This month, we are excited to welcome back the Rainbow Warrior to Aussie shores, as it embarks on a journey up the West Australian coastline to join with local communities and protect our oceans and climate from fossil fuel company Woodside – and its monstrous Burrup Hub gas project. 

Greenpeace has deep connections to Western Australia and its oceans. 

In fact, this journey marks 45 years since Greenpeace Australia Pacific first began back in the 1970s. A time when whaling was the greatest threat to whales and activists put their bodies between the whales and whalers – helping to put an end to commercial whaling in this country.

And now in 2023, as the greatest threat to whales comes from fossil fuel companies driving dangerous climate change, our crew will be sailing the length of WA with a simple message: choose whales not Woodside. 

Excited to dive into more history about the Rainbow Warrior? Of course you are.

Here’s a look back at some of the other times that Greenpeace’s flagship vessel has campaigned in Australian waters:

January 1990

March 1991

The following year, in 1991, Greenpeace’s Rainbow Warrior returned to Australia to take a stand against fossil fuel giant BHP, who was conducting seismic testing in search of offshore oil at the time.

The ship carried a banner “Whales and Oil don’t mix”.

On this particular occasion, BHP’s ship, the Western Odyssey, was successfully prevented from continuing with its dangerous seismic testing activities thanks to the efforts of the crew.

March 1993

By 1993, Greenpeace’s famous rainbow ship returned once again for a four-month tour around the south and east coasts of Australia.

The tour saw several ports of call along the way, including blockading the entrance of a cargo ship, the Eastern Ruby, into Sydney Harbour which was carrying tropical timber from Malaysia.

Plus a stop into Hobart, where scientists onboard took oil samples and activists occupied a jarosite dumping ship for almost twelve hours.

The trip even saw some special guest appearances onboard – including Paul and Linda McCartney.

September 2000

In 2000, the Rainbow Warrior returned to Sydney Harbour to help commemorate the Green Olympics, an idea inspired by Greenpeace to ensure commitments to green deeds during the Games – including energy and water conservation, and protection of the natural environment through initiatives including a solar-powered community for athletes to sleep and eat.

July 2000

Australia welcomed the Rainbow Warrior back to Sydney Harbour in 2005, during its climate tour against coal, where the crew onboard peacefully disrupted the loading of coal in the world’s largest coal port and demanded a switch to renewable energy.

July 2015

Ten years later, the Rainbow Warrior set sail towards one of the seventh wonders of the natural world during its six-week Save the Reef campaign.

The ship traveled up the east coast to raise awareness for the protection of the Great Barrier Reef, and was involved in several peaceful actions to protest against the transportation and usage of dirty fossil fuel, coal.

The tour also coincided with the 30th anniversary of the bombing of the Rainbow Warrior by the French government on the 10th of July 1985.

November 2018

The last time the Rainbow Warrior visited Australian waters was back in 2018, during its Making Oil History tour, to draw attention to the threats posed by dangerous oil drilling in the Great Australian Bight.

The Warrior was stationed in Sydney for a day to meet with supporters, before departing on a voyage along the East Coast to Melbourne, South Australia, and Western Australia, where it helped launch a number of reports and conducted important scientific research to document the unsung beauty of the Bight.

By 2021, fossil fuel giants BP, Chevron, and Equinor, had all announced they will be abandoning their plans for offshore drilling in the Bight – a historic win for people and the planet. 

The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (aka the IPCC) published its first report back in 1990. Now, currently in its Sixth Assessment cycle, the IPCC is due to release its latest climate report, known as the AR6 Synthesis Report, early this week.

But at this point, you might be wondering, what even is the IPCC? Why are their climate reports so important? And for that matter, what have I missed about 1.5°C? Don’t worry. We got you.

What is the IPCC?

Let’s start from the top. The IPCC is the leading international body for the scientific assessment of climate change. It’s a bit of a mouthful we know. Basically, the IPCC brings together the top climate scientists from around the world, to colate and assess all of the latest science related to climate change.

Operating under the United Nations, with 195 governments as its members, these assessment reports become much-needed textbooks for world leaders, and fundamental policy documents to help inform governments on decision-making relating to global climate action during this pivotal decade. No pressure!

How often does the IPCC release a climate report?
This is where is gets a little confusing – so stick with us! We mentioned earlier that the IPCC published its first report back in 1990. Fastforward to 2023, and 47 climate reports later, the IPCC is now finalising what it calls its Sixth Assessment cycle (hence the name AR6).

