Australia is a global winner loser

A hidden deforestation crisis is underway in Australia and our iconic wildlife is under threat. Australia is number one in the world for mammal extinction and number two in the world for biodiversity loss.

Queensland takes the trophy for the state with the highest rates of deforestation – bulldozing more than all the other states and territories combined¹. But how did it get so bad?

A bulldozer brutally rips down trees in an Australian forest.

Joh Bjelke-Petersen, Queensland’s longest serving Premier, famously developed a technique for bulldozing massive areas of forest and bushland, using a giant anchor chain connected between two dozers to rip the forest apart. Joh oversaw the destruction of millions of hectares of forest and woodland in the Brigalow Belt of Queensland, which is one of the country’s 15 national biodiversity hotspots².

Throughout the nineties, the Australian environment movement fought for stronger laws to end the destruction of forests and woodlands. Deforestation rates started to decline before state Governments were urged by industry to loosen laws, and once again rates of deforestation began to climb. 

Today, much of the environmental destruction is going on unchecked by government or environmental bodies, so the scale of the problem is hidden from view and only exposed by expert research and investigation.

Satellite images expose deforestation that is hidden from the public view.

What’s the beef with deforestation?

Over 73% of deforestation is for the primary purpose of beef production³. Trees are bulldozed and then piled up and burnt or left to rot, invasive grasses are planted and cattle are brought in.

It’s really no wonder considering Australia is the 4th largest exporter of beef in the world. The majority of beef (60-70%) produced in Australia is for export. The remainder, however, ends up in steaks on the shelves of supermarkets like Woolworths and Coles and patties for burgers sold at fast food restaurants like McDonalds and Hungry Jacks.

Most beef is produced in the state of Queensland, so let’s take a closer look at beef driven deforestation in that state. In the five years from 2016-2021, over 2.2 million hectares of forest and bushland was bulldozed in Queensland alone⁴. Over 90% of the destruction each year was listed as being for pasture conversion.

While the vast majority of deforestation is for beef pasture, there are many other drivers – logging, mining, urban development and more recently the production of renewable energy.

Australia’s forests and bushland have been chopped, logged, pushed and dozed at scale since colonisation – mainly to create pasture for cattle and livestock. Today, just 50% of Australia’s original forests and bushland remain intact.⁵

1 second = 1 dead animal

The destruction of forests and bushland is having a huge impact on native animals. Every second a native animal is killed as a result of deforestation⁶ – in Queensland and New South Wales alone. That is tens of millions of animals and birds killed every year.

Much of the forests being destroyed are home to threatened species. In the 5 years from 2016-2021, 90% of deforestation was in habitat where threatened species are likely to make their homes.

Koalas are now endangered in NSW and QLD due to deforestation

Threatened species like the koala, northern quoll, northern hairy-nosed wombat and many more. Animals are now listed as endangered because they have lost their homes and their lives in a brutal and often bloody way.

Trees are the lungs of the planet – they clean our air and store massive amounts of carbon. When they are bulldozed, that carbon is released. So deforestation not only harms native animals, but it drives the climate crisis as well. 

How to win the war on our forests

With all of these dire facts it might be hard to see the how we can save our vulnerable forests, birds and animals. But we have a plan to turn the destruction around – a two-pronged campaign strategy. 

Step 1 – Ensure our government makes strong laws

The first step in winning is to make the government step up and bring in strong nature protection laws that don’t let this destruction continue unchecked. This year the Australian government will face a huge test — a once-in-a-generation reform of our national nature laws.

Without strong laws that genuinely protect and restore nature, the destruction of wildlife and forests will continue and countless more native animals will face extinction.

You can send an email to your local MP right now, to tell them we need strong nature protection laws.

Step 2 – Hold our biggest beef buyers to account

Next we need to get big corporates to clean up their act and, because the leading cause of deforestation is beef production, get it out of their beef supply chains.

We will be exposing the problem and calling on the biggest buyers of Australian beef – supermarkets and fast food chains – to clean up the deforestation in their supply chains.

Sign the forests petition and we will keep you up to date on the campaign – and how you can fight for the future of our forests.

