The current energy shock is hitting people where it hurts most: household budgets. Fuel prices are up sharply, food is becoming more expensive and electricity bills are climbing. And while families pay the price, fossil fuel corporations are profiting from the instability driving those costs.

This isn’t a coincidence, it is how the fossil fuel system works.

When energy depends on globally traded fossil fuels, any disruption, whether that is war, geopolitical tensions or supply shocks, ripples through economies and lands in people’s wallets. This crisis is a warning light on a failing system and a signal to speed up the switch to renewables. That is where renewables come in as a practical, already deployed solution that is reshaping energy systems around the world.

1. Renewables now dominate new power capacity and outcompete fossil fuels on costs

In 2025, about 85% of all new electricity generation capacity built worldwide was renewable, mostly solar and wind. That is not a niche trend, it is a structural shift.

Solar and wind are now among the cheapest sources of new power in most regions, undercutting new gas and coal‑burning power stations and offering protection from fossil fuel price spikes. New data from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA) shows that 24/7 renewables (solar, wind and batteries) can now beat new coal and gas on cost in many parts of the world, while staying reliable around the clock.

Countries like Costa Rica and Albania already get almost all of their electricity from renewables, showing what a high‑renewables system can look like in practice. Even in the United States, over the course of March 2026 the country got more electricity from renewables than from natural gas, which is usually the single largest source on the US grid, marking an important milestone in the transition. This is proof that a clean energy future is within reach.

That matters for households because cheaper generation helps reduce electricity bills. More importantly, once built, solar panels and wind turbines do not rely on fuel that has to be bought on volatile global markets. They produce energy from the sun and wind that are free and locally available. That breaks the link between international crises and domestic energy prices.

2. Battery storage and smart grids make wind and solar reliable

Battery prices have fallen sharply, with the cost of utility‑scale battery storage dropping by more than 90% since 2010, and large projects are now being built from Australia and India to Japan and the Philippines to store solar and wind power and release it when needed. At the same time, smarter grids, better forecasting and more flexible demand are allowing energy systems to balance supply and demand more effectively than ever before, including in countries that already have high shares of renewables on their grids.

The result is a system that does not rely on the constant burning of fossil fuels to remain stable. Instead of depending on a single fuel, it draws on a mix of renewables, storage and smarter infrastructure, like smart grids and virtual power plants, and that diversity creates resilience.

3. Critical minerals are a challenge, but far smaller than constant fossil extraction

All energy systems need materials. The difference is what happens over time. Fossil fuels require constant extraction: drilling, mining, transporting and burning coal, oil and gas every day for decades, with pollution and damage adding up all the time.

Renewables work differently. Building solar panels, wind turbines and batteries does need metals and minerals, but once installed they generate clean power for 20–30 years or more without burning fuel, and life‑cycle studies show much lower emissions and material use than the never‑ending cycle of fossil fuel extraction and combustion.

That does not mean we can ignore environmental or social impacts; it means we must cut demand through efficiency and public transport, ramp up recycling and reuse, and make sure mining never happens in no‑go areas or at the expense of communities and Indigenous Peoples. Crucially, it means moving away from an energy system that never stops extracting.

4. Clean, homegrown energy can shield households from price shocks

Countries that rely more on renewables and less on imported gas have generally seen smaller electricity price spikes than those locked into fossil fuels, including during the current shock following Trump and Netanyahu’s war on Iran.

Analysis shows that meeting renewable energy targets can cut electricity price volatility and reduce extreme price spikes, because wind and solar do not need fuel that can suddenly become scarce or expensive. China’s huge build‑out of solar, wind, batteries and electric vehicles is now helping it weather fossil fuel price swings better than many neighbours that stay dependent on imported oil and gas, highlighting how clean energy can act as a shield in times of crisis.

The same applies at the household level. Rooftop solar, electric heating and electric transport reduce exposure to rising fuel costs and make bills more predictable over time. In the UK, record numbers of people are now installing rooftop solar, with more than 27,000 installations in March 2026 alone, as families look for proven ways to cut bills for good. Once these systems are in place, they provide a level of certainty that fossil fuels cannot.

