Latest news with #GreenpeaceInternational
Scoop
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Greenpeace Holds Dawn Commemoration Of 40 Years Since Rainbow Warrior Bombing, Death Of Photographer Fernando Pereira
Press Release – Greenpeace Greenpeace Aotearoa says today is a moment to reflect on the past, and remember the life of Fernando Pereira, the photographer who was killed in the bombing. Greenpeace Aotearoa held a dawn ceremony on board the Rainbow Warrior this morning to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the bombing of the original Rainbow Warrior and the death of photographer Fernando Pereira. The ceremony was hosted by Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei and attended by over a 150 people. Greenpeace Aotearoa Executive Director Dr Russel Norman, speaking from the deck of the Rainbow Warrior says, 'French government agents came from the other side of the planet not only to kill our friend and colleague, and to kill our ship, but most of all they came here to try to kill our dream of a nuclear free Pacific. 'And it is true that they killed Fernando, and it is true that they sank the first Rainbow Warrior, now resting in the north of Aotearoa under the watchful eye of Ngāti Kura at Matauri Bay. 'But it is not true that they killed our dream of a nuclear-free Pacific. In fact, their act of violence was a catalyst for the further growth of the nuclear-free movement here and around the world.' At the time of the bombing in 1985, the Rainbow Warrior was preparing to lead a flotilla to Mororoa to protest French nuclear testing. Greenpeace International Programme Director Carmen Gravitt, also speaking from the Rainbow Warrior, said, 'The French government tried to silence these voices with violence, fear, and intimidation. But they miscalculated. Instead of breaking our movement, they amplified it. They blew wind into our sails.' 'We built a new Rainbow Warrior and sailed to Moruroa. The peoples of the Pacific rose. And the world joined them. Together, we did not stop – not until we won and France halted its nuclear testing. 'Every right we have today was won by people who dared to fight for it. People who demanded the vote even when it was dangerous, workers who demanded dignity even when it cost them everything, indigenous peoples and frontline communities who demanded justice even when no one thought they could win. Today, we also honour them. And humbly seek to carry their legacy forward.' In the wake of the bombing of the first Rainbow Warrior, protests and international pressure against nuclear weapons testing continued to build. Greenpeace mounted three further protest expeditions to Mururoa in 1990, 1992 and 1995 on board the second Rainbow Warrior. In 1995, the Rainbow Warrior sailed into the test zone, defying exclusion orders and attempting to disrupt the tests, drawing global media attention and support. French forces seized the ship and arrested the crew, sparking widespread international condemnation. Although six tests went ahead, the intense backlash contributed to France announcing a permanent end to nuclear testing in 1996. Greenpeace Aotearoa says today is a moment to reflect on the past, and remember the life of Fernando Pereira, the photographer who was killed in the bombing. But the organisation also says it is a moment to look to the future and to challenge current attacks on environmental protest. 'There's no doubt that we're facing challenging times. Nature is under attack. Peace and democracy are under attack too. The world feels more unstable than ever,' says Norman. 'But when the environment and democracy are threatened, we all have to step up and get braver. The bravery of the nuclear-free activists – who sailed into a test zone and put themselves at enormous risk – is an inspiration for the courage we need to find now in the face of the climate and biodiversity crisis.'
Scoop
09-07-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Greenpeace Holds Dawn Commemoration Of 40 Years Since Rainbow Warrior Bombing, Death Of Photographer Fernando Pereira
Greenpeace Aotearoa held a dawn ceremony on board the Rainbow Warrior this morning to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the bombing of the original Rainbow Warrior and the death of photographer Fernando Pereira. The ceremony was hosted by Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei and attended by over a 150 people. Greenpeace Aotearoa Executive Director Dr Russel Norman, speaking from the deck of the Rainbow Warrior says, "French government agents came from the other side of the planet not only to kill our friend and colleague, and to kill our ship, but most of all they came here to try to kill our dream of a nuclear free Pacific. "And it is true that they killed Fernando, and it is true that they sank the first Rainbow Warrior, now resting in the north of Aotearoa under the watchful eye of Ngāti Kura at Matauri Bay. "But it is not true that they killed our dream of a nuclear-free Pacific. In fact, their act of violence was a catalyst for the further growth of the nuclear-free movement here and around the world." At the time of the bombing in 1985, the Rainbow Warrior was preparing to lead a flotilla to Mororoa to protest French nuclear testing. Greenpeace International Programme Director Carmen Gravitt, also speaking from the Rainbow Warrior, said, "The French government tried to silence these voices with violence, fear, and intimidation. But they miscalculated. Instead of breaking our movement, they amplified it. They blew wind into our sails." "We built a new Rainbow Warrior and sailed to Moruroa. The peoples of the Pacific rose. And the world joined them. Together, we did not stop - not until we won and France halted its nuclear