1. Ward, M. and Watson, J. 2023. Why Queensland is still ground zero for Australian deforestation. The Conversation. ︎
2. DES. 2018. A Biodiversity Planning Assessment for the Brigalow Belt Bioregion: Expert Panel. Version 2.1. Brisbane: Department of Environment and Science, Queensland Government. ︎
3. The Wilderness Society. 2019. Drivers of Deforestation and land clearing in Queensland. ︎
4. Greenpeace, 2024. New Greenpeace research reveals shocking scale of deforestation crisis in Australia. ︎
5. Corey J. A. Bradshaw, Little left to lose: deforestation and forest degradation in Australia since European colonization, Journal of Plant Ecology, Volume 5, Issue 1, March 2012, Pages 109–120, https://doi.org/10.1093/jpe/rtr038 ︎
6. Finn Hugh C., Stephens Nahiid S. (2017) The invisible harm: land clearing is an issue of animal welfare. Wildlife Research 44, 377-391. ︎

Last month, we announced Greenpeace Australia Pacific’s first ever campaigning vessel. This lightning-fast, 68ft new addition to the Greenpeace fleet will be used to fight for the protection of our precious oceans in our region.

From stopping Woodside’s disastrous offshore gas plans, fighting for a new Marine Protected Area for Lord Howe Rise, and keeping deep sea mining out of the waters of Australia and the Pacific forever, our new vessel is ready to make waves.

Before we start campaigning on the high seas, we needed a new name for our boat that perfectly embodies the reason we acquired a campaigning vessel in the first place: to safeguard our blue planet and defend our oceans.

What better place to start than to ask the community that keeps Greenpeace Australia Pacific alive – people just like you.

We consulted far and wide with Greenpeace Australia Pacific staff, our supporters across the nation, First Nations representatives and Pacific Elders.

And after hundreds of submissions, we are very excited to announce that our boat’s name is…

OCEANIA

Isn’t it perfect?

Oceania is the geographic region home to the diverse peoples and nations of the South Pacific and the continent of Australia – and will be the permanent home of our new campaigning vessel.

Our new boat will be used to take direct action, support front-line communities, bear witness to environmental destruction and undertake scientific research; primarily within the Australia and Pacific region.

We were looking for a meaningful name that captures the spirit of our mission and values of Greenpeace Australia Pacific.

As a local campaigning vessel in our global fleet, Oceania speaks to the urgent need for action in Australia and around the Pacific against threats brought on by the nature and climate crisis.

Together we can rise against big polluters and destructive industries who want to mine, pollute and unsustainably harvest our oceans. Together we can create protected ocean sanctuaries and amplify the voices of communities across Australia and the Pacific who depend on healthy oceans.

We are stronger together, and we are further strengthening our people-powered community with Oceania. Our vessel can bear witness, conduct research and connect us all deeper with our ocean home.

Oceania will be undergoing a refit very soon to ensure she is up to standard for campaigning on the high seas. Oceania was once a family cruising vessel, but it’s now a fierce campaigning vessel! This means we need to:

• Convert the large double beds to bunk beds so we can sleep more campaigners on board
• Reduce the number of bathrooms and convert one to a “wet room” – a space where campaigners can get dry and unpack their gear after taking action at sea
• Give the sails a well overdue replacement
• Expand the kitchen to be a fully functional galley large enough to feed a full crew
• Move the autopilot system outside and on deck where our captain will be steering the vessel

We need your help to make this transformation happen. Donate today to help get Oceania ready for campaigning.

Noqu Mata Vuvale. I don’t say this lightly. 

Noqu mata vuvale has a very special meaning in my Fijian language. It means you have opened the gates and entered our loving home and there is a reason why we have kept this special place for you. You are family.

As I sit down to write this reflective blog in the form of a personal letter, I have contemplated deeply on the remarkable journey we’ve embarked on. My heart swells with pride, love and gratitude for each and every one of you who has stood by our side in this fight for climate justice. Our journey to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has been one of resilience, determination, persistence and unwavering solidarity. And an incredible amount of hard work.

It needed a family, a global Vuvale.

How did it all start?

It all began with a small group of young law students in the Pacific now known as the Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change who were fueled by a deep sense of duty to our people and our planet. Together with the Vanuatu government and a handful of civil society organizations, including Greenpeace, we dared to dream of holding the world’s largest polluters accountable for the devastating impacts of climate change on our beloved Pacific Islands and all nations being in vulnerable situations because of the climate emergency across the world.

