Crew on the Greenpeace International vessel Arctic Sunrise report that vessels in the Global Sumud Flotilla have been harassed by Israeli forces in international waters 45 nautical miles west of the Greek island Kythira and 600 nautical miles from Gaza. 

A radio warning was received by the Global Sumud vessels at 18:43 UTC (21:43 local time) on the general international channel (16), with the sender identifying themselves as the Israeli Navy and demanding that the flotilla change course. This was followed by jamming communication channels, which meant putting the fleet at risk in open sea. Jamming included VHF maritime emergency SOS communication, VHF channels for flotilla coordination, the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) and Iridium bands. At the time of writing, all communication is lost with several flotilla vessels.

The Global Sumud Flotilla is an international movement of coordinated, nonviolent action, sailing to end Israel’s illegal siege on Gaza, confront the complicity that enables occupation, and stand with the Palestinian people. With the Arctic Sunrise, Greenpeace has been providing logistical support.

Greenpeace is calling on all governments to act with urgency to uphold international law and ensure the protection of the Global Sumud Flotilla with concrete steps to ensure its safe passage to deliver humanitarian aid to Gaza. 

Pujarini Sen, Project Lead on board the Arctic Sunrise said: “Greenpeace stands in solidarity with the people of Gaza and with the many brave individuals risking their freedom and safety aboard the flotilla. Humanitarian assistance must be respected and protected at all times and at all costs.”

“We renew our call on world leaders to take concrete and immediate action in the face of the genocide being inflicted by Israel on the people of Gaza. The international community’s ongoing failure to enforce international law leaves it culpable for Israel’s actions.

The Israeli government continues to enforce a full blockade by land and sea of aid and food from international organisations. Blocking aid and targeting those who attempt to deliver it are violations of international humanitarian law.”

ENDS

The Israeli IDF radio transmission can be downloaded here

The Flotilla Tracker map shows the location of the vessels: https://globalsumudflotilla.org/tracker/ 

Live streams from the flotilla: https://globalsumudflotilla.org/live

Contact:

Diederick van den Ende, Communication Lead (on board the Arctic Sunrise), dvdende@greenpeace.org 

Greenpeace International Press Desk, pressdesk.int@greenpeace.org, +31 20 718 2470 (24 hours)

Global Sumud Flotilla, media@globalsumudflotilla.org, +44 1414 620 950

I am writing this with my feet still sandy from Santa Marta in Colombia, and my heart fuller than when I arrived—because coming to the coast always fills me with motivation. This week, I participated in the First International Conference on Transitioning Away From Fossil Fuels.

This was a space I hoped would not merely be a forum for political declarations about ending coal, oil and gas, but a genuine conversation about how to make the clean energy transition possible. With the participation of over 50 countries from around the world, the dialogue brought together local communities, civil society organizations, Indigenous Peoples, small-scale farmers, Afro-descendant communities, academics, think tanks, intergovernmental institutions, and many other stakeholders to discuss a subject as central as energy and a safe climate.

A City That Says It All

Santa Marta is no neutral backdrop; it is a Caribbean city guarded by the Sierra Nevada—the largest coastal mountain range on the planet—the source of the watersheds that supply the entire region, and home to Indigenous Peoples who know and protect it. Yet, it is also a city battered by the climate crisis. Just recently, a heavy swell washed tons of plastic onto its beaches, harming wildlife and stripping away the livelihoods of those who depend on the sea. It serves as a stark reminder that plastic pollution is yet another major impact left behind by fossil fuels.

Discussing the energy transition here—in a region boasting some of the highest solar radiation levels in Colombia and winds that never cease—raises an inevitable question: what are we waiting for? And who stands to benefit from our delay in making this transition?

That is why we went to the beach and wrote in the sand:

SUN AND WIND: OUR ENERGY FUTURE

What We Built Together

For two days before, I worked alongside civil society organisations, Indigenous Peoples, academics, and institutions from across Latin America during the fifth Retreat for Latin American Civil Society Organizations. Together, we crafted a shared definition of the essential elements that must be included in the national roadmaps designed to halt deforestation and guide our countries’ transition away from fossil fuels. We reached agreements regarding citizen participation, financing, product traceability, and the governance of our forests—aimed at ensuring that a standing forest holds more value than a destroyed one, and that the transition is carried out *with*, *by*, and *for* the people.

