In times when genocide, wars, extreme weather and the largest World Cup ever can coexist, the world’s biggest football tournament inevitably becomes a stage for geopolitical tensions and contradictions. Even more so when it is co-hosted by a country that has threatened to annex a fellow host country and started a war against one of the competing nations.

While football has been historically considered a working-class sport, the 2026 World Cup goes far beyond football tactics and the performance of national teams, and it has put the sport’s inclusive nature to the test. It places not only a magnifying glass on the global social and economic divide, but also exposes the brutal reality that countries are falling behind on many indicators, and remain far from the victory their people truly seek: a dignified life in a safe and liveable environment.

The “people’s game” in a world of visa walls and fossilflation

The US hard-line immigration and border policies affecting players from competing countries, as well as fans, showed that teams do not compete under equal conditions and standards. A Somali referee was denied entry into the country. An Iraqi striker was held for seven hours of questioning. Iran’s players were subject to unfair treatment, from visa denial (to at least fifteen officials and team staff) to different travel arrangements between training and matches. The US has barred or restricted citizens from 39 countries and halted immigrant visa processing for 75 countries; out of 150 Ghanaian fans who applied for visas, 147 were refused. The divide is clear.

For those fortunate enough to pass the entry barriers, another layer of privilege for those attending the matches is related to the attendance costs: the most expensive in the World Cup’s history. This year’s tournament has made it as clear as ever that fans are not merely supporters; they are treated as consumers and a revenue stream for an industry that becomes more and more elitist. The dynamic pricing system and the sophisticated profit tactics adopted by FIFA led category 1 tickets to reach more than $ 10,000, flights from abroad to reach $ 2,000 roundtrip, and average hotel price on matchdays $400. For fans in competing countries going through high domestic inflation (an increasingly common trend around the globe), attending a match has become financially impossible. 

This reflects however a broader social problem: the unprecedented global income inequality in an era in which the world has for the first time a trillionaire (a status Elon Musk reached the day after the World Cup kicked off), while over 673 million people face hunger, and society is treated as a marketplace. A strong social safety net and fair income distribution are at least as important as people being able to enjoy and afford World Cup matches, because dignity off the pitch and joy on it should go hand in hand.

Nations short scoring on democracy, inequality and the cost‑of‑living crisis

Besides the tournament itself exposing deep paradoxes from the host nation’s foreign diplomacy, from strict borders to price discrimination, other issues underscore the effect that geopolitics has on current inequality and rising cost-of-living. Countries around the world — competing or not to the World Cup — have been falling short in many other social, economic, and climate indicators. 

As latest data from the independent research institute V-Dem shows, nearly 74% of the world’s population now live under autocratic rule, including many of the competing countries. This number is likely to increase next year as recent developments in countries like Colombia and Peru show, from Colombia’s razor‑thin election of a Trump‑backed far‑right president promising US‑backed airstrikes and mega‑prisons to Peru’s ongoing post‑electoral crisis and weakened democratic institutions. The “third wave of autocratization” is fast spreading through both democratically fragile and traditionally stable nations: also in the United States itself, which according to the analysis in a timeframe of a bit more than one year is rapidly moving from electoral democracy towards electoral autocracy. 

The world is taken by a widespread affordability crisis driven by increasing inflation, whose cause is manifold: the war-driven energy shock, pressure on global food supplies because of crop failures caused by extreme weather, increased defense and fiscal spending amid rising global tensions, as well as core inflation by housing and rent, which in many countries make up the largest chunk of consumer price indexes; all this while the wages fail to keep the pace with price shocks on top of structural cost of living. In 2026, the energy shock has put significant pressure on key regions such as Europe and Asia, which are dependent on oil and gas from West Asia and North Africa (the Middle East) and facing industrial recessions and high utility bills, with countries facing deep energy shortages, soaring prices and tight supplies. 

War, energy shocks and fossilflation: who is actually winning?

When the US–Israeli war on Iran shut down shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and pushed oil prices up, ordinary people paid more for fuel, food and transport, but fossil fuel corporations turned the chaos into a jackpot. Greenpeace analysis shows the world’s biggest oil and gas companies raking in tens of billions of dollars in windfall profits during the first months of the Iran crisis, with major European firms booking some of the highest quarterly earnings in their histories and making more than 80 million euros per day in “war profits” from inflated diesel and petrol margins.

The same pattern is playing out in our food system. As gas supplies tightened, fertiliser prices soared and big agribusiness and agrochemical giants reported windfall profits, while farmers struggled with higher input costs and households faced rising food bills. These companies use crises like the war on Iran and the global energy shock to demand more subsidies and weaker environmental rules, turning “food security” into corporate welfare while people and ecosystems pay the price.