So the AR6 Synthesis Report is based on the content of the Sixth cycle, summarising findings of the last 6 reports released by the IPCC since 2015, including:

Three main reports from what’s known as Working Groups (The Physical Science Basis, Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability, and Mitigation of Climate Change), plus three other Special ‘Bonus’ Reports (Global Warming of 1.5°C, Climate Change and Land, The Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate).

What is expected to come from the latest IPCC report?
The upcoming synthesis report is just that – a synthesis. It covers and synthesises the science in the previous 6 reports of this cycle that began with the Special Report into 1.5°C.

That means that no new information or science will be added.

Okay, but what does the 1.5°C target mean?
Remember back in 2015, when world leaders adopted the legally binding Paris Agreement?

Well, that now-infamous pinky promise by governments was done to tackle climate change, with the overarching goal to hold global average temperatures to “well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels”, as well as to “pursue efforts” to keep dangerous global warming temperatures limited to 1.5°C.

Why is 1.5°C such a big deal?

It’s the golden science-backed-number of maximum global temperature increase in order to sustain all current levels of life and biodiversity on planet Earth. No biggie.

The target is set against a benchmark pre-industrial times, dating back to 1850, to compare the rise in global temperatures.

How close are we to 1.5°C of warming?
The bad news is, that science tells us that average global temperatures caused by emissions of greenhouse gases from human activities are already responsible for approximately 1.1°C of warming since the 1850s.

…And averaged over the next 20 years, should temperatures continue to increase at the current rate, global temperatures are expected to temporarily “overshoot” or exceed 1.5°C of warming. 

BUT! The good news is, and despite what some media outlets may report, pathways to achieve the Paris Agreement goal of limiting 1.5°C of warming by 2100 are absolutely still achievable.

What matters now is to lower emissions as quickly as possible, through immediate emission reductions (aka no more investment in any new dirty fossil fuel projects), nature restoration, and carbon removal. 

In the wise words of Sir David Attenborough, “If working apart we are forces powerful enough to destabilise our planet, surely working together we are powerful enough to save it. Perhaps the fact that the people most affected by climate change are no longer some imagined future generation but young people alive today, perhaps that will give us the impetus we need to rewrite our history.”

Greenpeace is no stranger to rainbows. Synonymous with breaking boundaries and fearless campaigning, they’ve been our emblem of hope and diversity on all of our ships since we began back in 1971. We even named our flagship the Rainbow Warrior.

So as we continue to party our way through WorldPride, and wave our rainbow flags to celebrate our LGBTQIA+ crew and supporters from across the world, we thought, why should our wildlife miss out on all the fun?!

Here are just a few of our favourite queer creatures:

Penguins 

Monogamous romance is alive and well within penguin colonies, and many penguin species (including Adelie, King, and African penguins) have been observed by scientists over decades spreading same-sex love and courtship.

Elephants

Both African and Asian elephants have been found to cultivate loving same-sex partnerships with one another, in and outside the bedroom.

Elephants will affectionately interact with their partners by touching mouths (aka kissing),  intertwining trunks, and grooming each other.

We’re not crying, you’re crying! 

Dolphins

As fabulous as they are flamboyant, bisexuality is commonly observed amongst both male and female bottlenose dolphins.

In fact, it’s thought that all male bottlenose dolphins are bisexual!

Albatross 

Much like penguins, albatross are largely monogamous and are even well-known to loudly celebrate when reuniting with their life partner following a long absence. Stop it!

And much else like penguins, same-sex female partnerships are a common occurrence. In fact, one study of Laysan albatross in Oahu, Hawaii, showed that one-third of lifelong pairs were female same-sex couples.

Gorillas

Some of our closest living relatives, human beings share 98% of our DNA with gorillas. So it should be a surprise to exactly no one that homosexuality has been observed amongst all three gorilla subspecies; the western lowland gorilla, the eastern lowland gorilla, and the mountain gorilla. Love is love!

Seahorses 

Not only have seahorses been defying gender roles through male pregnancies and embryo incubation in a pouch located on their tail, but they are also not as monogamous (or straight!) as once thought either.

Recent studies have indicated that seahorses will engage in same-sex courtships, and spend the rest of their day flirting with many other potential partners.