It was not easy. Deforestation and energy issues are not experienced in the same way across the world. In the case of deforestation, Latin America produces a large portion of what the world consumes; such a meat, soy, wood, minerals, among other commodities. Yet today—due to a lack of regulation, information, and traceability—this production destroys ecosystems vital for life, jeopardises our water and unique species, and generates tons of greenhouse gas emissions. Hearing this directly from the voices of those who live through it in their own territories lends greater weight and a human face than any statistic. And these communities can no longer be the last to learn about decisions that affect their territories.

My lasting impressions

The most important things, however, did not happen within the working sessions. They happened out on the streets—talking with taxi drivers, students, and vendors. When asked if they would like their home energy to come from the sun—which shines down on them all year round—and for that energy to be more accessible and affordable, the answer was always the same: “Of course. What needs to happen to make that possible? How would it affect us?”

These are the questions that we at Greenpeace carry into every decision-making space, representing the people who could not be here in person but who have every right to have someone speak on their behalf. We have four years left until 2030 to achieve several key goals:  halt and reverse deforestation and to triple renewable energy capacity to reduce global emissions as part of a fair, fast and funded energy transition. Four years for governments to transform intentions into concrete roadmaps, complete with clear targets and genuine public participation. That is not a lot of time.

I leave with greater clarity than when I arrived but with the same unwavering conviction as always: this conversation can no longer be left solely to the experts.

A just energy transition, making the fossil fuel polluters pay and the protection of our Amazon are built by more people demanding change, asking questions, and getting involved. 

Respect the Amazon

Ask political leaders to act on their promises to stop Amazon destruction.

Join the movement

Laura Caicedo is the Campaigns Coordinator with Greenpeace Colombia.

When we talk about the climate crisis, fossil fuel giants like Shell or Exxon usually take the spotlight. But there is another titan of industry driving dangerous climate destruction and it is currently setting its sights on a massive expansion in Africa.

Meet JBS: the world’s largest meat company, and the biggest climate threat you have never heard of.

To grasp the sheer scale of JBS, consider this: it has the capacity to slaughter around 76,000 cows, 14 million chickens, 147,000 pigs, and 23,500 lambs every single day. Its methane emissions are estimated to exceed the combined livestock emissions of France, Germany, Canada, and New Zealand.

For decades, JBS has been the market leader in Brazil’s beef industry, which is the primary engine behind the destruction of the Amazon rainforest. In addition to being directly implicated in corruption scandals, JBS has through its supply chain relationships, been linked to severe human rights abuses and to cattle grazed illegally on indigenous lands. Now, to line the pockets of its billionaire shareholders, it is exporting this toxic model of extraction to a new frontier: Sub-Saharan Africa.

A US$2.5 billion corporate secret

Half of JBS’ predatory US$6 billion global expansion has been earmarked for Nigeria, and they have signed an agreement with the Nigerian government to build six massive meat-processing plants. At least 1.2 million hectares of land has already been committed to the project. An area larger than some small nations is slated for conversion into large-scale industrial farming.

The catch? Secrecy.

JBS has failed to disclose significant information about its plans, from the agreement it signed with Nigeria’s government to environmental and human rights impact assessments. In a region where traditional pastoralism supports over 20 million people, this isn’t just a business deal; it’s a direct threat to food sovereignty, human dignity, and local livelihoods.

Local communities and civil society groups in Nigeria are resisting, demanding transparency and raising serious concerns about the future of the land, including dispossession, mass displacement and disruption of their pastoralist way of life. Now Greenpeace Africa has escalated the issue as part of a recent submission to the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights. Specifically drawing attention to JBS’ shady expansion plans in Nigeria, the filing argues that governments and corporations alike have a binding duty under the African Charter to prevent harm and ensure public participation and access to information. States must hold corporate actors legally accountable for the actions of their subsidiaries.

We won’t sit idly by and watch this happen. I count on you to join us and help force JBS’s plans into the light.

Multinational corporations like JBS thrive by operating in the dark. They want to quietly build their empires in back rooms while leaving local communities to deal with the consequences: polluted air, drained water sources, and an unstable climate.

Why a secret in Nigeria matters everywhere

You might be reading this in Madrid, Mexico City, or Auckland, thinking Nigeria feels a world away. But Big Agriculture’s playbook and impact is global, and so is our resistance. The global meat and dairy industry is rigged by a handful of corporate giants, and stopping them requires global solidarity.