We knew that our voices alone would not be enough to bring about the change we so desperately needed. So, we mobilised. We mobilised our communities, our youth, our elders, and our allies across the globe. From the bustling streets of New York to the remote atolls of Tuvalu, from the mountains of Papua New Guinea to the chaotic UNFCCC conferences, we marched hand in hand – chanting, singing, negotiating, and shouting for climate action. 

We sailed our Vaka (voyaging vessel) and canoes, guided by the inspiring leadership of the young students, to the United Nations General Assembly, carrying with us the hopes and dreams of millions who could not be there in person but were with us in deep mana (spirit). 

Together, we turned our Pacific Vaka into a symbol of hope, unity, and resilience just like our ancestors did when they sailed across continents and the expansive Pacific Ocean to build a future for the generations that will carry their legacy. A future grounded in the principles of love for the Vanua (land)  and the deepest connection to the Moana (ocean). 

We showed the world that the fight against climate change knows no boundaries and that we are all in this together, sailing towards a shared future of sustainability and harmony with nature. What started as a campaign of the Pacific is now a truly global movement.

For us, this was not just about our Pacific Vuvale. 

It was about the youth who did not have the opportunity to connect to their ancestral land because the spiritual soil had eroded away. 

It was about the families who have to pick the remaining bones of their loved ones from the shore as rising seas have uprooted graves and wiped away their dignified resting place. 

It was about the pregnant woman who travelled over 10 km to fetch water for her family as her nearby water sources were polluted by extractive industries and in the process losing both her life and her child. 

It was about the inspiring senior women who have taken their government to the European Court of Human Rights as heat waves have threatened their right to life.

This fight was for all of us.

Unveiling the Power of Evidence to Achieve Climate Justice

But our journey did not end there. We knew that to truly make a difference, we needed more than just marches and speeches. We needed evidence. Evidence that would speak louder than words and compel even the most powerful among us to listen.

So, we embarked on a mission to collect evidence from the most remote corners of our planet. Evidence that would move you to tears, to anger, to admiration, to love. All types of emotions are experienced through the most resilient human beings on earth. We listened to their stories of loss and resilience, of struggle and hope. And we knew that we could not rest until their stories were heard.

We gathered evidence to provide to States – all of the countries that were a part of this climate fight –  to help with their submissions as well as to create our own Greenpeace submission. Our submission included powerful stories from the Pacific, Philippines, Norway, Mexico, Southern Africa, Switzerland and the Caribbean and in due time we will share this with you as the lived realities of these powerful individuals and communities cannot live only in a submission, but must be seen by the entire world.

Australia Steps Up – Heading to the ICJ

And now, after months of tireless advocacy and relentless pressure on world governments, we have achieved a monumental victory. The Australian Government, led by Minister Penny Wong, has committed to submitting to the ICJ. This is a significant step forward, and we applaud Minister Wong and her government for taking this bold and necessary action for our global Vuvale.

But our work is far from over. We must ensure that our voices continue to be heard loud and clear. The Australian government has shown no indication of what is in the submission. We kindly ask the Australian Government to provide full transparency of the contents of their submission and to acknowledge their historical responsibilities and contributions to the climate crisis. We urge them to work closely, in genuine solidarity and kinship with the Pacific governments throughout this process, ensuring that our voices are at the forefront of the conversation. For this advisory opinion to truly protect the human rights of the current and future generations, Australia must be a true ally and a genuine supporter.

What’s next?

In the next phase, June 2024, States will have an opportunity to respond to other States’ submissions and you will find noticeable naysayers. But we will not be deterred. We will keep fighting. The oral hearings at the end of the year provide an opportunity to centre the voices of our communities on the ground, and we will not miss that opportunity.

As we await the next steps in this historic journey, let us remember the resilience and determination that brought us to this point. Let us take some time to acknowledge the incredible leadership of the Pacific Islands Students Fighting Climate Change, the Vanuatu Government and the proud people of the Pacific. Let us continue to stand together, united in our commitment to protecting our planet and securing a sustainable future for generations to come.

It is time for our Vaka (vessel) to enter the gates of the world’s highest court and break down the walls of legal obstructions with love, compassion, resilience and the powerful energy of our people.

