By Sally Campbell. Featured image credit: Greenpeace
I don’t know about you but I have been quite depressed by the lack of progress in protecting Environments around the world. Political will is often lacking, “Drill Baby Drill” from the President of the United States, and loud voices on social media denying climate change. These groups are only part of the problem. But there is a deeper malaise…” I cannot make any difference, capitalism rules, short term profit; lobbyists rule the Scottish Parliament, Marine Scotland, SEPA and UK government; Too much policy and not enough enabling action, as in many Environmental NGOs too”. The sort of everyday remark I hear when climate change is discussed: “I will be dead by then so flooded roads on Arran won’t affect me in 20 years’ time. I hate windmills, they spoil my view; I love the sun and intend to go on flying to sunshine, my personal choices of car, my status, my short term economic benefits are not to blame in any way: I sleep well at night!” Despite being an islander or visitor surrounded by marine waters, tides, and their wonderful array of plants and animals, our entitlement modern culture somehow rules out for many that they each have a part to play in dealing with climate change, rising tides, changes in weather patterns and the longer term survival of Arran communities.
But there are many others, often below the radar, keeping up the pressure, and producing results on many fronts to change attitudes, work towards solutions and compromise in order to safeguard the future of ecosystems which includes all of us too. Foremost in the last year has been Greenpeace, its supporters and communities around the world. They have rightly sussed over many years that there has to be multi action approach; education, science and research, politics, law, media, and vitally, tactics and involvement of local populations. Their “Impact Report 2024” is inspirational for their involvement on all those fronts. Perhaps one important feature for us all is courage…to stand up and be counted, not hide in endless meetings about policy, collude with government agencies in order to get the next grant which results in delayed or no action over years and our own procrastination.
So, what did Greenpeace achieve or highlight for action in 2024?
OCEANS:
Gathering Evidence at Sea: In 2024 Greenpeace’s three ships took to the oceans to bear witness to the ocean destruction, collect scientific data, raise awareness and meet with communities. In August the crew of the Rainbow Warrior documented 25 hours of longline fishing hauls in the North Pacific with in total 84 sharks of all ages dragged out of the water either dead or rapidly killed. Lines up to 100km long dragged along behind industrial fishing vessels with turtles and rays also bycatch. Showing abuse, which is so often hidden but these findings generate media and pressure on governments to sign the treaty to protect mankind’s resources.
Greenpeace Ships’ Journeys 2024. Credit Greenpeace
The Arctic Sunrise was in the Sargasso Sea, a biodiversity hotspot at the heart of the Atlantic Ocean. As well as pioneering eDNA sampling and hydrophone recordings to analyse dolphin and whale movements, the crew joined with local conservationists to study seabird populations and plastic pollution inviting local Bermudan conservationist, scientists, politicians to share their experiences and hear about the Ocean Protection strategy This led to the government of Bermuda—a UK Overseas Territory- to back Greenpeace’s call for an ocean sanctuary to be created in the Sargasso Sea and strengthen the demands for the Global Ocean Treaty to deliver a worldwide network of protected areas.
DEEP SEA MINING:
Saving our Seabeds: The Greenpeace Global campaign to stop deep sea mining before it starts grew fast in 2024 and by the end of the year over 200,000 people had signed and shared the petition against this new destructive, senseless new industry. 32 countries including the UK have supported a moratorium on deep sea mining and a world-wide global coalition brought together indigenous groups, scientists, fishing companies, banks, insurers and tech, car and battery companies, which have pledged not to use minerals and metals mined from the seabed. The example of Norway changing its mind in late 2024 on deep sea mining in the Arctic, in 280,000 sq km of its territorial waters, saw the real impact of this global movement. There were protests in Norway at the HQ of a key mining company, a hard hitting report and a film directed by Greenpeace of British Musician Jacob Collier and Norwegian pop superstar AURORA, performing in the Arctic to raise awareness of what is at stake, was watched 1.4 million times.