If people are to win, it is time to change the tactics

While football remains a universal language that unites people around the world, breaks down cultural barriers and offers relief when everything else feels upside down, the World Cup is a timely moment to remind our leaders that goals on the pitch are not enough to guarantee a life with dignity on a livable planet. What truly decides that future is whether countries can rebuild what has been lost amid deep economic and political crises, straining public services, collapsing democratic foundations and a trapping dependence on fossil fuels that keeps causing repeated economic disruptions.

New outcomes cannot be expected when outdated tactics are in place. People are eager for justice, equality, and economic stability. It is time for our leaders to stop defending a broken system and start playing for a different kind of victory.

Marília Monteiro is a Senior Campaign Strategist with Greenpeace International, working on socioeconomics analysis and responsiveness, based in the Netherlands.

A world cup message in New York, to the oceans treaty projection in Switzerland. Here are a few of our favourite images from Greenpeace work around the world this week.

USA – A ferry passes by the New York skyline that is enveloped in wildfire smoke shortly before a rain shower. Most of the Tri-State Area, including New York City, is under an air quality alert on July 15 and 16 due to smoke from Canadian wildfires. The alert is also due to ground-level ozone. New Yorkers can expect to see smoke over the five boroughs during the mid-morning hours. New York City is in a Code Red as heat indices are expected to reach triple digits. 

USA – Greenpeace USA projects a message for World Cup fans onto the Verizon Building and Brooklyn Bridge. Activists lit up the New York skyline days ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup final at MetLife Stadium with the message “Defend Your Balls. Dove, Kick Plastic Out,” as part of its campaign calling out Dove, an Official 2026 FIFA World Cup Personal Care Sponsor, for selling itself as a brand that cares about men yet consistently ranking as one of the world’s top plastic polluters amid growing concerns about the role plastics may play in men’s reproductive health. Greenpeace USA is calling on Unilever to phase out plastic packaging, transition to plastic-free reuse and refill systems, and support a strong Global Plastics Treaty that cuts plastic production. Projections include the messages: “Defend Your Balls,” “Sperm Count Down,” “Microplastics In Semen,” and “Dove, Kick Plastic Out.

Indonesia – Greenpeace Indonesia held a public discussion to mark the launch of the paper, “Reassessing Coal in Islamic Finance: Ethical Imperatives for Divestment and Sustainability in Indonesia.” This paper encourages a reassessment of the tayyib principle of coal, which has negative impacts on health, the environment, and the economy, in the Islamic finance screening methodology.

Switzerland – Greenpeace activists have projected a video at five symbolic locations across Switzerland highlighting the Swiss company Allseas’ involvement in deep-sea mining. The visual shows what the tranquil village of Châtel-St-Denis has to do with Donald Trump and one of the greatest plundering operations in modern history.

Greenpeace has been a pioneer of photo activism for more than 50 years, and remains committed to bearing witness and exposing environmental injustice through the images we capture.

To see more Greenpeace photos and videos, please visit our Media Library.

Star-narrated film, Groundswell ends on a breathtakingly beautiful note. Narrated by Demi Moore and Woody Harrelson, the film paints a picture of a world where a better food system for people and the planet is possible. But what’s blocking this vision of regenerative farming from taking off? Industrial agriculture and Big Ag’s corporate greed.

As regenerative agricultural expert Natalie Topa powerfully states in the film:

At Greenpeace, we agree: food systems are one of our greatest sources of hope. The way we produce food right now through intensive industrial farming is destroying the Earth, but a diverse, regenerative system could restore it. While the film successfully mainstreams the crucial idea of living soil, we have to look closely at the forces holding this future back.

But as inspiring as Groundswell is, it leaves out a critical question: If a better food system is entirely possible, what is blocking us from achieving it?

Big Ag’s corporate greed is blocking regenerative farming

Early in the documentary, Woody Harrelson says that technology and policies haven’t done enough to fix our heating planet. That’s because they don’t challenge the root cause: corporate greed and Big Ag’s grip on our food systems. 

From seeds and fertiliser to consumption, a handful of giant agribusiness corporations monopolise the food market. Today, global agriculture is locked down by a handful of massive corporate monopolies – which means just a few giant companies control almost everything.

From seeds and fertilisers to meat processing and supermarkets, a tiny group of multi-billion-dollar corporations control the market, squeezing farmers on both sides. They use their massive wealth to lobby governments, making sure laws protect their profits rather than the planet or regular people.

