In 2019, the Prime Minister of the Russian Federation ordered the review of zones in which fires can be legally left to burn.

In just three weeks, over 400,000 people signed a petition calling for a review of the control zone borders to ensure the safety of communities and wildlife in and around forest area. Greenpeace Russia also documented wildfires burning through 4.3 million hectares of the important taiga, a type of forest in Siberia.

These revisions will hopefully help to prevent further catastrophic wildfires in Siberia, which were largely caused by weak legislation. As well as saving the habitat of many unique species, the changed laws will prevent the release of carbon dioxide, which is stored in millions of hectares of taiga forests, into the atmosphere. This is just one step to address the ongoing climate crisis.

The Dutch Senate passed a law banning coal used for electricity production. Only 19 of the 75 senators voted against the law. The Senate was not intimidated by the threats from coal companies such as RWE and Uniper to start ISDS lawsuits via the Energy Charter Treaty against the Coal Phase Out Law.

The law will aim to phase out coal energy production by 2030 in an effort to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and meet the Paris Climate Agreement after years of campaigning, petitioning, and protesting by Greenpeace Netherlands.

Currently, coal burning is responsible for 13% of GHG emissions in the Netherlands. With this law, the Netherlands joins other European countries that are also phasing out coal by 2030, such as Finland, Denmark and Hungary.

In a summer rife with destructive bushfires, which have been made more severe by the climate crisis, we uncovered the federal government's vested interests in the coal industry, which has stifled effective and necessary action to fight climate change.

In our documentary "Dirty Power", we worked with investigative journalist Michael West to expose the secretive ties between political figures, major industry members, and media organisations which continue to undermine and thwart tangible climate action.

Our documentary has been viewed and shared over 200,000 times, demonstrating the overwhelming demand from community members for effective action to limit climate damage and transition to clean energy. 

New Zealand, May 2018

In 2018, the New Zealand government banned new offshore oil and gas explorations, a step towards a zero carbon economy. Greenpeace New Zealand has campaigned against offshore oil for the last seven years alongside local community and indigenous Maori groups in the fourth biggest Exclusive Economic Zone in the world. This sets the example for others to follow suit in a transition away from fossil fuels, which are exacerbating climate change.

United Kingdom, August 2018

Sadiq Khan Mayor of London announced an extension of the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ). In the ULEZ, vehicles that don't meet emissions standards are charged £12.50 in an effort to curb air pollution in congested areas. The ULEZ extension is by far the biggest zone of its type in Europe and could help to fund alternative forms of travel. It legitimises charging cars for driving and the idea of polluter pays. Greenpeace pushed for all the candidates to adopt the idea during the mayoral elections in 2016. 

Netherlands, May 2019

Dutch asset manager Actiam added US pipeline company Energy Transfer Partners to its Exclusion List in its Responsible Investing plans for human rights issues. In its plan, Actiam aims to have "no systematic involvement in severe environmental damage" to contribute towards the Sustainable Development Goals set out by the UN.

In Huayuan County, Hunan Province China, five villages are surrounded by nearly 20 tailings ponds. Soil, farmland and rice are heavily polluted by heavy metal including lead (Pb), arsenic (As), chromium (Cr) and cadmium (Cd). The human health impact is also confirmed by incidence of kidney stone (80-90%), uremia and other diseases. 

After having soil and rice sample tested, we sent all materials to media. With media and other NGOs' collaboration, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang responded to the case and a team of experts from the Chinese Ministry of Environmental Protection and National Health Commission was sent out for investigation. 

All mining activities are suspended until the full investigation is completed. The case now is under inspection by the central government and provincial government.

In 2019, Norway barred the pristine Lofoten islands from the oil industry. After years of hard work by the Norwegian environmental movement, finally the Labour Party decided to relinquish the demand to open the areas outside of the islands of Lofoten, Vesterålen and Senja for oil drilling, effectively taking the issue off the table, and leaving the areas untouched. 

While it has been politically infeasible to open the areas in any realistic government coalition for the last 10 years, it has always been on the table, and kept the Norwegian oil industry debate in a choke-hold. Now, we're free to talk about the necessary transition away from risky oil drilling in the Norwegian Arctic.

These unique ecosystems must be protected as the Lofoten areas are the breeding grounds and nursery for a large part of the fish in the Barents Sea, ripe with coral reefs and a whale sanctuary. 

In 2020, Norwegian oil company Equinor withdrew from drilling in the Great Australian Bight. This comes after Chevron and BP, the other major oil companies, quit their plans to drill for oil in the Great Australian Bight following relentless campaigning from Greenpeace and our supporters. 

Citing the Bight as "not commercially competitive", Equinor abandoned its plans to drill 2.5 kilometres deep, which would've disturbed the unique ecosystem of the Bight. The company was the last major oil company with a permit to explore drilling prospects in the Bight.