They performed a haunting duet of their two songs, A Rock Somewhere and The Seed, in a rallying cry for ocean and climate protection. See https://youtu.be/4N-fqm2YLAU It is beautiful. European parliamentarians pressed their Norwegian counterparts to change their path. In December the Norwegian government announced a cancelling of the country’s planned deep sea mining licensing round. As a result, those Arctic waters are safe for now.
Perhaps more than anything these examples show the importance of multistrand campaigning.to cover the complexity of systems, from evidence from the Oceans, scientific findings, involvement of local communities, whether on Arran, Senegal or the Falklands; then Local and national politicians, media, especially in this time of social media, videos plus importantly good reports and photography. Those 3 voyages demonstrated the reality. Over fishing and illegal fishers can no longer hide so easily. Physical evidence of damage to ecosystems plus research and reports and vitally filmed sequences also assist those with little knowledge of the sea.
PLASTICS:
As we walk around the Co-op, Sainsbury’s and in fact any shop of any sort, we are handed, plastic, or occasionally can choose otherwise,,,loose vegetables, recyclable paper of many types, glass bottles, aluminium cans and even recyclable plastics. But one of the largest users of plastics is the cosmetics industry including Dove. We know that targeted campaigning works. Dove and its parent company, Unilever, rank among the world’s top five plastic polluters. 
Here in the UK, activists from Greenpeace shut down the headquarters of Dove’s parent company Unilever in September to highlight the damage being done around the world by all this waste. We all now should know about microplastics, and the potential damage to ecosystems, human health of these getting into the water supplies, the marine environment and even the air which we breathe and the vegetables we eat; and of course the export of waste to the global south causing serious environmental problems, but for too many of us, “Out of sight, out of mind.” That is something Dove and others depend on. Greenpeace supporters demanded government action, and the Environment Minister pledged UK’s support for a strong UN Global Plastics Treaty, thanking campaigning groups for the work, a positive change in action.
Highlighting Real Harm of Plastics: The Dove “Real Beauty” advertising is shown as hypocrisy as activists from the Global South shared stories to show real harm of the 1700 plastic sachets Dove pumps out every second. Greenpeace activists interrupted Dove’s AGM by highlighting the bathrooms with stories of women and girls most impacted by plastic pollution and shut down Dove’s London HQ. In a chilling sign of the UK’s new anti-protest laws 34 campaigners were arrested at a peaceful London protest though all charges were later dropped.
The Big Plastic Count was run again with University of Portsmouth and the Duke of Edinburgh‘s Award scheme with 224,000 people counting their plastic waste for a week which revealed UK households throw away around 1.7billion (yes 1.7 BILLION) pieces of plastic per week. Further, a petition signed by 500,000 people called for a strong plastics treaty was handed to Emma Hardy Environment Secretary. Sadly, the latest round of a Global Plastics Treaty talks did not end in a deal being signed but the debate continues and over 100 governments backed proposals to cut plastic production at the talks.
SCIENCE:
Documenting the dangers of deep sea mining
Many of us know that without evidence in modern society, large and small companies intent of maximum short term profit and any large business, will counter any argument with..”Where is the evidence?” We have seen in the past the tobacco industry proving no damage to health by wizard means, including scientists “proving” it, mainly by large grants from the tobacco industry itself, large lobbying efforts to politicians and payments to advertisers. So, the importance of good science research is imperative in a world of scepticism and industry lobbying.
The team at Greenpeace Research Laboratories based at the University of Exeter provided evidence and independent analysis to push campaigns forward. Exceptionally well equipped for analyses two of their scientists have shared their highlights in the past year. Thank you David Santillo and Paul Johnston.
Gathering Evidence on Board Greenpeace Ships:
An invaluable way to conduct remote investigations, for example, in 2024, included cetacean survey off the coast of Sri Lanka with local partners and eDNA samples taken on board the Arctic Sunrise in the Sargasso Sea. Further, recording the impact of indiscriminate fishing in the area. Taken together building a picture of the imperative need for urgent ocean protection.