This leaves farmers trapped in a vicious cycle. They have to take out massive bank loans just to buy expensive chemical fertilisers and sprays. Then, they are forced to overproduce just to pay off their debts, destroying the land in the process.

Do you ever feel like the world is breaking, but the people in charge aren’t doing anything to fix it? We see the alarm bells ringing every day through erratic weather, floods, and droughts. Yet, the solutions are right in front of us. This corporate bottleneck is exactly why those solutions aren’t being put into action.

Beware of Big Ag’s “regenerative” greenwashing

Because of documentaries like Groundswell the public is demanding change. We know it’s making a difference because industrial giants can no longer ignore the word “regenerative.” But instead of changing their practices, these companies are trying to hijack the term Regenerative Agriculture to protect their usual destructive practices. This is called greenwashing – using eco-friendly language as a marketing shield to cover up environmental harm.

Corporate giants like Nestlé are increasingly using these catchphrases. Even governments are getting in on the action. A few years ago, I attended a regenerative agriculture conference hosted by the New Zealand Ministry for Primary Industries. From the opening speeches, the goal was transparent: rebrand existing, intensive farming to cash in on the global eco-hype.

New Zealand’s massive dairy producers love to boast that their farming is pasture-based (meaning cows eat grass outside), compared to the cramped feedlots often seen in Europe and America. But don’t buy the hype. Grass-fed can still mean highly industrial:

• It is still a monoculture: Vast landscapes have been stripped of wild trees and biodiversity to create giant fields filled with just one animal and only one or two species of grass.
• It relies heavily on chemicals: You can only cram that many cows onto a field if the grass is supercharged by millions of tonnes of synthetic (artificial) fertiliser, made using fossil fuels.
• It is a massive climate polluter: Pasture-based or not, New Zealand’s intensive dairy industry remains the country’s single biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions.

Real regenerative agriculture means diverse plants and animals, living soil, fewer chemicals, shorter supply chains and communities in control. Big Ag’s “regenerative” branding usually means business-as-usual factory farms with new labels. We need to support lots of smaller-scale, local producers, processors and retailers who live in and care about our communities – and are fighting factory farms.

Industrial agriculture is busting Earth’s planetary boundaries

Groundswell ends on a high note with a beautiful montage of regenerative initiatives and hopeful graphs showing how eco-friendly farming practices are growing globally. Yes, there is a real reason for hope in the rising number of farmers pushing for this change. But the dark flipside is that conventional industrial agriculture is expanding too – and fast. It is swallowing up ecosystems, belching out massive greenhouse gas emissions, and blowing past more planetary boundaries than any other industry.

Right now, the world’s largest meat empire – JBS – is planning an absolutely enormous expansion of industrial meat farming into a brand new frontier: sub-Saharan Africa. 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. Now, it plans to use Nigeria as a gateway to export its destructive mega-farm model to the African continent.

JBS is not acting alone. From Nigeria to New Zealand, Mexico to Spain, industrial meat and dairy giants are aggressively expanding production. Often to produce foods that aren’t even nutritious. In the case of the New Zealand dairy industry, its biggest customers make chocolate bars.

Just as the Groundswell documentary makes clear, we do not need conventional industrial agriculture to feed the world. These expansions are not about feeding people; they are about lining shareholders’ pockets – at seemingly any cost to people and planet. JBS is run by two billionaire brothers and the company is right now being sued by the Brazilian government for labour abuses.

But, at a time when logic, science, and public opinion say we must move away from chemically-dependent monocultures, the industry still holds so much power. And it is using its wealth and influence to lobby for environmental deregulation and massive corporate handouts. Unless we break the power of Big Ag, we’re on a direct path to more industrial destruction.

More plant-based meals and buying local food is good. But to break Big Ag’s grip we need people power

If giant corporations stand between us and the world envisioned by Groundswell, how do we break their grip?

Yes, we can and should support local: buy our produce at farmers’ markets instead of the big supermarket chains. Eat less meat and dairy and replace it with more plants, which use far less land and water to produce. If we have the time and space, we can even grow some of our own veggies in gardens and allotments or keep backyard chickens.

