Imagine the impact of being able to go back in time to stop offshore drilling at the dawn of the oil age. Today’s climate catastrophes wouldn’t exist! Unfortunately, we cannot go back in time to fix our mistakes, but we can certainly learn from them as we go forward. And the next opportunity for our redemption is to stop deep sea mining.

On the 3rd June this year, Greenpeace volunteers from around the world took part in a Global Day of Action for World Oceans Day, calling on governments to vote against Deep Sea Mining at the International Seabed Authority’s July 2023 meeting in Kingston, Jamaica. Eye-catching neon lights, inflatable sea creatures, and human banners were just some of the creative tactics used to draw attention to this issue.

“If deep sea mining begins in the Pacific Ocean, it could have devastating impacts on millions of people living in the Pacific region. It poses serious threats to their livelihoods and spiritual connection to the ocean by impacting fish populations and sacred ecosystems.” said Rima Sonigara, one of our digital campaigners.

We need the Australian government to show leadership and set an example for other governments on this issue, by calling for a global ban on deep sea mining. We cannot let governments give the green light to greedy, immoral mining companies to destroy the ocean floor for profit. There is far too much at stake for our planet and communities. You can help by signing this petition to get the government to take a strong stand against deep sea mining now.

With many of the ocean’s deepest canyons still remaining a mystery to humankind, we don’t even know the full breadth of the lifeforms that could be destroyed if deep sea mining is given the go ahead, but together, we can stop it from ever happening.

Some of you may know that Greenpeace’s first campaign in Australia was in WA. Specifically, in the town of Albany where activists led by Bob Hunter started a local movement that eventually drew national and global attention – resulting in the closure of the last whaling station in the English-speaking world.

In recognition of how far we’ve come, Greenpeace held a “legacy event” in Albany on the 22nd of April this year. In a press conference on the pier where the Rainbow Warrior was docked, Captain Hettie Geenen, Greenpeace Australia Pacific CEO David Ritter, and journalist and author Chris Pash all spoke to the importance of Greenpeace’s legacy in Albany and the enduring need to protect ocean wildlife. A sailor’s choir sang sea shanties for us off the bow of the Warrior, and ex-whalers showed up to share their stories of remorse as well as hope for the future.

The next day we invited supporters to come aboard for a tour of the legendary ship. Fellow Green Guardians Richard and Elaine volunteered for the day to help the event run smoothly. The following words showcase the wonder of this event through their eyes:

“As long-term financial supporters of Greenpeace, we were gobsmacked when Alexis contacted us to help organise the open boats of the Rainbow Warrior in Albany, WA. We both signed up to show visitors around the ship and meet and greet everyone.

To get us prepared for the Open Day, we got the opportunity to tour the Warrior, meet the captain and crew, and enjoy some pizza – a real privilege we acknowledged with a gift of Denmark Shiraz!

Numbers of small boats made excursions across Princess Royal Harbour to get close to the Rainbow Warrior and take pictures – her green hull and white peace dove could be seen for miles in the good weather. Open Day began with queues of excited children and parents eager to get onboard and see the helipad.

It was such a pleasure to be amongst fellow supporters and to listen to crew members from so many different parts of the world talk about their experiences – from getting seasick to launching the inflatables. A campaign day to remember for us and all our visitors.”

Richard and Elaine on holiday in the Pilbara

This year we have had a huge increase in our Creative Confrontation Unit’s capacity. Thanks to your support, we hired three new full-time staff members from other Greenpeace offices around the globe including a former Greenpeace captain! All three have plenty of experience in taking creative actions. Between our Whales Not Woodside and Electrify campaigns, we have put a great deal of effort into holding specific corporations accountable for their responsibility to the environment. 

Holding Woodside to account in Western Australia

We organised a silent protest at Woodside’s AGM in April, inviting local school strikers to learn the ins-and-outs of banner painting (a more complex task than you’d imagine!), and in partnership with local groups in WA, organised a Paddle Out event at Fremantle Beach to rally the community to turn the tide on Woodside! Once we were at sea with the Rainbow Warrior, we also exposed Woodside for leaving toxic oil towers to rot in the ocean, which they have since said they will clean up.

Electrifying our engagement

As part of our Electrify campaign, we have been putting pressure on Australia’s biggest retailers to commit to switching their fleet to 100% electric cars and trucks, powered by wind and solar. Tactics for this so far have included delivering thousands of petition signatures to the head offices of the major supermarkets, and a national week of action flyering and surveying customers at retail stores. The Electrify policy team also held a lobby day at Parliament where volunteers met their local MPs to call for caps on pollution from new cars. The tactics were made possible thanks to our wonderful volunteers from across the country who generously donated their time to challenge Bunnings, Coles, Woolworths and Aldi and lobby for political action.