Thank you to each and every one of you for being a part of this extraordinary journey so far. And we cannot embark on the next phase without you. You will always have a cherished place on the Pacific Vaka. Together, we will win.

Loloma Levu (With the deepest love).

From April 2024, the very first Greenpeace Australia Pacific vessel will set sail in the turquoise waters around Australia and the Pacific. 

With the help of an incredibly generous donor, we’ve purchased a 68ft blue water sailing boat. It’s no leisure cruiser. It’s built for speed, for the open water, to take on those who threaten the future of our blue planet.

It has recently made its way from France all the way to its new home in Australia Pacific waters. It’s currently undergoing a makeover and refit to ensure it’s up to the best possible standard for our ocean campaigns.

A love for our oceans lies at the heart of who we are at Greenpeace Australia Pacific.

Our first ever action in 1977 involved activists using inflatable zodiacs to blockade a whaling station in Albany, Western Australia. This action helped to bring an end to whaling in Australian waters, and spelled the birth of Greenpeace in Australia and later the Pacific.

And now, our fight to protect whales and every creature that calls the ocean home has never been greater.

Which is why we need this vessel to help win campaigns and safeguard our oceans.

As our Head of Field Operations Chris Hay put it: you can’t save the oceans without getting your feet wet.

Now that we have this incredible campaigning asset, we need to raise funds to help power our new vessel to victory. There’s a lot at stake:

• Our direct action at sea can help stop Woodside’s monstrous Burrup Hub from becoming a reality. Exposing their sins at sea can help stop the project.
• Along with Pasifika activists, we’re taking the world’s biggest issue – climate change – to the world’s highest court. With the help of our new vessel, we’ll continue to engage with communities in the Pacific.
• Our oceans are in crisis, with deep sea mining, plastic pollution and industrial fishing pushing our blue planet to the brink. With our new ocean-going vessel, we can campaign for a Global Oceans Treaty, a Global Plastics Treaty, and a moratorium on the destructive practice of deep sea mining.

It won’t be long until our boat is ready for campaigning at sea – and you can be part of this next phase of history at Greenpeace Australia Pacific. 

Donate now to help get our boat on the water and protecting our beautiful oceans.

Greenpeace has been fighting for these pollution limits on cars for years, and we are almost there. But the proposal is not law yet – the Government needs to finalise the design of the standards and take them to Parliament. They are asking for your feedback until 4 March – we need everyone to make a submission calling for strong standards.

Making a submission is quick and easy. Here is a response guide for the form, with some points you might want to raise with the Government to make their proposal better. The answers below are a serving suggestion only – feel free to cook up a response as you see fit!

Step 1: Follow this link for an individual or an organisation

Step 2: Fill out the questions with your name and email

Question Response Guide

Question 3: Please rank the proposed options in order of preference

Answer:

Question 4: Briefly, what are your reasons for your choice? (optional, 3000 character limit)

Copy and paste into the open text box:

The climate crisis should determine target strength

The NVES should set emission targets over a timeframe that reflects the urgency of the climate crisis. This requires a transition to all new car sales being zero emission vehicles (ZEVs) by 2035 at the latest. Option C and B are both acceptable as they would make that goal achievable, but option C is preferable as it ramps up faster, and has stronger targets. 

Moving faster will result in lower emissions and fuel savings for Australia over a longer period, compounding the benefits of the policy. The impact analysis estimates that by 2050, option C will reduce CO2 emissions by an additional 74 million tonnes, which will help the Government meet its climate targets in a context where other sectors face even greater challenges to reduce emissions.

Targets are sufficiently distant for supply to catch up

Option C and B have the same starting target in 2025, which gives car companies two years to prepare for the stricter targets under option C (which only kick in from 2026 onwards). Two years is sufficient time for car makers to adjust their supply, given the number of ZEVs already on the global market and more under development.  Car companies have known of the Government’s intention to introduce some form of NVES since 2022, and 85% of the world is already covered by emissions standards, making this change foreseeable.

If there is a short period where a number of the most polluting vehicles in Australia increase in price due to penalties under Option C, that can be managed through car companies buying credits from 100% ZEV car makers, further subsidising their price, and encouraging the overall shift.