testing. "Every right we have today was won by people who dared to fight for it. People who demanded the vote even when it was dangerous, workers who demanded dignity even when it cost them everything, indigenous peoples and frontline communities who demanded justice even when no one thought they could win. Today, we also honour them. And humbly seek to carry their legacy forward." In the wake of the bombing of the first Rainbow Warrior, protests and international pressure against nuclear weapons testing continued to build. Greenpeace mounted three further protest expeditions to Mururoa in 1990, 1992 and 1995 on board the second Rainbow Warrior. In 1995, the Rainbow Warrior sailed into the test zone, defying exclusion orders and attempting to disrupt the tests, drawing global media attention and support. French forces seized the ship and arrested the crew, sparking widespread international condemnation. Although six tests went ahead, the intense backlash contributed to France announcing a permanent end to nuclear testing in 1996. Greenpeace Aotearoa says today is a moment to reflect on the past, and remember the life of Fernando Pereira, the photographer who was killed in the bombing. But the organisation also says it is a moment to look to the future and to challenge current attacks on environmental protest. "There's no doubt that we're facing challenging times. Nature is under attack. Peace and democracy are under attack too. The world feels more unstable than ever," says Norman. "But when the environment and democracy are threatened, we all have to step up and get braver. The bravery of the nuclear-free activists - who sailed into a test zone and put themselves at enormous risk - is an inspiration for the courage we need to find now in the face of the climate and biodiversity crisis." The Rainbow Warrior will be open for tours of the ship for the next two weekends (the 12th-13th July, and the 19th-20th July).
Scoop
07-07-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
A Dawn Service To Commemorate The Bombing Of The Rainbow Warrior In Auckland
'You can't sink a rainbow.' The iconic Greenpeace flagship Rainbow Warrior will sail into Auckland today to mark the 40th anniversary of the bombing of the original Rainbow Warrior on 10 July 1985. A dawn ceremony of remembrance will be hosted by Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei on board the Rainbow Warrior from 7am on 10 July 2025 at Halsey Street Wharf in the Viaduct. Speakers include: Russel Norman, Greenpeace Aotearoa executive directorTui Warmenhoven, Ngati Porou, Greenpeace Aotearoa board chair Sharon Hawke, Ngāti Whātua ŌrākeiCarmen Gravatt, Greenpeace International programme director Stephanie Mills, former Greenpeace nuclear campaigner The Rainbow Warrior comes fresh from confronting bottom trawlers off the East Coast of New Zealand on the Chatham Rise, a biodiversity hotspot under threat from the destructive fishing practice of bottom trawling. Activists from the Rainbow Warrior painted the words Ocean Killer on a Talley's bottom trawling vessel and then again on a Sealord vessel. In response to the painting in June. Russel Norman says, 'The Rainbow Warrior's return to Aotearoa comes at a pivotal moment as the fight to protect our planet's fragile life-support systems has never been more urgent. 'On a planetary scale, climate change, ecosystem collapse, and accelerating species extinction pose an existential threat to us all, while here in Aotearoa, our Government is waging an all-out war on nature. 'As we remember the bombing of the Rainbow Warrior and the murder of Fernando Pereira onboard that night 40 years ago, it's important to remember why the French Government committed such an extreme act of violence. 'They targeted our ship because Greenpeace and the campaign to stop nuclear weapons testing in the Pacific were so effective. We posed a threat to the French Government's military programme and colonial power in the Pacific. 'And it's critical to remember that they failed to stop us. They failed to intimidate us, and they failed to silence us. 'We showed that you can't sink a rainbow. We showed that courage is contagious. Greenpeace only grew stronger and continued the successful campaign against nuclear weapons testing in the Pacific. 'That lesson is important because now, forty years on, we are just as effective, and it is the fossil fuel industry and the billionaire oligarchs who try to stop us. This time, not with bombs but with armies of lawyers and legal attacks of the kind that right now could threaten the very existence of Greenpeace in the US and beyond. 'But just like in 1985 when the French bombed our ship, now too in 2025, we are showing that we can not be intimidated, we will not back down, and we will not be silenced. 'The Rainbow Warrior has sailed ever since as a symbol of resistance in action. And we cannot be silenced because we are a movement of people committed to peace and to protecting Earth's ability to sustain life, protecting the blue oceans, the forests and the life we share this planet with,' says Norman. Following the anniversary, the Rainbow Warrior will be open to the public for tours and talks with the crew on the weekends of 12 July and 19th July. A multi-billion-dollar US-based oil pipeline company, Energy Transfer, has brought two back-to-back SLAPP suits against Greenpeace International and Greenpeace in the US, after Greenpeace US showed solidarity with the 2016 peaceful Indigenous-led protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline. The first case was dismissed, but the Greenpeace organisations continue to defend against the second case, which is ongoing after a North Dakota jury recently awarded over 660 million USD in damages to the pipeline giant.