Keen to get involved in Non-Violent Direct Action with Greenpeace?

One of the great things about NVDA is that it is inclusive. There is a place for everyone at a Greenpeace action, and we’ll always make sure that you are never put too far out of your comfort zone. For example, there will be people needing to be driven somewhere, banners to be painted, and sandwiches to be made. Greenpeace also covers the expenses, fines, and legal fees for our activists!

If you, or someone you know is interested, head to our Volunteers sign up form! We’d love to see our Green Guardians taking part if you are able. 

And as always, thanks to your legacy gift, we will be doing activism in your memory for a long time to come.

Our AGL or “Australia’s Greatest Liability” campaign has been a big priority here at Greenpeace this year. Let’s take a look at all the victories and effort from this campaign that have been made possible by the goodwill of our supporters.

Thanks to the combined efforts of communities, shareholders, and activists, we have seen AGL’s demerger plans foiled and pressured the company to bring forward the closure of their heavily-polluting coal-burning power stations.

Last year we published our “Coal-Faced” report that exposed AGL’s poor climate practices. Since 2015, AGL has breached their environmental licence 111 times and their production of renewable energy actually went down over the past decade! In this report we stated that AGL was Australia’s biggest climate polluter, and AGL then tried to sue Greenpeace for defamation. This was a desperate attempt to silence climate activists, with AGL losing the court battle and Greenpeace claiming victory.

This year we campaigned to challenge AGL’s use of greenwashing tactics, and alerted AGL’s sponsorship partners to these dirty marketing tricks.

We put on bold protests outside AGL HQ to bring media attention to the issue, pressured Australia’s big banks to stop funding AGL’s projects, and engaged with some of AGL’s investors to vote against the demerger. In 2021, we also supported youth activist, Ash Sharif, in running for the AGL Board with a complimentary social media campaign.

In late September this year, AGL announced that they would be bringing forward the closure of the Loy Yang A power station in Victoria from 2048 to 2035! And there are prospects that their Bayswater power station in NSW will transition to renewable energy by 2029.

Wow. That’s a lot to take in, isn’t it?

While AGL has made good progress in response to our actions and demands, there is still work to be done! Greenpeace demands them to bring forward the closure of the Loy Yang A and Bayswater power stations by 2030, in line with the recommendations from climate scientists. AGL now has the opportunity to become a climate leader in Australia, and thanks to the efforts of Greenpeace and our supporters this is now a possibility.

Victorian School Striker protests against AGL Energy’s burning of coal at their coal-fired power station, Loy Yang A, in the La Trobe Valley.

To memorialise this victory, Greenpeace produced a documentary that chronicled the story of how a diverse group of people and organisations banded together against AGL and its leadership team to change the company for the better. The half-hour documentary is available to watch on YouTube, and you can also find it on our website here.

AGL making the switch to renewables and leaving coal in the past is crucial for Australia to avoid further, life-threatening consequences of climate change. Greenpeace will continue to make a stand against AGL and other climate polluters. And we wouldn’t be able to do this, if it were not for you, our Green Guardians.

Your continued support is truly the backbone of our campaigns. Your gifts will go on to make a cleaner world for the next generation, and help keep companies like AGL accountable to the environment.

Our planet’s oceans face a lot of danger from human activity. Industrial fishing, deep-sea mining, plastic pollution, and global warming are all affecting our blue planet.

Scientists have informed us that by 2030 we need to protect a third of the ocean if we are to avoid the worst effects of climate change. 30 x 30, to allow the ocean to heal.

Greenpeace has been conducting research in the Antarctic for presentation to UN meetings that have been taking place throughout the year. Our aim is to raise support for a Global Ocean Treaty that will see 30% of our oceans protected as marine sanctuaries.

In 2019, the Greenpeace ship Esperanza embarked on a pole-to-pole voyage to document human impact on our oceans. The final stop was to Antarctica in 2020, one of the places furthest from human civilisation. Even here, there were still clear impacts such as fishing tools and nets floating in the water.

Celebrating 3 years of work on this campaign, we took our supporters behind the scenes with a digital event in March this year. Journalist and activist Julia Zanolli was involved in the recent Greenpeace research expedition to the Antarctic. She said that due to the remote location of the Antarctic, Greenpeace is one of few organisations with the resources available to study this area.

“Sometimes people ask; what’s your relationship with scientists? How does it work? We pretty much give them a lift. We make sure they can reach places that they otherwise wouldn’t be able to,” she said at the digital event.

