In 2023, Greenpeace confronted polluters, protested deep sea mining, and worked to rid our food systems of deforestation.
The pictures featured here represent just a fraction of our activities and noteworthy moments. They fill us with hope for a more green and peaceful future.
And they remind us that only our committed supporters, courageous volunteers, and dedicated activists make any of this possible.
Peaceful protest against fossil fuels at sea
Early this year, activists from the places worst affected by climate change took the fight to major polluter, Shell. Their aim was to highlight Shell’s irresponsible intentions to expand oil and gas drilling.
The activists boarded the White Marlin, transporting equipment for Shell’s oil and gas production in the North Sea. It was the longest ever occupation of a moving oil platform.
As Shell announced record annual profits of £32bn, activists demanded that they pay for the loss and damage they’ve caused.
Fossil fuels cause climate change – meaning destruction and displacement around the world. The people and countries least to blame for the climate crisis feel these impacts the most.
We demand an end to fossil fuels. And we need a just transition towards cheap, clean, renewable energy in a way that benefits communities, workers and the climate.
In July, the Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior arrived in Funafuti, Tuvalu. Tuvalu is one of the most climate-vulnerable nations in the world. Much of the country sits at less than three metres above sea level.
Sea level rise and storm surges leading to tidal flooding, food insecurity and cultural loss. Climate change is an immediate and serious threat to Tuvalu’s future as a nation.
During the visit, Greenpeace campaigners met with community and government leaders. They listened to and engaged in ‘talanoa’ or discussion, to learn how best to support Pacific climate demands.
Documenting climate change
Greenpeace documented the impacts of climate change worldwide. Scorching wildfires hit South Sumatra; destructive fires ravaged Hawaii. There was drought in the Amazon Rainforest, and flooding in Norway.
Climate change is also having a major impact on marine and coastal life in the Pacific. Here a local man observes coastal erosion on Kakula Island, north of Efate Island, Vanuatu.
Holding polluters accountable
In Kenya, climate activists took to the streets during the Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi.
They urged the African Union to lead by example and protect African biodiversity, end fossil fuels driving catastrophic climate change and invest in real solutions by shifting to solar and wind energy.
And in the Middle East and North Africa, youth organisers and mobilisers from almost 100 countries attended the week-long Climate Justice Camp in Lebanon.
In October, hundreds of demonstrators gathered in front a Mayfair hotel to protest against the influence of the fossil fuel industry on UK and global climate politics. They included Swedish environmentalist Greta Thunberg.
In November, Filipino climate activists on kayaks and the Greenpeace Rainbow Warrior ship blocked access to a Shell terminal.
They called on President Marcos Jr. of the Philippines and world governments to make Shell and other fossil fuel companies pay for the damage they cause.
During a rainy weekend in mid-April, Greenpeace joined forces with Extinction Rebellion and over 200 other organisations in London for The Big One.
The Big One brought together the entire climate movement and beyond. Over 60,000 people collectively pressured the government for more effective action.
In August, four Greenpeace climbers draped Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s mansion with oil-black fabric. They were protesting new North Sea oil and gas licenses.
It wasn’t the first time campaigners visited Sunak’s mansion this year. In April, they hosted a pool party to highlight Sunak’s hypocrisy. The prime minister privately upgraded the local grid for his £400,000 heated pool. The National Grid remains neglected, with impacts on UK energy supply.
The protest worked to spark changes in law promising upgrades to the grid for more renewable energy.
A treaty to protect the oceans – but a new threat of deep sea mining
It was good news for the oceans this year. In June 2023, governments met at the United Nations to officially adopt the Global Ocean Treaty. This Treaty is the legal tool that will help governments create vast protected areas covering at least 30% of the oceans by 2030.
But despite the successful signing of the Global Ocean Treaty, a new threat to our oceans remains. Deep sea mining threatens to destroy huge parts of the ocean floor. This would wipe out fragile habitats and species, many of which haven’t even been discovered yet.
Less than two weeks after the agreement of the Global Ocean Treaty, delegates gathered in Kingston, Jamaica, for a meeting of the International Seabed Authority. Greenpeace was there with one clear message: Stop Deep Sea Mining.
In November, activists from around the world paddled around MV COCO, a specialised offshore drilling ship. It’s collecting data for deep sea mining frontrunner, The Metals Company. The ship was on its last expedition before it files the world’s first application to mine the seabed in the Pacific Ocean.
The Metals Company tried to stop the kayak based protest. But the judge ruled that “Greenpeace’s protest is directed against an issue of great social importance”. The judge also acknowledged that “manganese nodule mining is highly controversial”.
In the UK, Greenpeace activists reminded the government that its leadership on ocean protection is in jeopardy. This is because of the continued frenzy to drill for new oil and gas in the North Sea.
Expanding oil drilling poses serious threats to marine life as well as the climate. So ahead of the King’s Speech, activists placed a 7m x 20m octopus on the riverbank of the Thames at the foot of Big Ben.
Addressing the broken food system
In October, Greenpeace worked with artists JC Niala in collaboration with Julia Utreras and Sam Skinner with fig.studio.
They produced an allotment waiting list made from seed paper embedded with Amazon ash. The artwork was 30 metres long.
The artists and volunteers carried seed paper artwork to the Department of Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
The piece showed how allotments can help solve to food insecurity, the cost of living crisis and the climate emergency.
A day later they guerilla-planted it at a disused Tesco-owned site in Litherland, just north of Liverpool. Planting it here was an act of defiance against the industrial food industry.
Investigating plastic waste
Greenpeace campaigners discovered plastic waste from UK brand Dove at Freedom Island at in the Philippines. The waste was found at Las Piñas – Parañaque Critical Habitat and Ecotourism Area. This is a supposedly protected area near Manila.
Dove and its parent company Unilever is one of the world’s top 5 plastic polluters.
Dove is pumping huge volumes of harmful single-use plastic out into the world, fuelling a human and environmental crisis. That includes millions of impossible-to-recycle sachets which are severely polluting countries in the Global South.
These images show evidence of the Unilever signature brand’s highly-polluting plastic sachets. Activists brought them to Unilever HQ together with a 10ft Dove pump bottle. The protesters urged the company to phase-out single-use plastic and switch to reusable packaging in the next 10 years.
THANK YOU
As the year comes to an end, we want to thank you for all that you have made possible. Your support empowers us to investigate, document, lobby, take peaceful action and advocate for transformative change.
A massive thank you from all of us at Greenpeace!
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