But change doesn’t come from consumer choices alone. History shows us that the biggest changes occur through people power. They happen when everyday people stand up together against industrial giants – and win. And there are reasons for hope – we are already seeing the cracks in the system:

• In Denmark: Following relentless public pressure to protect drinking water and animal rights, the Danish government has officially committed to regulating industrial pork production and supporting regenerative, ecological farming methods. This is a huge turnaround for a country whose meat industry churns out more pigs per person than anywhere else in the world.
• In Croatia: Local communities have mobilised a massive grassroots coalition to fight a toxic mega-project – an industrial factory farm aiming to slaughter 100 million chickens a year. Europe’s largest poultry producer has pulled out of the project, citing local opposition as its main reason.
• Taking on the behemoths: Greenpeace recently disrupted the shareholder meeting of JBS – the world’s largest meat empire and one of the key engines behind the destruction of the Amazon rainforest. We are taking legal action to block them from exporting this destructive model to sub-Saharan Africa and beyond.

Time to take our power back – with healthy soil and a food system that heals not harms people and planet

Groundswell shows us a beautiful destination, but we have to build the road to get there.

To heal the planet, we absolutely need to build healthy soil and recloak our Earth in greenery. But we cannot get there unless we dismantle the political stranglehold of the small number of massive corporations who profit from keeping things broken.

We have the power to fix our food system, but it requires all of us standing together. Join Greenpeace today and help us fight for a food system that heals the Earth and belongs to people, not corporations.

Stop Big Ag: End Toxic Greed

Join the global movement putting people and the planet before corporate profit. 

Take action now

Amanda Larsson is the Global Project Lead for Agriculture at Greenpeace Aotearoa 

The Stakes for the ISA and Deep Sea Mining in 2026 and Beyond

Deep sea mining isn’t just an environmental disaster—it is a unilateral power grab disguised as a resource war, and a modern iteration of colonial history in the Pacific.

This report exposes how a speculative industry is trying to colonise the ocean floor—and highlights the critical, fleeting window the international community has to stop this resource grab before it starts.

From Norway to New Zealand, efforts to exploit the seabed have crashed into a
wall of opposition: legal challenges, parliamentary blocks, and fierce resistance from local communities, scientists, the fishing industry, and environmental groups. The world is not waiting for deep sea mining; it is actively mobilising against it.

Download the report:

Power Games in the Deep: The Stakes for the ISA and Deep Sea Mining for 2026 and beyond – Full Report

Biodiversity protection is vital to life on Earth. Healthy oceans and forests provide us with the food we eat, the air we breathe, the water we drink and much more. Indigenous Peoples, local and coastal communities have been protecting these ecosystems for generations. Their cultures, knowledge and livelihoods are centred around a deep connection to nature.

Yet, the world’s oceans have been plundered by industrial fishing, filled with plastic pollution and affected by climate change. Deforestation for commodities like soy, palm oil, meat and dairy are pushing forests to the brink, and a new rush for minerals such as lithium, nickel, cobalt and copper for the energy transition, AI, new technology and the military means these crucial ecosystems are at greater risk.

From Chile to Indonesia, from the DRC to Sweden, mining has been poisoning lands, displacing communities and leaving a trail of destruction behind. The rush for so-called “critical minerals” even threatens the world’s pristine and understudied deep sea ecosystems. 

How to protect forests and oceans

To ensure a livable planet for future generations, we must protect vast areas including forests and the ocean from mining. Greenpeace International, together with Mighty Earth,Rainforest Foundation Norway and Fern, released an indicative global Restricted Areas Map and Framework for governments, investors and companies using raw materials extracted from Earth. Advancing and applying the Restricted Areas framework is a crucial step to ensure mining does not destroy essential biodiversity, natural ecosystems, carbon storage and freshwater systems.

As crucial leaders and stewards of nature protection, Indigenous Peoples’ and local communities’ rights must be respected. The Restricted Areas Framework requires Free Prior and Informed Consent before any mining activities happen in their territories. The map then combines multiple environmental and conservation datasets to identify landscapes and natural ecosystems that should be off-limits or ‘no-go zones’ to mining. The map also identifies hotspots where mining of raw materials overlaps with Restricted Areas, and serves as a starting point for further discussions and more detailed mapping of locations where mining poses unacceptable environmental or social risks.

What areas are critical for protection

A key global data set used for the Global Restricted Areas map is the recently updated Intact Forest Landscapes (IFL) map. Identified through satellite imagery, IFLs are the last remaining large undisturbed forest landscapes on Earth – a mosaic of forests and associated natural ecosystems of at least 50,000 hectares, showing minimal signs of human activity or habitat fragmentation. They are massive stores of carbon and biodiversity, as well being the traditional territories for many Indigenous Peoples and local communities. The data, recently updated by World Resources Institute, Global Land Analysis and Discovery lab at the University of Maryland, and Greenpeace International Global Mapping Hub, is available on WRI’s Global Forest Watch platform.