This year Greenpeace took scientists to remote areas in the Antarctic to research how the climate crisis and fishing is affecting penguin populations in these places, using a mix of drone technology and artificial intelligence in order to keep track of penguin numbers.

We also provided these scientists with submarines to help document important evidence found underwater. The team were able to dive in 12 different locations never seen before by humans. Providing a stable internet connection also proved essential to Greenpeace’s ability to relay information to the media and update the rest of the world on their findings.

As you can imagine, these technologies do not come cheap and the reason we can afford these assets is truly due to generous supporters like you who believe in our cause.

“These stories wouldn’t have gotten out if it wasn’t for Greenpeace and people like you supporting our work,” Julia said.

None of our actions would be possible without your generous support. It allows us to operate independently and strategically, to respond quickly to environmental news, and to showcase
inspiring stories of ordinary people taking a stand against climate change.

The crew of the Esperanza hold a banner reading “Thank you”, South Orkney Islands, Antarctica.

This year we’re putting the spotlight on Caroline McDaid. Caroline started supporting Greenpeace through donations once she landed her first job while at university. In due time, Caroline decided to become a Green Guardian, much like yourself! And now she’s working as a Greenpeace employee. Quite the journey indeed!

When Caroline grew up in the UK, she was fortunate enough to attend a school that had a big focus on the natural environment, which led to her discovering Greenpeace at an early age.

“My first memories of Greenpeace are intertwined with learning about environmental threats such as acid rain, the hole in the ozone layer and animal extinction threats in primary school.”
“I have vivid memories of completing a project aged 10 on these threats and using Greenpeace as a source of information and inspiration. Some of these battles have been won which gives me great courage about the fight to address climate change that we have on our hands right now.”
Speaking of the climate crisis we’re facing now, Caroline shared some sobering thoughts on this matter.
“We are but the caretakers of the environment around us for future generations. It is not ‘ours’ but belongs to the future generations of humans, plants and animals that will inhabit it. If we can leave a positive footprint for them we will have made something of our time here.”
“I truly believe that Greenpeace provides us all with the opportunity to mobilise and address the greatest challenge of our time by driving systemic and lasting change.”

Caroline says she is incredibly proud of the work that Greenpeace has done in the Great Australian Bight.

“While unseen by many, around 80% of the wildlife in this critical part of our oceans cannot be found anywhere else in the world. And Greenpeace along with others in the movement has helped protect this as well as avoiding the unnecessary carbon emissions from this oil being consumed.”

When not involved with Greenpeace, Caroline likes to go trail running, and spending time with her daughters out in nature. She wants her children to have the same love for the environment as she does.

“I think it’s important that they are aware of the world around them, that they have a sense of responsibility for our planet and the confidence and optimism that we can all have an impact.”
“While I have children that need to be a focus in my will, I think it’s important to think more broadly about the legacy I’m leaving behind. Greenpeace perfectly aligns with my values and what is important to me and my family. I am happy that Greenpeace is now reflected in my will.”

Have you heard of the scaled, sea-dwellers encased in a metal shell?

That might sound like the description of a Jurassic-era ocean predator, but it’s actually that of the scaly-foot gastropod!

These sea snails reside near underwater heat vents that are typically found around volcanically active sites, although the scaly-foot gastropods themselves are endemic to three regions in the Indo-Pacific Ocean. Their shell is composed of iron-sulphides, as too are the scales along their ‘foot’.

Cute nicknames for this critter include ‘the pangolin of the sea’ and ‘black knights’, the former due to them being armoured like a Mediaeval fighter. Not all of these gastropods are black, with the colours of their iron shells differing depending on the location of their habitat.

These snails don’t always don their shiny armour. In one of the locations where these snails are found, the hydrothermal vents don’t exhume iron-sulphide compounds, and the snails don’t have iron in their shells either.

This has led scientists to hypothesise that somehow, these sea snails absorb the iron compounds into their own bodies to harden their shells and scales. Not only that, but their iron shells can be magnetic. They are also capable of living in temperatures up to 400 degrees celsius, and feed off bacteria which inhabit their stomachs!

From Re-energise to Electrify!

This year marked the end to our Re-energise campaign, which was a huge success. We smashed all our goals in influencing corporations and governments to switch to renewable energy.

Since the inception of Re-energise, 21 major Australian companies have accelerated their shift towards going 100% renewable by 2025. Bunnings, Woolworths, Coles, Kmart, and ALDI are some of the trusted brands taking steps towards operating on renewable energy. Queensland recently announced a large investment in renewable energy, and other Australian states are upping their game in the renewables race.