Scoop
02-07-2025
- Politics
- Scoop
Greenpeace International Begins Groundbreaking Anti-SLAPP Case To Protect Freedom Of Speech
In a landmark test case of the European Union's new legislation to protect freedom of expression and stop abusive lawsuits, Greenpeace International has overnight challenged the US oil pipeline company, Energy Transfer, in court in the Netherlands.[1] The multi-billion-dollar company brought two back-to-back SLAPP suits against Greenpeace International and Greenpeace in the US, after Greenpeace showed solidarity with the 2016 peaceful Indigenous-led protests against the Dakota Access Pipeline. The first case was dismissed, but the Greenpeace organisations continue to defend against the second case, which is ongoing, after a North Dakota jury recently awarded over 660 million USD in damages to the pipeline from Greenpeace International and allies were present outside the courthouse in Amsterdam for the first hearing in the case with a banner reading " ENERGY TRANSFER, WELCOME TO THE EU - WHERE FREE SPEECH IS STILL A THING". Mads Christensen, Executive Director, Greenpeace International, says:"Energy Transfer's attack on our right to protest is an attack on everyone's free speech. Greenpeace has been the target of threats, arrests and even bombs over the last 50 years and persevered. We will continue to resist all forms of intimidation and explore every option to hold Energy Transfer accountable for this attempt at abusing the justice system. This groundbreaking anti-SLAPP case against Energy Transfer in the Netherlands is just the beginning of defeating this bullying tactic being wielded by billionaires and fossil fuel giants trying to silence critics all over the world. Something absolutely vital is at stake here: people's ability to hold corporate polluters to account for the devastation they're causing." Russel Norman, Executive Director, Greenpeace Aotearoa, says:"The timing of this case is particularly poignant given that we are about to mark the 40th anniversary of the bombing of the Rainbow Warrior by agents of the French Government here in Auckland. The bombing was an act of desperation by the French Government in the face of our successful, people-powered campaign to end nuclear testing in the Pacific. "Forty years ago, we showed that we could not be intimidated. Greenpeace only grew stronger, and together with the nuclear-free Pacific movement, we put a stop to nuclear testing. Now, as Greenpeace International goes to court in Amsterdam, Energy Transfer would also like us - and all climate activists - to be afraid and to shut up - but once again, we will show that we will not be silenced."The lawsuit is an important test of the European Union's Anti-SLAPP Directive, adopted in April 2024.[2] The Directive is designed to protect journalists, activists, civil society organisations, or anyone else speaking out about matters of public concern, from Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPP) - unfounded intimidation lawsuits brought by powerful corporations or wealthy individuals seeking to suppress public debate.[3] Since Greenpeace International is a Netherlands-based foundation and the damage caused by Energy Transfers's US SLAPP suit is occurring in the Netherlands, both Dutch and EU law apply. Amy Jacobsen, Senior Legal Counsel, Greenpeace International, says,"This case paves the way for protections from bullying lawsuits being implemented throughout Europe and beyond. The lawsuits that Energy Transfer have brought against Greenpeace International are the perfect example of the kind of abusive legal proceedings that the anti-SLAPP Directive is designed to protect against. By calling upon the EU anti-SLAPP Directive's protections, Greenpeace International refuses to allow the bullying tactics of wealthy fossil fuel corporations like Energy Transfer to compromise our fundamental free speech rights." Following a dawn ceremony on the 10 July 2025 in Auckland, the Rainbow Warrior will be open to the public for tours and talks with the crew on the weekends of 12 July and 19th July. Notes: [1] The new EU rules are aimed at addressing the growing number of abusive lawsuits against journalists, media outlets, environmental activists and human rights defenders. In February 2025, Greenpeace International initiated the first test of the European Union's anti-SLAPP Directive by filing a lawsuit in Dutch court against Energy Transfer. Greenpeace International seeks to recover all damages and costs it has suffered as a result of Energy Transfers's back-to-back, meritless lawsuits demanding hundreds of millions of dollars from Greenpeace International and the Greenpeace organisations in the US. [2] EU Member States have until 7 May 2026 at the latest to transpose the rules into their national laws, but the Dutch government has indicated that the Directive's protections can already be applied under existing Dutch legal frameworks. [3] Big Oil companies Shell, Total, and ENI have also filed SLAPPs against Greenpeace entities in recent years. Some of these cases have been successfully stopped in their tracks. This includes Greenpeace France successfully defeating TotalEnergies' SLAPP on 28 March 2024, and Greenpeace UK and Greenpeace International forcing Shell to back down from its SLAPP on 10 December 2024. Greenpeace Romania was being sued by the energy company Romgaz in 2025 - with the aim of dissolving the organisation, but their claims were withdrawn and they were forced to pay the court expenses to Greenpeace Romania. Greenpeace Italy and Greenpeace Netherlands are facing the Italian oil giant Eni in an ongoing court case in Italy.