That is why demand for these technologies surges during crises. People are looking for ways to take control of their energy costs, and clean, homegrown renewables are the way out of a system where every new conflict or embargo can send bills soaring.

5. Community‑owned decentralised, renewables build real energy security and resilience

Energy security is not only about where power comes from, but also about who controls it and who benefits. Community‑owned and local renewable projects, such as village solar farms, local wind turbines or municipally run energy services, keep more of the benefits in people’s hands and reduce dependence on fragile global fuel supply chains and big energy companies.

“Decentralised” here simply means energy systems built from many smaller, local sources instead of a few huge power plants. In practice, that means a town with rooftop solar, a community wind turbine and a local battery is less exposed if a pipeline is cut, a tanker route is blocked or a single large plant fails.

In South Korea, for example, new “solar income villages” use community solar to fund public services while cutting dependence on imported oil and gas, showing how clean, homegrown power can support both livelihoods and security.

This decentralised model also matters for safety in a world marked by war and geopolitical instability. Huge, centralised power plants and cross‑border fuel routes can become targets or leverage in conflicts, while a web of smaller, local renewable systems is harder to disrupt and easier to repair. By scaling up community‑owned and homegrown renewables, governments can build an energy system that is cleaner, fairer and far more resilient when the next crisis hits.

The lessons from the Iran war energy shock are clear.  As long as we depend on fossil fuels, billions of people will stay exposed to external shocks they cannot control; prices jump when supply is disrupted and corporations profit from the volatility while people pay the price.

Renewables offer a better way. They cut exposure to global instability, can lower costs, weaken the grip of autocratic governments that control fossil fuel supply, and can be built in ways that share benefits with communities.

This requires more than swapping one fuel for another. It means replacing a fundamentally unstable system that routinely produces crises and profits from them with one that is fair, resilient and powered by clean, homegrown energy. Renewables are ready. Governments must introduce permanent taxes on oil and gas profits applied to all profits, back a global polluter‑profits tax under a UN Tax Convention with binding rules to stop profit‑shifting, and use the revenues to support households facing rising bills, massively scale up renewable energy, and fund the most climate‑impacted communities around the world.

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Amsterdam, Netherlands – Reacting to the news that fertiliser producers have made windfall profits off the back of the war in the Middle East. Amanda Larsson, Global Big Ag Project Lead, Greenpeace Aotearoa said: “The illegal US-Israeli attack on Iran has sent global fertiliser prices soaring, and while a few agrochemical giants shamelessly reap bumper profits, farmers are watching their livelihoods wither on the vine. This is war-profiteering facilitated by a broken, fossil fuel-dependent food system – with farmers and consumers paying the price.

“Synthetic nitrogen fertiliser causes water and climate pollution, while propping up a system of industrial over-production, particularly to produce monoculture feed crops for livestock. We are sacrificing our rivers, our climate, and our financial security to prop up a system that serves billionaires, not communities.

“We cannot buy food security on a volatile global chemical market. The only path to true food sovereignty and resilience is through a transition to ecological farming. By moving away from synthetic fertilisers and toward diverse, nature-based practices, we can break the cycle of chemical dependence, protect our water, and ensure that the price of food is no longer dictated by the whims of war and corporate greed.”

ENDS

Notes:

[1] Fertilizer makers see earnings windfall as war disrupts supplies – Bloomberg

[2] [Fertilizer producer] Yara reports increased margins and strong volumes in 1Q – Yara

Greenpeace’s Arctic Sunrise sailed alongside the Global Sumud Flotilla from Barcelona to Syracuse to support a peaceful civilian mission challenging the siege on Gaza and demanding safe, unhindered humanitarian access.

11 May 2026 update | Two members of the Global Sumud Flotilla freed

We are relieved to share that Saif Abukeshek and Thiago Ávila have finally been released from Israeli detention. From organising the Global Sumud Flotilla to enduring a week of isolation, torture and a hunger strike, they have shown extraordinary resilience in the face of oppression.

