in Svalbard. They performed a haunting duet of their two songs, A Rock Somewhere and The Seed, in a rallying cry for ocean and climate protection.
For months, activists, scientists and the international community piled on the pressure. And in December it finally paid off. The Norwegian government agreed to stop the first licensing round for deep sea mining in Arctic waters. This will keep monster mining machines out of the Arctic until at least the end of 2025. In the meantime, we’ll keep up the pressure to stop deep sea mining for good.
Climate disasters documented; culprits confronted
As the world kept heating up, Greenpeace was there to document the impacts and share these vital stories with the world.
Our photographers captured the floods after Typhoon Gaemi. They documented the Southwest Monsoon in the Philippines. And they showed the threat of climate change to glaciers like Bråsvellbreen in Svalbard, Norway.
In the UK: uniting voters, standing with workers, and facing up to Shell
As the UK’s general election approached, over 200,000 Climate Voters worked together to push climate and nature up the agenda.
From the streets to social media, over phone or on the doorstep, Greenpeace volunteers went out canvassing for the climate. We recruited nearly a quarter of a million people who pledged to vote with climate and nature in mind.
As well as campaigning for the climate vote in the general election, we also exposed Shell’s obscene profits.
Keeping up the pressure on Shell led to the company backing down in its lawsuit against Greenpeace for our peaceful protest in 2023.
Greenpeace UK also collaborated with trade unions and politicians to demand a fair transition to clean energy that benefits the UK’s communities, workers, and the environment.
Plastics: from protests to progress
In Indonesia, Greenpeace campaigners documented plastic waste from the UK brand Dove polluting the country’s beautiful beaches.
Dove and its parent company, Unilever, rank among the world’s top five plastic polluters. Here in the UK, activists shut down the headquarters of Dove’s parent company Unilever in September.
The protest followed the firm’s failure to tackle their overwhelming plastic pollution, and their decision to cut back their sustainability goals.
In October, we saw a real sign of progress. Unilever and the Business Coalition for a Global Plastics Treaty signed a statement calling for plastic production limits to be part of the final global plastics treaty.
Then just before the next round of treaty negotiations, 10 primary school pupils joined Greenpeace to hand in our half-a-million-strong petition for stronger action on plastic pollution. The Environment Minister Emma Hardy described the pupils’ lobbying as the ‘most effective’ she’d ever experienced!
Indigenous land rights recognised, as fires continue to burn
In July this year, Greenpeace Brazil surveyed a large region of the Amazon to monitor deforestation and fires. The survey found the highest level of fire activity in nearly two decades.
But there is hope. The Munduruku Indigenous People have been fighting for the rights to their traditional territory in the Amazon, which is threatened by mining, illegal logging, and infrastructure projects.
Greenpeace has supported the Munduruku in their long fight for justice, including with a global campaign against the now-cancelled Tapajós dam project.
In September, their land claim was officially recognised, guaranteeing their legal right to live on the land, and protect it from exploitation. This is a historic victory not only for the Munduruku, but for all Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon and Brazil.
As the year draws to a close, we want to share our heartfelt thanks for everything you’ve made possible. Your support enables us to investigate, document, lobby, take peaceful action, and advocate for transformative change.