SUVs should be considered passenger vehicles

Option C and B rightly include SUVs in the passenger vehicle category. There is no justification for a higher CO2 limit for a vehicle that is larger due to consumer preference, rather than for a genuine utility or commercial reason (which is covered by the LCV category).

The NVES should encourage lighter vehicles

The Government should consider lowering the break point for vehicles to 1800 kg or less, or better yet, eliminating the weight based adjustment altogether, to encourage the purchase of smaller, lighter vehicles.

Penalties should be substantial

The EU has a penalty of $197 per g/km (AUD equivalent) for exceeding their CO2/km target – to get close to that, the penalty proposed under option C should be adopted in Australia.

Loopholes should be ruled out

Ruling out supercredits and loopholes are an excellent feature of both B and C. Banking and trading of credits is acceptable if limited in scope – these should not be expanded beyond the 2 years suggested by Option C.

Emissions should be tested in real time

The Government should also implement real-world testing of vehicle emissions ( onboard fuel consumption monitoring)  to prevent manufacturers from producing laboratory testing which is inaccurate, as they have done in the past.

Question 5: Do you support the Government’s preferred option (Option B)? (optional)

Select ‘yes’

Now hit submit! You are done – now send this page to a friend and ask them to make a submission too.

After over 2 weeks of climate negotiations, the 28th UN Climate Summit, COP28, has wrapped up in Dubai.

As world leaders and delegates negotiated on how to stay on track to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees, 2023 was confirmed as the hottest year on record. And despite this obvious alarm bell, leaders still could not agree on a definitive phaseout of fossil fuels.

A lot happened at COP28 – here’s a rundown:

1. Launch of the Loss and Damage Fund

The good: The Loss and Damage Fund is finally operational.

The bad: Pledges fall short of what’s actually needed by climate-vulnerable countries.

Championed by Pasifika leaders, the fund allocates money to help developing countries cope with the impacts from the ongoing climate crisis. Even though the fund was first announced at COP27 last year, a lot of the funding arrangements were left up in the air. At COP28, wealthy nations responsible for climate change pledged a total of $700 million to the fund. Though it’s a good start, it’s still a drop in the ocean of what Pacific Island communities actually need to cover the costs of desperately needed climate adaptation and mitigation measures. Australia committed a pitiable $150 million to climate funding for the Pacific – a far cry from our fair share of $4 billion annually.

2. Australia signs Glasgow Statement

The good: Australia signs the Glasgow Statement.

The bad: It’s still unclear whether this will translate into much-needed action at home.

The Glasgow Statement is a joint agreement to end international public finance for fossil fuel projects. From 2016 to 2021, Australia funnelled $828 million in taxpayers money to overseas fossil fuel projects. Signing on to the Glasgow Statement means Australia will no longer finance international fossil fuel projects – a positive step that will help shift billions of dollars away from a polluting fossil fuel industry to clean renewables.

But domestic projects are not part of the agreement. The largest fossil fuel project in Australia up for Federal approval – Woodside’s monstrous Burrup Hub gas project – would release 6.1 billion tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere if it goes ahead. This project is grossly incompatible with our net zero emissions targets, and would cause further climate harm to our Pasifika family. 

3. Global Stocktake

The good: There’s more awareness and unanimity around how off track we are from meeting the 1.5C goal

The bad: We are way off course from reaching the 1.5C goal

The disappointing:

The Global Stocktake is like a climate report card for countries, assessing how well they’re doing to reach their national emissions targets and limit global temperatures to 1.5C. COP28 made it undeniably clear just how severely off track we are from reaching that goal, helping to build consensus around the need for even more ambitious action, with minister Bowen saying that limiting global heating to 1.5C isn’t ‘up for compromise’. But, the horrifying reality is still how off course we are from meeting the 1.5C goal, and how quickly that window is closing.

The commitments made from this year’s COP and the actions taken after are critical, especially in meeting the 1.5C goal. For Pacific leaders and communities already on the frontlines of the climate crisis, 1.5C isn’t just a target, it’s a matter of ‘life or death’. 

What’s next? Where do we go from here?

After nearly 30 years of these climate change conferences, fossil fuels have finally been mentioned in the final text, but leaders fell short of calling for a phaseout, and the necessary finance required for developing nations to transition to clean energy.

After persistently calling for strong climate action and repeatedly sharing their stories of climate-induced trauma at these conferences, our Pasifika family deserved more.