Despite their ordeal, Saif Abukeshek and Thiago Ávila used their release to draw attention to the countless Palestinian children, women and men still being held in arbitrary detention.

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Their release is also testament to the power of collective action. When governments fail, civil society must step in to uphold human dignity. By uniting to apply relentless pressure on our leaders, we have proven that collective action works to secure their release.

Meanwhile, the crew of the Arctic Sunrise has located the flotilla ship, Mystere, which was left damaged and adrift at sea by Israeli forces. After deploying a small inflatable boat to document the damage and assess the vessel’s seaworthiness, our engineers found the ship in a dire state. All gauges were destroyed or ripped out, the sails were cut, and the engine was left open and filled with dust. These intentional acts of sabotage have rendered the Mystere unfit for use, extremely difficult to repair, and a danger to navigation.

8 May 2026 update | Arctic Sunrise departs for its next campaign as Greenpeace continues to call for an end to the siege of Gaza

As the Arctic Sunrise departs for its next campaign, Greenpeace is continuing to call for the protection of the Global Sumud Flotilla under international law.

From the Arctic Sunrise and on the ground in Italy, Greenpeace crew supported the flotilla throughout the first phases of its transit across the Mediterranean, carrying out more than 50 technical and operational interventions and helping prepare 25 ships in Sicily before departure.

After Israeli forces illegally boarded 22 vessels in international waters on 30 April 2026, Greenpeace worked with Open Arms to support the emergency response and stabilisation of the fleet. As the flotilla continues on its next leg from Crete, Greenpeace is urging governments to demand the immediate release of Saif Abukeshek and Thiago Ávila, safe passage for the flotilla, and an end to the siege of Gaza.

1 May 2026 update | Two crew members remain kidnapped after Israeli forces attacked and boarded flotilla vessels and abducted more than 175 people

Israeli forces attacked the Global Sumud Flotilla, damaged and disabled flotilla vessels and abducted over 175 people at gunpoint in international waters. Most of the abducted flotilla sailors have now been released, but two are still being held captive. We are calling for the immediate and unconditional release of the two civilians still held captive.

The remaining flotilla vessels have now reached the port of Ierapetra, Greece. The Greenpeace crew on the Arctic Sunrise ensured all remaining vessels were brought safely into port and provided essential assistance. Our role in providing logistical support continues. The Open Arms humanitarian rescue ship is currently retrieving vessels left adrift and is making sure no one is left behind at open sea.

Meanwhile, the humanitarian needs in Gaza remain overwhelming. The goal of the flotilla is to break Israel’s brutal siege of Gaza and deliver much-needed humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people who continue to suffer horrific conditions and ongoing deadly attacks.

You can help by contacting your Ministry of Foreign Affairs to urge them to put diplomatic pressure on Israel. Insist on a safe return of the last two civilians and an end to the siege of Gaza. See Global Sumud Flotilla for updates.

30 April 2026 update | Israeli forces intercept and threaten Global Sumud Flotilla in international waters, a number of participants kidnapped

The Israeli military launched a violent intervention against flotilla vessels yesterday evening (April 29), and their attacks continued all night. It started with threatening radio messages and communication jamming, and it continued with the boarding of multiple flotilla boats and the abduction of the people onboard. You can read our press release here.

At this stage, it is still unclear how many boats have been boarded or damaged, how many people kidnapped and what will happen to them. Head here for Global Sumud Flotilla updates.

Our crew and campaign team on the Arctic Sunrise have not been in direct contact with the Israeli attackers, and are all safe. They have been active all night, and are still at work this morning, to guide flotilla vessels towards safer waters and to assess how we can contribute to further rescue work for damaged vessels.

26 April 2026 update | The Arctic Sunrise departs Syracuse, Italy with the Global Sumud Flotilla

The Arctic Sunrise has departed Syracuse, Italy, continuing its journey alongside the Global Sumud Flotilla as the fleet presses east across the Mediterranean. The flotilla now consists of more than 50 ships, making it the largest flotilla ever assembled to attempt to break the siege. More ships are expected to join later.