At CBD COP15, governments agreed to the landmark Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework to protect biodiversity, including the target of protecting at least 30% of lands and seas by 2030, and rights-based approaches. The Restricted Areas framework and map provide a useful tool to identify additional areas for protection or Other Effective area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs), as well as Indigenous and Traditional Territories (ITTs). It reinforces the need for rights-based approaches to any protection or conservation, and the need for Direct Access Financing (DAF) for Indigenous Peoples and local communities for biodiversity conservation, restoration and management. 

A transition away from fossil fuels without destroying the planet is both necessary and possible

Transitioning away from fossil fuels is vital for our future on the planet. But the current “critical minerals” rush, driven by geopolitical competition and different sectors, threatens to undermine the possibility of a just and green energy transition. Mining often causes devastating environmental damage and social harm, repeating extractivist and colonial patterns and disregarding the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities. There are numerous reports of workers’ rights violations, land grabs from Indigenous Peoples, and threats to communities connected to the mining industry. Around the world, environmental legal frameworks are being revised or weakened under the justification of national “interest” or for “security” reasons. 

With responsible political leadership, it is possible to meet global climate targets while limiting mining. According to the report Beyond Extraction, commissioned by Greenpeace International and authored by the Institute for Sustainable Futures at the University of Technology, Sydney, there are several solutions for achieving an energy transition that doesn’t put further pressure on Earth’s vital ecosystems. A key recommendation of the report is that decision-makers must prioritise mineral use for essential energy transition purposes, with public transport, improved recycling programmes, and advanced battery technologies shown as crucial solutions to limit mineral demand.

From deep in the Amazon to the pristine paradise and UNESCO Geopark of Raja Ampat, Papua, Indonesia, Indigenous Peoples, local and coastal communities are resisting mining on their territories around the world. Protecting human rights and ecological integrity must be non-negotiable foundations of a fast and just energy transition. World leaders, investors, and companies must implement a Restricted Areas framework and recognise Indigenous Peoples’ territories and rights, and protect the world’s most sensitive places. We must stand with the guardians of the forest to protect the ecosystems that maintain all life on Earth. 

Defend the defenders

Demand the recognition of Indigenous rights and their territories.

Join now

Grant Rosoman is a Global Forest Solutions Advisor at Greenpeace International and Leon Auty is a Research and Communications Assistant at Greenpeace International.

Learn more at restrictedareasfrommining.org

Brussels, Belgium – Six Greenpeace Belgium activists unrolled a massive banner in Brussels’s historic Grand Place square, ahead of a celebration of the United States’ 250th anniversary in the EU capital. The 600-square-metre banner read “War. Greed. Energy Crisis. What’s there to celebrate?” condemning using the occasion to promote Trump’s political and corporate agenda.

John Noel, Campaigner, Greenpeace International said: “Read the room: this lavish celebration is utterly misplaced. Trump is waging war, threatening allies and adversaries alike, and driving economic disruption across the globe – what’s to celebrate? While EU leaders seem to have made excuses to dodge this party, it’s also time that they stood up to Trump’s bullying too and make sure the EU protects people and planet instead of billionaires’ profits.”

The celebration in Brussels takes place against a backdrop of intensifying global instability driven by the White House. Greenpeace Belgium warns that Trump’s erratic foreign policy and ‘energy dominance’ agenda are fueling conflict, worsening the global energy crisis, and weakening international cooperation. By pairing aggressive trade maneuvers with the dismantling of democratic institutions and environmental protections, Trump’s administration is leaving a trail of economic and ecological disruption worldwide.[1]

Joeri Thijs, Campaigner, Greenpeace Belgium added from the protest: “It is shameful that Belgian authorities are rolling out the red carpet for this administration in the heart of Europe, while US policies are wreaking havoc worldwide.While Belgium and the EU are finally weaning themselves off fossil gas from Putin’s Russia, we are rapidly increasing our dangerous dependence on fracked gas imported from the US. At the same time, Trump is actively pushing to weaken EU environmental safeguards. Continuing to coddle this administration severely jeopardises both the EU’s climate ambitions and its independence from bullies.”

US officials are hosting a celebration in the nearby Parc du Cinquantenaire in the EU quarter later the same day, with thousands of political, diplomatic and corporate representatives on the guest list. The Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever and Nato Secretary-General Mark Rutte are reportedly attending, though high-profile invitees from the EU institutions such as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Antonio Costa and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas declined to say they would attend.[2]

ENDS

Photos and video available free to use in the Greenpeace Media Library.