It’s important to remember the human faces of the climate crisis, and what COP28 will mean for their lives – their homes, their cultures, languages, their very survival. With COP28 over, we’re armed with a new checklist of commitments to hold our leaders accountable. We have a responsibility to keep the pressure up, and make sure they follow through on these promises.

There is strong appetite for Australia to co-host COP31 with the Pacific. Yet Australia is the third largest exporter of fossil fuels – exports that cause immeasurable climate harm to the Pacific. If we want to be serious about hosting the UN Climate Conference in 2026, and reset our reputation as a leader in climate action – the Australian government must say no to all new fossil fuels.

Sign our petition now.

Seismic blasting uses underwater airguns to blast powerful sound waves towards the seabed to identify fossil fuel reservoirs beneath the ocean floor. It can seriously injure whales and potentially kill other marine life. A growing body of research indicates that this noise pollution can damage, sometimes permanently, the hearing of whales and fish, as well as kill important prey species like plankton. 

Woodside’s own acoustic modelling found that pygmy blue whales could be injured by the seismic blasting over 60km from the blasting vessel. The blasts are expected to run for weeks, with local wildlife being exposed to booms as loud as a jet plane every 5 seconds, 12 hours a day.

Seismic blasting is just the first part of Woodside’s monstrous Burrup Hub. The whole Burrup Hub will include drilling up to 80 gas wells off the Pilbara and Kimberley coast – posing a threat to wildlife at major biodiversity hotspots like Scott Reef. 

Woodside and its Burrup Hub is Australia’s biggest climate threat, belching out 6.1 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions over its proposed 50-year lifetime.

The Burrup Hub is so dirty that its climate pollution would be greater than the combined total of the next two largest fossil fuel projects: the Beetaloo Tamboran and the Peak Downs Extension.

Woodside’s seismic blasting is way too risky and it should never have been given the green light. But the fight isn’t over yet. With enough pressure, we can make sure the government pulls the plug on Woodside’s disastrous plans. You can help by signing the Woodside petition or emailing your local MP.

What is COP28, and why does it matter?

The 28th global climate conference, COP28, has kicked off with growing frustration and doubts about its outcomes. Despite twenty-seven years of meetings and scientific consensus on fossil fuels driving the climate crisis, emissions and global temperatures continue to reach record highs. High emitting countries are still debating whether fossil fuels are the problem, while low-lying island nations in the Pacific battle with the devastating consequences of their inaction.

But COP28 still matters for the simple reason that the most vulnerable communities are still fighting to make sure it does; because they can’t endure another COP filled with incredibly slow progress, complicated processes and broken promises.

Some background

COP, which stands for ‘Conference of the Parties’, is an annual gathering for countries to discuss how to tackle the threat of climate change. The ‘parties’ are the countries that, in 1992, signed the first ever climate agreement known as the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, or the UNFCCC. The Convention requires  countries to continue investing in climate research, and most importantly, to limit greenhouse gas emissions which cause  accelerated global warming.

In 2015, at COP21, countries signed another landmark climate treaty – the Paris Agreement. For the first time, countries promised to take national action to limit global temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius. The 1.5 target is crucial to avoid the most catastrophic impacts from climate change, especially for low-lying, small island nations like those in the Pacific. To meet this goal, nations agreed on national emissions targets. Since then, a critical discussion point at successive COPs has been to assess progress made towards these targets, and ensure they’re upheld.  

Discussions and tensions at this year’s COP

COP28 is taking place in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE). Representatives from 197 nations are attending, as well as other observers looking to influence the summit’s outcomes.

Over the next two weeks, governments will focus on urgently needed measures to address the climate emergency, the most important being a serious commitment from major carbon-emitting countries to phase out fossil fuels. A recent UN report shows that the world is severely off track to meeting the Paris Agreement goals, largely due to the sustained growth of the fossil fuel industry. The report also found a widening gap between governments’ promises of stronger climate action and their national plans.

Talks will also centre on operationalizing the Loss and Damage fund – a historic outcome from last year’s COP, where wealthier nations agreed to financially compensate climate vulnerable states. The concept of Loss and Damage had been championed tirelessly by Pacific advocates as early as 1971. The idea behind it is that developed nations, fueling and benefiting from the climate crisis, should pay for the losses and damages experienced by those most vulnerable and least able to cope with its effects. Pacific Island nations like Vanuatu are already bearing the horrific consequences of climate inaction, with the relocation of six entire towns as a result of extreme weather events.