Scoop
20-06-2025
- Business
- Scoop
Global Survey Finds 8 Out Of 10 People Support Taxing Oil And Gas Corporations To Pay For Climate Damages
A majority of people believe governments must tax oil, gas and coal corporations for climate-related loss and damage, and that their government is not doing enough to counter the influence on politics of the super-rich and polluting industries. These are the key findings of a global survey, which reflects broad consensus across political affiliations, income levels and age groups. Today's study, which was jointly commissioned by Greenpeace International and Oxfam International, was launched at the Bonn UN climate meetings (SB62 16-26 June), where governments are discussing key climate policy priorities, including ways to mobilize at least US $1.3 trillion annually in climate finance for Global South countries by 2035. The poll was conducted across 13 countries, including most G7 countries. The study, run by Dynata, comes with additional research by Oxfam showing that a polluter profits tax on 590 oil, gas and coal companies could raise up to US $400 billion in its first year. This is equivalent to the estimated annual costs of climate damage in the Global South. Loss and damage costs from climate change to the Global South are estimated to reach between $290bn to $580bn annually by 2030. Key findings of the survey include: 81% of people surveyed support new taxes on the oil, coal and gas industry to pay for damages caused by fossil-fuel driven climate disasters like storms, floods, droughts and wildfires. 86% of people in surveyed countries support channelling revenues from higher taxes on oil and gas corporations towards communities who are most impacted by the climate crisis. Climate change is disproportionately hitting people in Global South countries, who are historically least responsible for greenhouse gas emissions. When asked who should be taxed to pay for helping survivors of fossil-fuel driven climate disasters, 66% of people across countries surveyed think it should be oil and gas companies compared to than 5% who support taxes on working people, 9% on goods people buy, and 20% in favour of business taxes. 68% felt that the fossil fuel industry and the super-rich had a negative influence on politics in their country. 77% say they would be more willing to support a political candidate who prioritises taxing the super-rich and the fossil fuel industry. Oxfam's research finds that 585 of the world's largest and most polluting fossil fuel companies made $583 billion in profits in 2024, a 68% increase since 2019. The annual emissions of 340 of these corporations (for whom data was available) accounted for over half of global greenhouse gas emissions caused by humans. Their emissions in just one year are enough to cause 2.7 million heat-related deaths over the next century. A polluter profits tax on these companies would ensure that renewable energy is more profitable than fossil fuels, encouraging companies to invest in renewables, as well as avoid more deaths driven by fossil fuelled climate change. This new tax must be accompanied by higher taxes on the super-rich and other polluting companies. Governments should impose such taxes nationally and engage positively at the UN to ensure a fair global tax agreement. Nick Henry, Climate Justice Lead for Oxfam Aotearoa, said: "This new poll shows that people support Oxfam's call for our leaders to make polluting corporations pay for the damage they cause to our climate." "People understand that storms, floods, drought, wildfires, and other extreme weather events are being fuelled by oil and gas corporations. Instead of leaving communities exposed to deal with these devastating costs alone, governments can unlock huge sums of money to invest in climate solutions through making dirty energy companies pay," said Rebecca Newsom, Global Political Lead for Greenpeace's Stop Drilling, Start Paying campaign. "The Polluters Pay Pact unites communities on the frontlines of climate disasters, concerned citizens, first responders like firefighters and humanitarian groups around the world to call on politicians to act now through making polluters, not people, pay for climate damages." Amitabh Behar, Executive Director of Oxfam International, said: "Mega-rich coal, oil and gas companies have known for decades about the damage their polluting products wreak on humanity. Corporations continue to cash in on climate devastation, and their profiteering destroys the lives and livelihoods of millions of women, men and children, predominantly those in the Global South who have done the least to cause the climate crisis. Governments must listen to their people and hold rich polluters responsible for their damages. A new tax on polluting industries could provide immediate and significant support to climate-vulnerable countries and finally incentivise investment in renewables and a just transition." Nick Henry continued: "Rather than subsidising new oil and gas drilling, and fast-tracking coal mines, our Government should be holding fossil fuel companies responsible for the costs facing our communities to adapt to climate change." Notes: The research was conducted by market research company Dynata in May-June, 2025, in Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Kenya, Italy, India, Mexico, the Philippines, South Africa, Spain, the UK and the US. Together, these countries represent close to half the world's population. Results available here. Oxfam's polluter profits tax model is explained in this blog and methodology note attached. The methodology note also explains the basis for the emissions of fossil fuel companies and their impacts on heat-related deaths. These deaths were calculated on the basis of emissions in 2023.