The biggest flirt was the Australian seahorse – in case you were wondering.

Clownfish

Did you know all clownfish are actually born male? And in a school (one male, one female and juvenile males) when the dominant female dies, the dominant male will take its place and become female, and a juvenile male will move up the ranks to become the dominant male.

Finding Nemo 3, anyone?

Nudibranch

Last, but certainly not least, is the nudibranch, a tiny marine mollusc found in tropical waters like the Great Barrier Reef.

Fondly known as the ‘butterflies of the sea’, if their bright colours weren’t #worldpride enough for you, what if we told you they simply defy constraints of gender altogether?

Yup! Nudibranchs are hermaphrodites, meaning each is both male and female at the same time. During mating, they will simultaneously adopt ‘male roles’ as sperm donors, and ‘female roles’ as sperm recipients.

From toothed whales such as orcas to the largest living animal on our planet, the blue whale. It’s no secret that we just really love whales.

To help celebrate World Whale Day, here are just some moments over the past 50 years of Greenpeace fighting to protect the gentle giants of the sea.

1. Greenpeace’s first anti-whaling campaign

Rex Weyler (standing) with Bob Hunter on the right, as the Phyllis Cormack and crew return to Vancouver from the 1975 whale campaign. The Vega drifts in distance, to the left.

In the summer of 1975, Greenpeace set sail on its first anti-whaling campaign in the North Pacific Ocean.

Here the brave crew confronted the activities of the Soviet whaling fleet onboard Grenepeace’s first vessel, the Phyllis Cormack. 

2. Helping to establish a moratorium on commercial whaling

Four Greenpeace climbers abseil down the front of the Auckland Sheraton hotel where an IWC meeting was taking place.

Throughout the 1970’s, Greenpeace continued to shine a spotlight on the whaling industry in a way that the world had never seen before.

And after a decade of committed campaigning to ‘Save the Whales’, the International Whaling Commission (IWC) voted on a moratorium on commercial whaling in 1982 – marking the virtual end of large-scale whaling around the world.

3. Taking action against seismic testing

Greenpeace action in Australia against oil giant BHP’s seismic testing in 1991. Thanks to the effort of the crew, seismic testing was prevented from continuing on this occasion.

Unfortunately, Woodside Energy’s current deep-sea gas proposal on the Burrup Hub is not the first time Greenpeace has helped fight off seismic testing in Australian waters.

In 1991, the Rainbow Warrior confronted fossil fuel giant BHP Biliton’s ship, WESTERN ODYSSEY, which was seismic testing for offshore oil at the time.

4. And against destructive fishing methods

Greenpeace activists hang a 30 meter long drift net on the side of a school ship in 1998

In 1998, Greenpeace activists joined 35 Greenteam children onboard their school ship on the River Danube, Vienna, to protest against harmful drift nets.

The Greenteam joined activists in tying paper models of different kinds of bycatch, including dolphins, whales and turtles.

5. Defending the Southern Ocean’s whale sanctuary

Inflatables from the Greenpeace ship MY Esperanza hold banners and utilise all measures available during the 2005 Southern Ocean Tour in an attempt to bring the whaling hunt to an early end, and make it the last time the Sanctuary is breached by whalers.

By 2005, Greenpeace continued to document the undermining of the moratorium on commercial whaling, and the Southern Ocean’s whale sanctuary which was established in 1994.

During the Southern Ocean Tour, Greenpeace ship MY Esperanza fought to expose the continued involvement of companies in the whaling industry.

6. People vs. Oil in the Great Australian Bight

South Australian community representatives and activists tell Norwegian oil major Statoil their oil rigs are not welcome in the Great Australian Bight in 2018

In 2020, Norwegian oil giant Statoil-Equinor pulled the plug on its plans to drill for oil in the fragile Great Australian Bight, one of the most important whale sanctuaries on Earth.

This historic win was thanks to relentless campaigning by coastal communities, Indigenous traditional owners, NGOs, surfers, the seafood industry, tourism operators, and other local businesses.

…Hooray for people power!

7. Fighting for a Global Plastics Treaty

Greenpeace activists present a six-meter tall plastic sculpture of whales in Zagreb in 2018

We know that plastic is wreaking havoc in our oceans – and unfortunately that means for whales too.

That’s why Greenpeace has been actively involved in making sure our precious marine life has a voice when it comes to plastic waste.