There’s a lot of controversy and pessimism surrounding this year’s COP because the UAE is among the world’s top ten oil-producing nations that has consistently opposed a rapid fossil fuel phaseout. The appointment of Sultan Ahmed al-Jaber, CEO of a prominent state-owned oil company, as President of the climate talks has only added to concerns. Fossil fuel giants have a well-documented, decades-long history of countering climate science through multibillion dollar disinformation campaigns. They wield enormous influence over government decisions and global policies. This year, the number of fossil fuel lobbyists at the COP has hit an all time high of nearly 2,500 – far outnumbering the number of Pasifika delegates.

COP28 started with controversy last week, as leaked documents revealed plans for secret oil deals, and al-Jaber claimed in the opening days of the conference that there is “no science” behind the need for a fossil fuel phaseout.  It is extremely unfortunate that these comments were made, but the COP has moved on and is now focussing on the task at hand: ensuring big climate polluters like Australia listen to the demands of our Pasifika family by making strong climate commitments.

Why COP (still) matters

Each COP is exhausting, complex, and often frustrating. Pasifika delegates and activists have to travel across multiple time zones and many must secure funding support in order to have a seat at the table during these crucial climate talks.

But at the heart of it, it is a privilege to be at COP. It is a privilege to be able to share the stories of communities both in Australia and the Pacific, and to fight for what we hold dear.

What comes out of this COP will affect billions of people across the globe. That is why we must be truly ambitious in our asks whilst addressing the root cause of the climate emergency – the burning of fossil fuels. 

Meaningful climate action from world leaders can save lives. In a world where global temperature rise is limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius, people can stay on their lands, practice their own cultures, and speak their own languages. They won’t have to repeatedly rebuild from Category 5 cyclones, king tides, droughts, bushfires, and floods. This is what we are fighting for at every COP, and we will continue to do so.

Our family in the Pacific are feeling the worst effects of the climate crisis, therefore it is Pasifika voices that we must amplify as we pressure the Australian Government to take the most critical step in meaningful climate action: phasing out fossil fuels completely.

Sign the petition to demand the Australian Government stop all new coal, oil and gas projects now.

Millions of years ago, a massive barrier reef – as big as the Great Barrier Reef – stretched along the coast of what is now northern WA. Over time the reef retreated. Now all that remains is a series of isolated atolls Ashmore Reef, Seringapatam and Scott Reef, and the Rowley Shoals.

You might not have heard much about Scott Reef, but it’s a pretty special place. Scott Reef consists of two formations, North Scott Reef and horseshoe-shaped South Reef. This oceanic reef system includes a third formation – Seringapatam Reef – which is about 30km to the north east of Scott Reef.

We were lucky enough to visit the Scott Reef system in May 2023 when the Rainbow Warrior toured Western Australia. The waters surrounding the three reefs are teeming with life. There are at least 29 species of marine mammals; 41 species of birds; almost 1,000 species of fish; sharks, sea snakes, rays, sawfish and many more amazing and unique animals – some of which haven’t been found anywhere else. 

Scott Reef is a critical spot for endangered pygmy blue whales (EPBC Act). Each autumn, thousands of whales migrate up the coast of Western Australia, traveling from the cool waters of southern Australia to the tropics. In spring, they migrate south again, spending the summer in Tasmania, Victoria and southern Western Australia before swimming north again. 

The whales’ migration path takes them right past Scott Reef. Although we don’t know for sure, many whale experts believe that Scott Reef is an aquatic Driver Reviver – a place for pygmy blue whales (and other migratory species) to stop and feed before continuing their journey. 

Nestled in between North and South Scott Reef is Sandy Islet – a tiny spit of sand where up to a thousand endangered (IUCN; vulnerable – EPBC Act) green sea turtles lay their eggs every year. Adult sea turtles are migratory and swim up to thousands of kilometres to get here. 

Females nesting near Sandy Islet are highly dependent on the food-rich waters around Scott Reef to sustain them during this exhausting period. A few months later, the newly hatched green turtles make their way to the ocean and the cycle begins again.