• Pulling the climate emergency brake: Methane is over 80 times more potent than CO2 in the short term. JBS sees Nigeria as a gateway to rolling out its destructive industrial farm model across the entire continent and beyond. By standing in solidarity with Nigerian civil society, we can protect our shared climate from being pushed beyond irreversible tipping points.

• Setting a precedent for accountability: All over the world, agribusiness lobbyists are using their economic muscle to roll back environmental regulations, trading public health for corporate profit. By stopping JBS’ predatory expansion in Africa, we set a global benchmark: no corporation is too big to be held to account, and no community can be pushed out in secret.

Are you ready to demand transparency from JBS?

We have already seen first-hand the devastation fossil fuel companies like Shell cause to our climate, our environment and human rights. Now, JBS is gearing up to follow.

History shows us that corporate giants will not change until people power forces them to. The strategy of Big Ag relies on undue political influence, greenwash, corruption and extreme secrecy to lock in a future of industrial overproduction and corporate extraction, which generates profits for wealthy shareholders at the expense of people and nature. But we are fighting for a renewed future. One where food is for people, not for corporate profit.

True food sovereignty requires halting this expansion to ensure local communities retain sovereignty over their land. Local communities in Nigeria are already rising up. Now, we need people like you to help force JBS’s plans into the light – and stop a new wave of destruction before it starts. 

Amanda Larsson is Global Campaign Lead for Agriculture, Greenpeace Aotearoa.  

Santa Marta, Colombia – Greenpeace is urging governments attending the Santa Marta conference to seize the current energy supply crisis amid the war on Iran to accelerate a just transition to renewable energy that protects people and builds long-term climate and energy stability. 

At the midway point of the conference, Greenpeace Colombia activists displayed a message on the Malecon de Bastidas beach in Santa Marta saying: ’Renewables Power Peace’ and called on the attending countries to ‘End Fossil Fuels’. Activists also displayed small windmills to symbolise the potential and reliability of renewable energy. 

Rodrigo Estrada, Senior Climate Advisor, Greenpeace International said: “Phasing out oil, gas and coal means phasing in stability and Santa Marta can accelerate a just transition away from fossil fuels. In contrast to the dangerous energy supply crisis, the conference shows there’s light on the horizon and that energy solutions for a viable future are achieved through cooperation rather than conflict. Now it’s time for the Santa Marta coalition of committed states to put words into action.”

To coincide with the First International Conference on Transitioning Away from Fossil Fuels in Santa Marta, Greenpeace International has produced a policy briefing outlining the core elements of a just transition and the urgent, priority actions needed from national governments and through global co-operation to make it a reality.[1] Greenpeace will also have a delegation of climate and energy policy experts on site in Santa Marta.

Laura Caicedo, Campaigns Coordinator, Greenpeace Colombia said: “Colombia has everything it needs to lead an energy transition based on solar and wind power. This potential is a real opportunity to move toward a more just model, with community participation and tangible benefits for people. But for this to happen, we need global finance to be unlocked so that a national roadmap can be implemented. In a context of global crisis and instability, diversifying our energy mix is not only a climate necessity, it is key to strengthening the country’s economic resilience and reducing dependence on fossil fuels.”

Shiva Gounden, Head of Pacific, Greenpeace Australia Pacific said: “As illegal wars and political power plays choke the world’s energy supply, Pacific communities are again bearing the brunt of a crisis they did not create. We come together in Santa Marta at an historic turning point – a moment of great disruption but also opportunity to free ourselves from the fossil fuel stranglehold by transitioning towards clean, homegrown renewables. This is no longer just a climate necessity, it is the path to global peace and energy security, and the safe future of communities around the world.”

Anna Cárcamo, Climate Politics Specialist at Greenpeace Brazil said: “The transition away from fossil fuels is urgent, and it must be just. For it to be just, there must be provision of quality finance from developed countries to developing countries to implement these transitions and measures to guarantee human rights, job security, resilience, equitable energy access and effective participation. The Roadmap to transition away from fossil fuels led by the COP30 Presidency and the Santa Marta Conference provide opportunities to drive this transition to a new system, one that protects people and nature and benefits local communities and territories in the Global South, rather than reproducing colonial extractivist models”.

ENDS

Photos are available in the Greenpeace Media Library. 

Notes:
[1] A Just Transition Away from Fossil Fuels: Policy Briefing

Contact:

Greenpeace International Press Desk, +31 (0)20 718 2470 (available 24 hours), pressdesk.int@greenpeace.org