Together with humanitarian rescue organisation Open Arms, our crew is working around the clock to keep the flotilla moving, performing complex engine and gearbox overhauls, restoring electrical systems, delivering food supplies and transferring doctors between vessels. Our small boat teams are being pushed to the limit with demanding towing operations and rapid-response transfers, getting support where it is most needed.

The ship’s role is clear: to provide technical and operational maritime support to the people-led flotilla and assist the vessels in safely transiting across the Mediterranean before they complete the last 200 nautical miles onto Gaza’s shores.

This is an act of solidarity, practical support and non-violent resistance, rooted in the belief that when governments fail to protect life and uphold international law, people will still come together to act.

This mission builds on earlier flotilla efforts to break the silence around Gaza. In 2024 and 2025, previous flotillas challenged the blockade and drew international attention to the humanitarian crisis. In September 2025, the Sumud Flotilla sailed with 42 boats and 462 people before Israeli forces intercepted and forcibly boarded the vessels about 70 nautical miles off the Gaza coast, cutting communications and jamming signals. 

The 2026 flotilla continues that same spirit of civilian resistance, but on a larger scale and with renewed determination to demand humanitarian access and justice.

Why this matters now – children, medics, journalists, aid workers, humanity

Gaza has been subjected to a scale of death and destruction that is almost impossible to absorb. Between 7 October 2023 and 14 January 2026, 71,439 Palestinians were killed in Gaza and 171,324 injured, according to Gaza health ministry figures reported by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

As of mid-February 2026, around 1.4 million of Gaza’s 2.1 million people were displaced, with many living in roughly 1,000 makeshift sites. Even after the October 2025 “ceasefire” announcement, OCHA said hundreds more Palestinians were killed, with the reported toll since that announcement rising to 689 by late March 2026.

The genocide in Gaza has also been marked by the killing of the very people trying to save lives and tell the world what is happening – aid workers and journalists.

Amnesty International said at least 408 aid workers had been killed in Gaza since 7 October 2023, including at least 280 UNRWA staff and 34 Palestine Red Crescent Society staff. The New Humanitarian described Gaza’s aid worker death toll as unprecedented, noting that in just three months the number of humanitarians killed there exceeded the deadliest year ever recorded globally for aid workers. 

Press freedom groups have described this as the deadliest conflict for journalists since CPJ began recording such data in 1992, and a June 2025 public appeal said nearly 200 journalists had been killed by the Israeli military over 20 months. 

In a small, enclosed territory, that concentration of civilian killing, displacement, hunger and attacks on medics, aid workers and reporters has become a defining feature of the war. And it’s spreading.

As Ghiwa Nakat, executive director of Greenpeace Middle East and North Africa says, “The devastation inflicted on Gaza has become a dangerous doctrine of impunity, now spreading to Lebanon through massacres, relentless destruction, and deepening human suffering. The Greenpeace ship is joining this people-led mission to demand safe, unhindered humanitarian access to Gaza and to challenge the illegal blockade that continues to devastate civilian life. We stand firmly against war crimes, deliberate starvation, ethnic cleansing, genocide, and ecocide. This flotilla is a call to governments around the world to end their silence, protect humanitarian action, and act with urgency and principle to uphold international law, human dignity, and justice.”

War is scarring lives, ecosystems and the region for decades

War does not only destroy homes and families. It poisons land and water, wrecks food systems, leaves mountains of toxic rubble and turns recovery into a struggle that can last for generations.

Analysis estimated that the first 120 days of the war generated a mean 536,410 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, with 90% linked to Israel’s bombardment and ground invasion of Gaza. The same analysis highlighted heavy metal contamination and severe damage to air, water and land, and found that by May 2024 around 57% of Gaza’s cropland had been damaged.

Across the region, war and militarisation are tearing through ecosystems, livelihoods and public health, from Gaza to Lebanon, Iran, and beyond. That is why peace, justice and environmental protection cannot be separated: a liveable future depends on all three.

What you can do

Follow the Global Sumud Flotilla and share verified updates, especially on Instagram and Facebook, so that Gaza is not pushed out of view.