Greenpeace is currently campaigning for a legally-binding Global Plastics Treaty, which would limit plastic production and use for our human rights, our biodiversity, and our climate.

8. AND a Global Oceans Treaty!

Greenpeace volunteers hold up large paper panels saying “Stop illegal Fishing! Protect the Oceans” in South Korea in 2019

Protecting whales and our oceans go hand-in-hand, that’s why Greenpeace is campaigning for a strong Global Oceans Treaty that would see one-third of the world’s oceans protected from industrial activity by 2030.

This will build resilience against a changing climate, and ensure species (including whales) rebound and flourish into the future.

9. Protect the Oceans Research Expedition

Scientist, Dr Kirsten Thompson, lead scientist on the Arctic Sunrise uses a hydrophone to listen for whales in 2020 in Antarctica

Back in 2020, Greenpeace returned to the Antarctic during the last stage of the polar-to-polar Protect The Oceans Expedition.

Teaming up with a group of scientists, Greenpeace helped investigate and document the impacts the climate crisis is already having in this area.

10. Whales not Woodside

Greenpeace volunteer holds a banner in 1000m deep water in Gascoyne Marine Park, Western Australia in 2022

Right now, Greenpeace is embarking on its next fight to protect whales in Western Australia, where fossil fuel giant Woodside Energy wants to commence seismic blasting as part of its proposed deep-sea gas project in the Burrup Hub.

It’s the most polluting fossil fuel proposal in Australia today. And if completed, Woodside would produce gas until 2070.

Get involved in the fight for #WhalesNotWoodside today.

Planet Earth. The fifth-largest planet in our solar system and the only known place in the universe to support life as we all know it. The water we drink! The air we breathe! Dolphins!!

What could be lovelier than celebrating our little home sweet home this Valentine’s Day? So here are five ideas (and five love languages) to do it:

Words of affirmation

If your love language is words of affirmation, you know better than anyone that words are powerful – and our planet now more than ever needs you to speak up.

Whether it’s signing a petition (may we suggest stopping Woodside’s dirty deep-sea gas drilling project in Western Australia), RSVP’ing to attend your next local climate rally, or using the time between dinner and dessert tonight to talk (respectfully) hot and (briefly) heavy about the climate crisis with your date. Your voice matters. 

In the wise words of Margaret Mead, “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed, citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

Global Climate Strike in Sydney in 2019

Acts of service

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: there is no planet B. And for over 50 years now, Greenpeace has been using peaceful protest and creative confrontation to expose environmental crime and hold dirty corporations and big polluters accountable for the impacts that they have on our climate.

But that’s not to say that we as individuals can’t play our part (where we can) to show our planet “no, I love YOU more!”.  

We can #take3 when we spend our summers at the beach, and winters camping in the mountains. We can reduce, reuse, and recycle when we are at home.

We can opt for sustainable options when it comes to purchasing goods, and keep the planet at the forefront of our minds when shopping for services (Hint: Here’s our Green Electricity Guide to get you started!).

Quality time

There’s a reason why we’ve been using non-violent, creative action for over 50 years now – it works!

So if your love language is a little less blah blah blah, why not join our active volunteer network?

Our work depends on it. And it’s a whole lotta fun too (if we do say so ourselves).

Whether that’s lending your skills in technology, creativity, research, or joining our Climbing or Boat Team, there are plenty of ways to get your hands dirty and give our planet the TLC it deserves.

Greenpeace activists in 1997 hold a banner reading “Stop Oil, Go Solar, Save the Climate” in front of an ARCO oil platform in the Bering Sea.

Gifts

Personally, we think every love language is a gift. But if today has got you feeling a little more romantic, or you’re just looking to spice things up, may we suggest a generous donation to Greenpeace?

Whether it’s a one-off donation, a monthly contribution, or even a gift in will, your gift to Greenpeace makes sure we stay independent and continue to keep up the work that we do for our planet.

ICYMI, we don’t accept any funding from governments or corporations – which means we really do rely on the amazing support from people like you.

Physical touch

Lastly, don’t forget about the simple pleasures in life by just spending some quality time in the great outdoors.

A long romantic walk on the beach or sunset dip in the ocean is a great way to show your appreciation for our beautiful planet.

…It also serves as a precious reminder of everything around us worth fighting for (Hint: it’s a lot!).