Notes:

[1] US demands EU dismantle green regulations in threat to trade deal (Financial Times)

[2] Who dares snub Trump’s party | Euractiv (Euractiv)

Contacts:

Greenpeace Belgium press desk : +32 (0)496 26 31 91,  bpress@greenpeace.org

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

From a massive heat wave in Europe to calls for action on the climate crisis in Mexico. Here are some of our favourite images from Greenpeace work around the world this week.

Mexico – During the World Cup, Greenpeace Mexico activists staged a peaceful protest at Terminal 2 of Mexico City International Airport (AICM) to remind people that the climate crisis is already changing the conditions in which we live, work, and play. With the messages “The game has extra time, but the planet doesn’t” and “If the climate changes, the game changes,” the organization drew attention to the increasingly evident impacts of climate change and the need to act urgently to prevent its effects from continuing to worsen.

Protecting marine and terrestrial ecosystems such as the Maya Forest, as well as a sustainable and just energy transition—one that no longer relies on oil and says no to fracking—are the kinds of decisive changes we need in the current government’s climate policy to truly help combat and curb the impacts of climate change. With the giant balloon—placed in the central rotunda of the airport terminal—as a backdrop, and under the gaze of dozens of domestic and international travelers, Greenpeace Mexico activists positioned themselves beneath the balloon, mimicking flames that represent the extreme heat threatening both the game and the planet.

UK – Signs of London underground stations are rebranded as Baking Street, London’s Burning and Hottenham Court Road during the heatwave in June  raising awareness about the climate crisis. Greenpeace activists also attached stickers saying ‘Heatwave – Brought to you by Shell’ to remind passengers that the record heat is caused by the burning of fossil fuels and the companies that promote them.

Poland – On the eve of the Ukraine Recovery Conference in Gdańsk, Greenpeace appeals to the Polish government and European leaders to learn from the war in Ukraine. A crisis-resistant system based on renewable, distributed energy sources must become the foundation of energy security.

The future of energy in Ukraine and Europe will be one of the most important topics of the Gdańsk conference, which is why Greenpeace has decided to present recommendations on how to build lasting energy security at this symbolic place for peace in Europe, where the World War II started, at the Westerplatte monument.

France – Nine Greenpeace France activists are on trial before the Paris Court of Appeal.

On March 5, 2021, they entered the tarmac at Roissy Charles de Gaulle Airport and partially repainted an airplane green. Their aim was to denounce greenwashing and the government’s lack of ambition regarding the regulation of the aviation sector to address climate challenges.

A rally, followed by speeches, took place in front of the Paris Court of Appeal before the trial.

Italy – Greenpeace staff monitors the surface temperature at the historical center of Rome, using a thermal camera due to heat wave that hit the country as the summer started.

Greenpeace has been a pioneer of photo activism for more than 50 years, and remains committed to bearing witness and exposing environmental injustice through the images we capture.

To see more Greenpeace photos and videos, visit our Media Library.

ZAGREB, Croatia, 12 June 2026 – After months of intense public protests, local communities and environmental groups in Croatia are celebrating a major victory after European poultry giant MHP withdrew from a chicken megaproject in northeast Croatia. The proposed megaproject would have quadrupled the country’s chicken production. The withdrawal officially cancels 12 of the 24 planned sub-projects that had been divided between two companies, bypassing stricter environmental regulations.

The planned facility would have been among the largest poultry projects in Europe, designed to slaughter 100 million chickens annually. In a move that avoids stricter environmental impact assessments, the project was divided into 24 separate sub-projects of which MHP was responsible for half. MHP is one of Europe’s largest poultry producers and slaughters over 500 million chickens each year. Local authorities recently confirmed the cancellation of MHP’s sub-projects to Friends of the Earth (FoE) Croatia, Animal Friends Croatia, and local citizen groups who have led the campaign. Greenpeace International campaigners have supported the grassroots movement over the last three months, including speaking at rallies in the towns of Sisak and Donja Dubrava.

Jasna Šumanovac , Campaigner at Zelena Akcija (Friends of the Earth Croatia), said: “We welcome MHP’s decision and at the same time call on them to, in accordance with their promises that they will not build farms and slaughterhouses in areas where there is strong resistance from the local community, abandon the construction of farms in the towns of Apatija and Veliki Pažut. The Ministry must now formally suspend all initiated procedures, and we will continue the fight until the last project is stopped.”