Support calls for a permanent ceasefire, unhindered humanitarian access, a comprehensive arms embargo and an end to the illegal occupation of Palestine.

You can take action by signing petitions, including:

• Greenpeace Nordic – Tell Equinor to end the partnership with Ithaca Energy and cancel the Rosebank oil field
• Greenpeace UK – Stop British-made weapons being used in Gaza
• Greenpeace Spain – No más armas para el genocidio en Gaza
• Greenpeace Aotearoa – Call for sanction on Israel
• Greenpeace MENA – Join MENA voices calling for an end to the genocide in Gaza
• Greenpeace Canada – Tell Canada to stop arming Israel
• Greenpeace Indonesia – Global Sumud Flotilla: Let’s break the siege
• Amnesty International – Lift the blockade on Gaza and stop the genocide
• Doctors Without Borders – Stop the genocide. Let Gaza live

The Global Sumud Flotilla details how its supporters can play a crucial role by: 

• Organising actions and demonstrations 
• Amplifying verified mission updates 
• Pressuring governments to uphold international law 
• Supporting Palestinian-led relief and reconstruction efforts.

With mass displacement, shattered infrastructure and urgent humanitarian needs still defining daily life in Gaza, every bit of solidarity makes a difference.

Fair winds and following seas to all sailing for peace and justice.

Pujarini Sen is project lead for the Greenpeace Arctic Sunrise ship joining the Global Sumud Flotilla

Amsterdam, Netherlands — Greenpeace International’s landmark anti-SLAPP lawsuit against Energy Transfer continues in the Netherlands after the North Dakota Supreme Court today largely rejected the pipeline company’s attempt to avoid accountability under Dutch and EU laws. The court’s opinion calls for a “narrowly tailored” anti-suit injunction, but expressly does not “foreclose all related litigation by GPI in the Netherlands.”[1] The first hearing in Greenpeace International’s anti-SLAPP case against Energy Transfer, for its back-to-back bullying lawsuits in the US, took place on 16 April 2026 in the Amsterdam District Court. 

Daniel Simons, Senior Legal Counsel Strategic Defense, Greenpeace International said: “Today’s North Dakota Supreme Court opinion does not enable Energy Transfer to escape accountability under Dutch and EU law for their unlawful actions against Greenpeace International. The legal fight to remedy the harms suffered as a result of Energy Transfer’s intimidation tactics continues.”

The North Dakota Supreme Court’s order clears the way for Greenpeace International to continue pursuing its anti-SLAPP case in the Netherlands on multiple grounds. It imposes no restriction on arguments that Energy Transfer’s failed federal lawsuit was a SLAPP and that out-of-court statements made by the pipeline company are defamatory. Greenpeace International will be permitted to continue arguing Energy Transfer has acted abusively in the pending District Court case that resulted in a US$345 million judgment against Greenpeace International and Greenpeace organisations in the US.[2] The “narrowly tailored” injunction will pertain only to Greenpeace International asking for a finding that the North Dakota case lacks “legal foundation” or is “manifestly unfounded”. Greenpeace International has 14 days to file a petition for re-hearing.

ENDS

Notes:

1. 7 May 2026 State Supreme Court Opinion on Energy Transfer’s Petition for Supervisory Writ
2. Energy Transfer has been waging abusive lawsuits against Greenpeace International and Greenpeace entities in the US for nearly a decade in a blatant attempt to silence free speech, erase Indigenous leadership of the Standing Rock movement, and punish solidarity with peaceful resistance to the Dakota Access Pipeline. Energy Transfer’s first lawsuit was filed in US federal court in 2017 and was dismissed in 2019, with the judge stating the evidence fell “far short”. Energy Transfer promptly filed a new but similar case in a North Dakota state court. Despite no sound legal basis for any liability, that case returned a US$345 million judgment in favor of the company in February 2026. The Greenpeace parties involved are seeking a new trial and, if that fails, will appeal this judgment to the North Dakota Supreme Court.  

Contacts:

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

Join the Greenpeace SLAPP Trial WhatsApp Group for our latest updates