We succeeded by petitioning BP to withdraw its oil drilling plans and by pressuring NOPSEMA to do what's right by our fragile ecosystems, setting a strong precedent for future oil giants who may seek to exploit the natural resources of the Great Australian Bight.

France, March 2019

Major oil company Total's exploratory oil drilling off the coast of Guiana has been effectively limited two years after the French Parliament passed legislation calling on oil production to be phased out by 2040. This new legislation will ensure that oil companies are prevented from gaining permits for oil extraction and from renewing their licences past 2040. This stance against destructive oil practices, supplemented with effective action to address the climate crisis and global ocean protection, is a step in the right direction for unique marine ecosystems like the Amazon Reef to be safeguarded for future generations.

Norway, April 2019

The Norwegian oil fund, also known as the Government Pension Fund Global, strengthened its coal investment criteria in 2019. The fund aims to support the economy through the fluctuations of oil revenue, which is a significant part of Norway's economy. However, with tightening considerations in its criteria of companies to invest in, the fund effectively excludes oil companies that don't meet the criteria from investment. Moreover, the fund set higher limits on investments into unlisted renewable infrastructure, making it two percent of the fund's total value.

In October 2019, the Arkhangelsk regional government in Russia officially established one of the largest old-growth nature reserves. The 300,000 hectare area, which is larger than the size of Luxembourg, is made up of spruce forests. The new reserve covers much of the boreal forest wilderness between the Northern Dvina and Pinega rivers. 

This comes after two decades of campaigning by Greenpeace Russia and other environmental NGOs. In this long battle, an agreement was originally reached between the Ministry of Natural Resources of the Arkhangelsk Region, the relevant logging companies, WWF, and Greenpeace in April 2018, and has now been finally signed as an official decree.

Old-growth forests are essential for mitigating the effects of climate change because they accumulate more carbon from the atmosphere than secondary forests (forests which have been regrown after clearing) through their dead wood and the soil. Interestingly, these old-growth spruce forests retain moisture during droughts, which helps to minimise risk of fires and release of carbon back into the atmosphere.

Martua Sitorus, co-founder of palm oil trader Wilmar International, resigned after Greenpeace International received 1.3 million signatures on a petition calling for the end to deforestation for palm oil and released an investigation into Wilmar International's connections to Indonesian palm oil giant Gama Plantation. 

Gama Plantation destroyed an area of forest twice the size of Paris in 2013, at the same time when Martua Sitorus announced a commitment to end deforestation, peat, and exploitation.

As the largest palm oil trader, supplying 40% of the world's palm oil, Wilmar International has since published an action plan involving satellites to map and monitor its suppliers for signs of deforestation. 

This step forward by Wilmar International will pave the way for other companies in the palm oil industry to follow suit and remove damaging logging practices from their supply chain.

The Belgian government reacted to an illegal timber alert from Greenpeace Belgium. The Belgian customs department blocked and seized a cargo of suspicious sawn timber in the Port of Antwerp, with wood logged from Gabon, West Africa, and exported by Chinese logging company WCTS for Belgian company Compagnie du Bois Anvers.

The Belgian government opened a formal investigation as this import was likely in breach of the European Timber Regulation (EUTR).

Belgium is one of Europe's top importers of tropical wood, making it an important economy to enforce regulatory standards such as the European Timber Regulation if other nations are to follow the precedent Belgium sets.

One of the reasons illegal logging is environmentally detrimental is that it contributes to the changing climate. Unsustainable deforestation can be particularly harmful in the Congo Basin, which is an immense carbon store and if logged irresponsibly, can release the carbon into the atmosphere and worsen the climate crisis.

The UK Government announced at the 2018 UN General Assembly its support for protecting 30% of the world’s oceans by 2030. Greenpeace UK has been calling for ministers to support a global network of ocean sanctuaries covering at least 30% of the world’s oceans by 2030 for a long time now.

The UK Government's support for 30% of open oceans to be assigned as Marine Protected Areas will hopefully guide other major nations to prioritise ocean protection. International cooperation will be vital in protecting the oceans that lie outside of national boundaries in particular, according to Environment Secretary Michael Gove.

Ocean sanctuaries like the ones the UK Government is calling for are important to protect marine ecosystems from harmful industrial activities, plastic pollution, and climate change. Oceans themselves are vital to the regulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which helps to mitigate the changing climate of our planet.

The regional government of the Balearic Islands in the western Mediterranean Sea approved a local law to regulate harmful activities near the Posidonia marine seagrass meadow. 

As Posidonia Decree was approved, Greenpeace ship Esperanza arrived in Ibiza. The ship's expedition to Ibiza aims to push for stronger measures to safeguard the future of this marine area. On board the Esperanza, Greenpeace held a press conference with Oceana, Terraferida and GENGOB to celebrate the news of the decree.

Greenpeace's campaigning also involved using nautical charts to document ships anchored in the Posidonia meadows. This will help avoid boat anchoring on these vulnerable plants. 