We also independently ranked Australia’s best (and worst) energy providers and created a new online resource to help you switch to cleaner electricity; The Green Electricity Guide.

Now that we’ve Re-energised, it’s time to Electrify! One of the biggest industries holding Australia back is the transport industry, and this issue will be the first step of the Electrify campaign.

Transport is the third largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in Australia. This is why we need to transition to cleaner cars and zero-emissions vehicles. Additionally, Australia has no fuel efficiency standards. This makes it more economical for large companies like Toyota to send their most polluting vehicles to Australia.

Fuel efficiency standards typically improve over time, forcing corporations to adopt better practices, or face financial penalties. In the UK and EU markets, petrol cars are expected to be phased out between 2030 and 2035 thanks to fuel efficiency standards. But Australia is lagging far behind.

In September this year, Greenpeace launched ‘The Toyota Files’. An online platform highlighting the car manufacturer’s role in blocking Australia’s transition to electric vehicles. In August, a Sydney Morning Herald article exposed Toyota’s ‘secret plan’ to block better fuel efficiency standards through their influence in the Australian Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries.

Vehicle manufacturing companies can have a massive impact on reducing Australia’s emissions. But cars are just the first step. Long term, we want to see more investment in bikes, e-bikes, rail, trams, and buses to give people accessible and affordable transport options that are good for the environment. To do this, we will be putting pressure on both the government, and corporations like Toyota.

While we want to convince big corporations to make the switch to renewable energy and electric vehicles, we don’t accept donations from any of them. This is why your generous support is so fundamental to sustaining campaigns like Electrify, which in turn help sustain us all.

One of Greenpeace’s most influential and ongoing campaigns has been our actions against the use of driftnets by fishing vessels. Our work reached a turning point in the 90’s when we influenced the United Nations ban on large driftnets.

Large-scale drift nets are capable of wiping out marine life across a large area. Not only fish, but also dolphins, sharks, seals, squids, and many species of birds are susceptible to becoming tangled up and dying as bycatch.

In 1983 Greenpeace launched a campaign against driftneting in the Bering Sea in the United States. Brave activists documented the crew of the Japanese driftnet vessel, Yahiko Maru, killing porpoises and seabirds via driftneting. Then, the Greenpeace crew sought to intervene in the ship deploying another driftnet.

Activists boarding zodiacs stuck close to the driftnet vessel, putting themselves between the boat and the water to stop the fishermen from deploying their deadly traps.

Meanwhile, Greenpeace contracted an American television network to produce a documentary about the harms caused by driftneting; From No Man’s Land, a Porpoise Cries. The documentary was aired internationally, and fuelled public outrage over the practice.

In 1989 we saw our labours bear fruit when the United Nations enacted a moratorium on driftneting in international waters, followed by a ban on the use of driftnets longer than 2.5km within international waters in 1992.

Japan, once one of the largest perpetrators of drift-net fishing, also announced they would be banning the use of large driftnets in 1992, despite originally opposing the UN’s ban.

To this day, Greenpeace continues to document vessels who use driftnets illegally or employ other fishing methods such as trawling, that are cruel to intelligent marine life and unsustainable for the planet and the economy.

GP protest at Japanese driftnetting

Earlier this year, Di Morrissey, celebrated Australian author and longtime Greenpeace supporter, joined us for our digital WA Gas event. We invited her to share some stories about the environment and offer book recommendations to all of you.

“I have been a longtime supporter of Greenpeace. I first met David Ritter at a Perth writers Festival. I did a promotional video for Greenpeace. So I was happy to be part of the panel.”

“I lived in Byron bay for many years and became involved with Wally and (the late) Trish Franklin who were documenting all the whales’ migration and photographing and identifying each one,” she said.

“I went out on a research boat one morning with some uni grads involved in the program and one had his camera at the ready as a baby whale calf surfaced and he snapped a photo. To our surprise it was an all-white male soon to be named Migaloo…the first one.

“I believe he is still around. It was breathtaking. I have that photo on the wall of my office. It reminds me every day of how precious and threatened our planet is.”

Here are some enlightening books about the environment and activism

–Nine Lives For the Planet by John Watts. “About 9 local women doing wonderful things for our planet.”

–The Call of the Reed Warbler by Charles Massey. “The first book on land regeneration that I read. Told by Charle’s own experiences in turning his property over to regenerative farming. He is very inspirational.”

-Tim Flannery’s The Weather Makers. “Published in 2005, he was way ahead of his time in warning about climate change.”