Luka Oman, President at Prijatelji Životinja (Animal Friends Croatia), said: “Croatian citizens have clearly said no to mega poultry farms and slaughterhouses. The Government should stop ignoring citizens and expert warnings and finally reject all remaining mega-farm projects in Croatia. Where mega farms arrive, there is no life left – neither for animals nor for people.”

The retreat by MHP follows sustained grassroots mobilisation, including large-scale public demonstrations in the capital city of Zagreb and Sisak, the regional hub of the affected area. Locals were concerned that the industrial poultry operation would pollute local soil, air and waterways, amongst other detrimental environmental impacts.[1] In a recent interview, the Chief Executive Officer of MHP, dubbed the ‘Chicken King’, tacitly conceded that the company pulled out of the region due to the intense local resistance.[2]

Despite the victory, the remaining 12 sub-projects are still being pursued by another investor,  Premium Chicken Company (PCC). The developer has threatened local non-governmental organisations with lawsuits, echoing tactics used by other major corporations to silence community dissent.

Dániel Nyitray, Campaigner at Greenpeace International added: “This clucking mad mega-project posed a significant threat to public health and the environment, but communities in Croatia have come together to show that when we stand together, we can stop corporations and their billionaire bosses in their tracks. 

“Wherever in the world agribusiness giants like MHP threaten to destroy nature and pollute our air and water in the name of profit, communities like these are organising to defend their land and livelihoods. While work still needs to be done to ensure the remainder of this development is canned, this is a huge victory for people power that sends a message to corporations everywhere: not here, not anywhere.”

Croatia’s local campaigns have vowed to continue fighting until PCC’s portion of the project is also fully terminated. Activists are standing in solidarity with other communities across Croatia who are currently facing the threat of massive industrial meat production developments in their neighbourhoods. Greenpeace is calling on governments to set binding rules that halt new factory farms and hold Big Ag accountable for polluting local environments and exacerbating the global climate crisis.

ENDS

Notes:

[1] H-Alter, ‘Institucije upozoravale na ozbiljne nedostatke i rizike planiranih megafarmi’ (2025)

[2] Jutarnji List, Ukrajinac koji je htio graditi megafarmu pilića kraj Siska: ‘Odustajemo. Imamo dobar razlog, ali i planove za Hrvatsku‘ (2026)

Contacts:

Joe Evans, Global Comms Lead at Greenpeace UK, +44 7890 595387, joe.evans@greenpeace.org

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

“We are dying silently. Without knowing it, our mothers are feeding their babies with breast milk contaminated by mercury.”

Standing before representatives of the Dutch government, Alessandra Korap Munduruku described a reality that rarely reaches ministerial offices in Europe. While the price of gold rises and the world debates trade, investment and global supply chains, Indigenous communities in the Amazon live every day with the impacts of expanding soy production, cattle ranching and illegal gold mining: contaminated rivers, destroyed forests, violence and a public health crisis that threatens entire generations.

Alessandra’s testimony was one of dozens shared by Indigenous leaders from the Brazilian Amazon during The True Cost of Gold tour, organized by Greenpeace Brazil. Over ten days, Alessandra Korap Munduruku, from the Munduruku people; Megaron Txucarramãe and Beptuk Metuktire, from the Kayapó people; traveled across France, the Netherlands and Belgium, bringing firsthand accounts of the threats facing their territories and ways of life directly to governments, parliamentarians and international institutions. During the first leg of the tour in France, the delegation also included Juma Xipaia, from the Xipaya people, who helped amplify the voices and demands of Amazonian Indigenous Peoples in key political and public forums.

The delegation’s message was clear: while international markets continue to consume and profit from gold, soy and other commodities linked to forest destruction, Indigenous Peoples continue to bear the real costs of this exploitation. Decisions that affect the Amazon cannot continue to be made without listening to those who have protected these territories for millenia.

“Many companies enter the forest saying they are searching for wealth. But what kind of wealth is that?” asked Chief Megaron Txucarramãe during the tour. “For Indigenous Peoples, wealth means food, health and peace.”

The tour took place just days after the release of Greenpeace Brazil’s investigation, Gold Laundering in the Amazon: Anatomy of a Fraud, which revealed how regulatory loopholes allow gold extracted illegally from Indigenous Territories and protected areas to be laundered and sold as if it were legally sourced, eventually entering global supply chains and international markets.

But the message brought to Europe went far beyond the cost of gold.

Bringing Amazon Voices into Decision-Making Spaces

Throughout the tour, Indigenous leaders met with civil society organisations, journalists, supporters, policymakers and Indigenous representatives from other territories. Among the highlights were a series of high-level meetings with government officials and international institutions.