Following Norway’s decision to open its waters to deep sea mining, the scientists used underwater microphones and audiovisual mapping to survey whales and dolphins in the area. Sperm whales, orcas, a fin whale, dolphins and several minke whales, all species that could be at risk if mining proceeds. A technical report outlining potential risks to the local ecosystem was produced. Sound evidence such as this is, were major factors in Norway’s decision in late 2024 agreeing not to go ahead with mining in 2025.
Bringing the science to plastics negotiations:
As global Plastics Treaty negotiations reached their final stages the scientists at Exeter made sure talks were based on the latest evidence. They co-authored a report that combined five years of plastic audits across 84 countries to show the brands most responsible for plastic pollution. They also helped organise the first international conference on petrochemicals and climate change.
But what does this Impact Report 2024 tell us? Much more to do, holding politicians to account, locally, nationally, in special interest groups. Just because it is hard, let’s get to it. But we are beginning. Further inspiration, in poetry, can be found in a recently published book edited by Carol Ann Duffy, Earth Prayer (2024) She writes in her foreword “We are in the age of anthropogenic climate breakdown, possibly the age of Grief ….”
I hope this spurs us to see a positive future. But let us begin.
A major item to be addressed NOW: we need to galvanise all our politicians in both Houses of Parliament to get going FAST! RATIFY THE GLOBAL OCEANS TREATY INTO UK LAW. And the next Conference of the Parties (COP) meeting in 2025, officially known as COP30, will be held in Belém, Brazil, from November 10-21. Watch out for that too!
28 states have signed Global Ocean Treaty into law while UK is failing to get onboard
The latest news: London, 28 May 2025 – The European Commission and six EU countries, Cyprus, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Portugal and Slovenia, have today submitted their ratification of the Global Ocean Treaty at the United Nations headquarters. Despite repeated promises to sign the Treaty into UK law, the UK government is failing to get onboard. Greenpeace is warning that, while the progress from other European countries is welcome, it is nowhere near enough to ensure the treaty enters into force in 2025, and in time to meet the goal of protecting at least 30% of the Worlds oceans by 2030 – agreed in principle by all governments in 2022. The Global Ocean Treaty requires ratification by 60 states to enter into force. Cyprus, Finland, Hungary, Latvia, Portugal and Slovenia have joined the 22 other states that have already deposited their ratification at the UN, making a total of 28 so far, nearly half of the 60 required. Governments had aimed to ratify the Treaty by June’s UN Ocean Conference to ensure that it enters into force quickly enough to protect 30% of the oceans by 2030. This Treaty is the only legal tool which can deliver this target on the high seas.
The UK was among the first countries to sign the Global Ocean Treaty on 20 September 2023, indicating its intention to pass the Treaty into UK law. The current Labour government has repeatedly said it intends to ratify the Treaty, but has so far failed to introduce the necessary primary legislation to do so or to commit to a timeline. This has prompted calls from the International Development Committee and environmental groups to begin the legislative process urgently. Responsibility for this process lies with Foreign Secretary David Lammy.
Greenpeace UK is calling on the UK government to:
- Prioritise ratifying the Global Ocean Treaty by making time in the parliamentary schedule ahead of UNOC
- Speak out in favour of a global moratorium on deep sea mining and use diplomatic influence to build support for this and the multilateral system
- Implement a full ban on all forms of destructive fishing, including bottom trawling, in all UK marine protected areas
- Work with the British Overseas Territory of Bermuda and other nations to champion one of the world’s first high seas sanctuaries in the Sargasso Sea. This stunning ecosystem supports a plethora of iconic wildlife including humpback whales, dolphins and sea turtles
With thanks to Greenpeace, just one example of good work being conducted internationally to protect our vital ocean resource.
Sally Campbell
May 2025