This seagrass meadow is important for marine ecosystems as it produces oxygen and helps to store 40% of carbon according to an IUCN report, which helps to regulate the climate.

Two major supermarkets in Australia, Coles and Woolworths, committed to phasing out single-use plastic bags and made further commitments to reducing plastic in their supply chains.

This is a significant win as billions of plastic bags are handed out at the checkout of these two supermarkets alone. Now, the supermarkets will offer reusable alternatives to these bags.

Once they enter waterways, these plastics can often be mistaken for food by marine animals like sea turtles. As plastic bags can take 20-1000 years to break down naturally, they can stay lodged in animals' airways and cause death.

According to the National Retail Association, the switch to reusable bag options at these two supermarkets has seen an 80% drop in plastic bag consumption in Australia. With this move by the two major supermarkets in Australia, other retailers will hopefully begin phasing out single-use plastics and introduce more sustainable alternatives.

Chile, August 2019

Greepeace Andino received official notification from the Chilean Accounting Office that four aquaculture licences in the Cape Horn Biosphere Reserve would be cancelled. The reserve comprises of marine and coastal features, home to unique wildlife, which will be further protected as the Chilean Navy ordered for cages and floating buildings to be removed from the area. These items were illegally built by Nova Austral, a Chilean salmon farmer and processor.

Russia, July 2018

Major Russian supermarket chain Azbuka Vkusa will stop providing single-use plastic bags for free and instead promote reusable bags to its customers. This was in response to Greenpeace Russia's campaign, which called on the supermarket to phase out disposable plastics in its packaged products. A plastic-free future, for which this victory is just one step in the right direction, will ensure marine animals don't suffocate on plastics that enter waterways.

The National Environmental Tribunal (NET) in Kenya revoked the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) licence that was issued by the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) to a coal-fired power plant in Lamu, parts of which are UNESCO World Heritage listed.

After finding that NEMA had approved the coal plant without a thorough assessment or public consultation, the new tribunal called for a new environmental assessment to be undertaken. A new EIA would have to account for the power plant's effects on communities and the environment, with climate change being a significant focus.

Greenpeace Africa and its partners at deCOALonize have been at the forefront of campaigning against the Lamu coal power plant and coal mining in Kitui. In 2019, communities came together to deliver a letter to the Ministry of Energy to transition to renewable energy.

The new President Zuzana Čapútová and Prime Minister Pellegrini announced that Slovakia will support the EU 2050 carbon neutrality target and phase out coal burning for electricity by the end of 2023. 

This comes after other successes such as Slovakia's joining of the Powering Past Coal Alliance, which advocates the transition from coal to clean energy. Just a year earlier, Greenpeace activists who climbed a tower for a peaceful demonstration against coal were released after being detained by authorities, increasing public awareness of coal's detrimental effects on the climate and the environment.

As a country in which greenhouse gas emissions increased by 2.4% , Slovakia is taking significant steps to combat climate change. With this announcement, Slovakia can send a clear message to other Visegrad Group countries (the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland) that coal is a dead end for our communities, environments, and economy.

In 2018, the Australian government proposed the National Energy Guarantee (NEG), which would actually inhibit renewable energy projects, drive up emissions, and increase power prices. This stirred concerns about Australia not meeting its targets from the Paris Agreement, which aims to build a global effort to combat the climate emergency.

Greenpeace Australia Pacific launched a crowdfunder, Save Solar, to stop the policy going through. In a matter of weeks, we raised nearly $55,000 to expose the then-Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull's dirty power plan through TV advertising in Victoria and Queensland. The advertisements called for Australians to contact their state energy ministers and tell them to reject the government's NEG.

The NEG was effectively rejected under Malcolm Turnbull's leadership and was subsequently dumped by Prime Minister Scott Morrison.

Netherlands, February 2019

Major insurance company Aegon announced that it will stop investment in tar sands oil companies Transcanada and Enbridge in Canada and the United States. With its acknowledgement that tar sands oil is incompatible with the Paris goals, Aegon is withdrawing 530 million euros in investments from the tar sands industry. The decision came after a campaign and petition by Greenpeace Netherlands.

Spain, February 2019

The regional parliament of the Balearic Islands in Spain approved the regional Climate Change and Energy Transition Law. The Law includes measures involves prohibiting the circulation of diesel cars from 2025, with the exception of those already registered. The Law includes the closure of two coal thermal groups in 2020 and the remaining two in 2025. The Balearic Islands has committed to sourcing all energy from renewable sources such as solar and wind power by 2050.

Japan, May 2019

Japanese ENGOs welcomed Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG)'s release of a revised environmental and social policy framework, which aims to remove current financing for coal-fired thermal power and to stop financing into new coal power projects. This comes only a short time after coal and its financial risks even became recognised as an issue in Japan, making this move a real, significant change.