Don’t get us wrong. We know – just like you do – that governments and companies need to radically up their game. We know big change is needed fast to keep global temperature rises below 1.5C.
But we also know that more and more people – just like you – are taking action to protect our climate.
It’s happening around the world, in schools, in communities, in boardrooms, in parliaments. And it’s happening thanks to Greenpeace supporters like you and players of People’s Postcode Lottery, too.
Funds raised by players of People’s Postcode Lottery have been supporting our climate work in recent years, meaning its players are always right alongside us. Every small step forward we take together – like these five recent wins – gets us closer to a more green and peaceful future:
1. Fossil fuels were finally mentioned at the UN’s Climate Summit
The first agreement published at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow in 2021 didn’t even mention fossil fuels – just like every agreement at every previous COP. So you stepped up.
Greenpeace supporters sent 24,000 emails direct to COP President Alok Sharma in just 24 hours. The result? Fossil fuels were finally included in a COP agreement for the first time. That matters, because it means the world’s governments are now committed to reducing our dependence on oil and gas. Perfect? No. A step forward? Absolutely.
And that’s not all. With your support,young climate activists from the countries most affected by climate change shared their truth with the world’s media. And the 23 short films we made during COP were watched 5.6 million times. That means millions more people now know the reality of the climate crisis.
2. We showed the truth about a hidden underwater world
The Saya de Malha Bank is a giant seagrass meadow, covering 40,000km2 in the depths of the Indian Ocean. It’s a vital carbon sink – keeping CO2 safely locked in the seabed.
Little is known about this underwater wonder because it’s so remote. In 2021, you helped to change that.
Thanks to Greenpeace supporters, scientists on board our ship Arctic Sunrise used cutting edge eDNA sampling and remotely operated vehicles to gather new evidence showing why we have to protect this area.
And, on the same journey, Mauritian scientist Shaama Sandooyea created more pressure for action by staging the world’s first underwater climate strike. That meant more headlines across the globe, and more focus on the climate crisis.
3. We joined with fishing communities to protect UK waters
Destructive industrial fishing is devastating our oceans, our climate and the livelihoods of UK fishers. Using techniques like bottom trawling, industrial boats don’t only indiscriminately scoop up all marine life – they disturb carbon stored safely in the seabed and deplete fish stocks that local boats rely on.
So in 2021 we joined with fishing communities to declare a state of emergency in the English Channel and Southern North Sea. It’s a statement of solidarity and another way of getting people’s attention – and it worked.
Just months later, the UK government announced it would ban bottom trawling in four Marine Protected Areas. Another reason for hope as momentum keeps building.
4. Indigenous voices grew louder and louder
We’re determined to share our platform so the people at the heart of the climate crisis are heard. At the COP26 summit, Amazon Indigenous leader Sônja Guajajara joined us to speak unforgettably about the threats to Indigenous lands.
In our Making Mincemeat of the Pantanal research report, we also showed how ranchers are ransacking Brazilian wetlands to supply meat processors linked to UK companies.
And our Unearthed journalists revealed howmeat-producing countries were lobbying to remove findings about the benefits of plant-based diets from the latest UN climate report. That exposé alone generated over 2,000 media articles worldwide.
5. Mindsets are changing fast
With every story like the ones here, more people take notice of the climate crisis – as the results of the 2021 Charity Awareness Monitor show.
Researchers found 4% more people now agree that renewable energy and electric cars could make oil unnecessary in the near future. And 7% more people now agree we should eat less meat. That’s big news because less industrial meat equals less deforestation.
For all of this progress and more, we’d like to thank every Greenpeace supporter and players of People’s Postcode Lottery. This is the incredible impact we really can have when we take action for our planet together.
Change the world with us
Together we can take on the world's worst polluters and solve its biggest problems. See how you can get involved.