One of the most significant moments took place in the Netherlands during a meeting with Minister of Nature and Agriculture Jaimi van Essen.

During the discussion, Indigenous leaders highlighted the impacts of expanding infrastructure linked to agribusiness in the Amazon, particularly the Arco Norte project, a vast network of railways, ports and waterways designed to facilitate commodity exports such as soy. The delegation also drew attention to the role that Europe, and the Netherlands with its giant port of Rotterdam in particular, plays in global supply chains and the need to reduce the pressure that current production, consumption and trade patterns place on Indigenous territories.

The conversation also addressed the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the importance of recognising and protecting Indigenous territories as a fundamental strategy for achieving the global biodiversity target to protect 30% of land and sea by 2030. The meeting was marked by constructive dialogue and an acknowledgment by the Dutch government of the crucial role Indigenous rights play in nature protection.

The minister and his staff confirmed their commitment to protecting Indigenous Peoples’ rights in the CBD process and said they will bring these concerns to the next negotiations in autumn, while also acknowledging the relevance of the Netherlands and the EU in the context of agribusiness.

In France, another key moment was a meeting with representatives from the office of the Ministry for Ecological Transition, Biodiversity, Forests, the Sea and Fisheries. The discussion with diplomatic adviser Gabriel Normand and his team provided an opportunity to present directly to French policymakers the impacts of illegal mining and other destructive activities affecting Indigenous territories in the Amazon.

The French agenda also included a meeting with Barbara Pompili, France’s Ambassador for the Environment, and her team. In addition, the delegation met with members of the France-Brazil Friendship Group in the French National Assembly, expanding dialogue around international responsibility, supply chain accountability and the urgent need to strengthen protections for Indigenous Peoples and their territories.

A Global Struggle for a Shared Future

Throughout the tour, Indigenous leaders emphasised that decisions made in parliaments, ministries, financial institutions and consumer markets around the world have direct consequences for forests and the people who depend on them.

At the same time, they demonstrated that solutions to many of today’s environmental crises already exist. They can be found in Indigenous territories, in forest-based economies that keep ecosystems standing, and in communities that have cared for land, water and biodiversity for generations.

The message from the Indigenous leaders is clear: protecting Indigenous rights is not only a matter of justice. It is one of the most effective ways to protect tropical forests, tackle the climate crisis and secure a livable future for all.

Meet the Indigenous Leaders

Juma Xipaia

Juma is one of the most prominent Indigenous leaders in the Amazon and a powerful advocate for Indigenous rights, environmental protection and gender equality. She became the first woman Chief in the Middle Xingu at the age of 24, leading the Xipaya Tukamã village. In 2020, she founded Instituto Juma, dedicated to environmental conservation, Indigenous self-determination and women’s empowerment. Due to her opposition to illegal mining and criminal activities in the Amazon, she survived multiple assassination attempts and spent a period in exile in Switzerland. Her story is featured in the acclaimed documentary Yanuni (2025), executive produced by Leonardo DiCaprio.

Megaron Txucarramãe

Megaron is a renowned Indigenous leader, environmentalist and key figure in Brazil’s Indigenous rights movement. A member of the Kayapó (Mẽbêngôkre) people and the nephew and designated successor of Chief Raoni Metuktire, he has spent decades defending Indigenous territories, forests and constitutional rights. 

Beptuk Metuktire

Beptuk is an emerging Indigenous leader from the Kayapó (Mẽbêngôkre) people and a coordinator at Instituto Raoni. As the grandson of Chief Raoni Metuktire, he represents a new generation of Indigenous leadership, combining traditional knowledge with contemporary advocacy. 

Alessandra Korap Munduruku

Alessandra is an internationally recognized Indigenous activist whose advocacy has helped bring global attention to the impacts of illegal mining, logging and infrastructure projects in the Amazon. Her campaigning contributed to Anglo American’s withdrawal from mining projects overlapping the Sawré Muybu Indigenous Territory in 2021. In recognition of her leadership, she received the 2023 Goldman Environmental Prize. Today, she is a prominent voice in international debates on climate justice, biodiversity and the future of the Amazon.

Indigenous Peoples and local communities are the best guardians of the Amazon and other forests around the world, and must be recognised as such. Greenpeace is calling on world leaders to stop the industrial destruction and recognise Indigenous Peoples’ territories and rights.

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Jaqueline Sordi is the Communications and Engagement Lead for the Tropical Forests campaign at Greenpeace International.