Like all coral reefs, Scott Reef is threatened by rising sea levels and warming oceans caused by climate change. Yet it faces an additional threat: fossil fuel giant Woodside. Browse, Australia’s largest untapped conventional gas reserve, lies directly underneath Scott Reef. 

Woodside wants to drill up to 50 wells to develop Browse – and pump the gas buried deep under the reef hundreds of kilometres to shore to be processed and exported overseas.

Woodside’s dirty gas could be a disaster for Scott Reef and the wildlife that depends upon it. It would turn this pristine reef and surrounding waters into an industrial gas zone blighted by seismic blasting, gas flaring, drilling and pipelaying. 

The climate change produced by Woodside’s dirty gas would contribute to ocean warming, which causes coral bleaching and seriously harms marine life. And if one of Woodside’s wells suffered a blowout – well, the consequences of a worst-case spill here are unthinkable.

Thankfully, there’s still time to stop Woodside. Federal Environment Minister, Tanya Plibersek, will soon be reviewing Woodside’s plans. Contact your MP today and let them know that you want Scott Reef protected from Woodside and its dirty gas. 

P.S. It has come to our attention that previously Greenpeace has inadvertently used an image of an adjacent reef to depict Scott Reef. The correct image is used above (Image 1). Greenpeace apologises for any confusion caused.

Conjure an image of the deep sea, and you may as well imagine the moon. Few images exist, and scientific exploration of the deep sea is only in its infancy. We may not yet fully understand the environmental workings of either place, but we know that they are part of a delicate balance of biological systems that support our planet. The deep sea holds mysteries for science and connects populations around the world in common heritage.

Discover the Treasures of Biodiversity

At 4,000 meters under the sea, life gets wonderfully weird. The majority of species are undocumented, and the seascapes unmapped. What we do know is that the ecosystems found at the bottom of the sea are delicate and unique. From distinct microbial communities to sea cucumbers, urchins, and starfish, an astounding array of biological diversity lives directly on the sediment of the deep seabed. 

Far from the barren desert-like landscape it was once thought, the deep seafloor teems with life—albeit much different from what we know on land. It’s estimated that 2 million marine species are still unidentified, and many of these are thought to inhabit the deep sea. The adaptations animals have undergone to survive at these depths mean they are unlikely to be resilient to disturbances.

The Threat of Deep Sea Mining

Where mining goes, death follows. From sediment plumes to ecosystem disturbance, deep sea mining is a disaster waiting to happen. Deep sea mining would risk marine life, ecosystem balance, and human lives and livelihoods for an unnecessary endeavor.

A Closer Look at Deep Sea Mining Operations

Impact on Pacific Island Communities

On land, Pacific Island communities’ livelihoods and food security are at risk due to disturbances of mining operations taking place in the Pacific ocean.

Operations at the Surface

The surface transport ships and mining ships would hover at the surface ready to unload and process vast quantities of sediment, retaining polymetallic nodules and pumping the waste back into the ocean.

200m Deep: The Deep Sea Zone

The ocean is classified as “deep sea” at 200 meters, where light from the surface is mostly obscured.

1,000m Deep: Risks to Marine Life

Animals including turtles and whales are known to make extended deep dives to 1,000 meters below the surface and deeper. Such species could be exposed to discharged mining waste as well as vibrations and noises that will interfere with sonar communication and could split whales from their calves or even fracture entire pods.

1,000-3,000m Deep: Environmental Uncertainties

Sediment piped from the surface would be discharged in the deep sea zone. Data from mining companies is vague because even they don’t know how far they will need to pipe the sediment or how far it may travel once returned to the ocean.

4,000m Deep: Deep Sea Mining Machinery

At the seafloor, machinery similar to giant vacuums will scrape and pump up the sea bed, searching for polymetallic nodules. Impacts to species like ghost octopus and deep sea anglerfish that live on the seafloor are impossible to know, as these nodules have taken millions of years to form and have become highly specialized habitats.

The seafloor is the world’s largest sediment carbon sink. Disturbing the deep sea bed has the potential for significant, long-term impacts on carbon cycling and storage.

Deep Sea Mining threatens our most unique ecosystems. You can help stop it before it starts. Tell the Australian government to take a strong stand against deep sea mining now.