London, United Kingdom – Activists on board the Greenpeace ship Arctic Sunrise have successfully placed giant boulders onto the seabed in the Southern North Sea – the UK’s most bottom-trawled offshore Marine Protected Area (MPA) – forming an underwater barrier to prevent the destructive fishing method. 

Using boulders signed by UK MPs and prominent figures including actors Simon Pegg and Benedict Cumberbatch, the Greenpeace UK activists formed an underwater barrier effectively closing 116 km² along England’s east coast, as new analysis by Greenpeace UK reveals bottom trawlers spent at least 37,200 hours in 2025 alone fishing in this MPA – created to protect harbour porpoises.[1][2]

A new Greenpeace International report found that at the current rate of progress, it could take 265 years to fully protect 30% of the ocean, which scientists say is the minimum required to give it a chance at recovery. The report shows only 3.5% of the world’s ocean is currently fully or highly protected, and just 1% of UK waters.[3] 

Will McCallum, co-executive director of Greenpeace UK said: “Destruction on a huge scale is happening near our shores out of sight, in places we’re told are ‘Marine Protected Areas’. Hulking great ships prowl our oceans day after day, stripping them of fish and killing precious wildlife like dolphins, sharks and sea birds.

“With our ship and a movement behind us, we’re doing what the government isn’t: Protecting our seas. We’re setting a bold challenge to ministers: Ban destructive fishing across all our protected waters at home, and lead the charge for a network of global ocean sanctuaries across the Atlantic.”

New analysis from Greenpeace UK shows that in 2025, bottom trawlers and dredgers churned up a cumulative 55,600 km² of seabed inside the UK’s Marine Protected Areas – an area 58 times the size of Croatia.[4] According to the findings, trawlers and dredgers spent at least 115,000 hours towing gear along the seabed inside these MPAs in 2025 – the equivalent of more than 13 years of non-stop fishing.

Despite its status as a ‘Marine Protected Area’, there are currently no restrictions on fishing activity in most of the Southern North Sea MPA, meaning bottom-trawlers, dredgers and other industrial vessels threaten the porpoise population daily. The Arctic Sunrise will remain in the area to monitor any other types of destructive industrial fishing.

Governments around the world committed to a global target to protect 30% of land and sea for nature by 2030. The Arctic Sunrise action comes as progress towards this target is revealed at the UN biodiversity conference (CBD COP17) in Armenia. 

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Photo and video are available in the Greenpeace Media Library

Contact:

Greenpeace UK Press Office, press.uk@greenpeace.org, 0207 865 8255

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

Notes: 

[1] Estimates based on an analysis of data from Global Fishing Watch. Methodology and calculations are available on request.

[2] The Southern North Sea MPA is identified as an area of importance for harbour porpoise.

[3] Press release: At current rate it will take 265 years to reach crucial target to protect 30% of the ocean – but sanctuary networks could save it. Report: WELL CONNECTED: Protecting the Atlantic High Seas through an ocean-wide sanctuary network  

Just over 10% (43 out of 378) of the UK’s MPAs are fully protected by law from destructive bottom-trawling.

[4] Greenpeace UK analysed Global Fishing Watch data on apparent fishing activity in 2025 and found that bottom-towed fishing gear was dragged across a cumulative 55,600 km² of seabed inside the UK’s offshore Marine Protected Areas. This figure counts every pass of the gear, so seabed trawled more than once is counted each time. It measures the total amount of bottom trawling, not the area of seabed that was trawled. Repeated trawling in an area compounds the damage to the ecosystem.

Amsterdam – Greenpeace has called on governments meeting at the UN climate change conference COP31 next week to take urgent action to transition away from fossil fuels and step up climate finance as two major reports warned of the growing risk to the world’s cryosphere from global heating. 

The reports from the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the International Cryosphere Climate Initiative (ICCI) outlined the large-scale and in many cases irreversible impacts to the the world’s melting ice sheets, permafrost, glaciers and sea ice as the global temperature edges towards an overshoot of the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C global warming goal.

Dr. Jerry Jose, Senior Scientist at the Greenpeace International Science Unit said: “The accelerating loss of ice is an emergency demanding immediate and far-reaching action to limit the extent and duration of a 1.5°C overshoot. What we must understand is that the impacts to the cryosphere during overshoot are irreversible in most cases in human relevant time scales and will have global implications. 

“What was once viewed as a far-off consequence of climate change, the world’s melting ice is now impacting everyday life: accelerated global sea-level rise, reduced water security and worsening mountain hazards. The question now is how fast these changes will happen and what decisions governments take to reduce the rate of ice loss and avoid the worst impacts of overshoot.”

The reports, Overshoot and the Cryosphere: Averting Global Meltdown – a ‘thematic’ companion to the UNEP’s recent Limiting Overshoot Report – and the accompanying report State of the Cryosphere 2026, examine the impacts of overshoot on the cryosphere and outline the threats which may exceed the limits of adaptation and cause extensive loss and damage.[1]

In combination, the UNEP and ICCI reports detail a range of actions to reduce global temperatures down from overshoot to slow down the rate of sea-level rise to an ‘adaptable’ level, potentially halt and partially reverse glacier, snowpack and sea ice loss and to limit the damage from impacts such as the destabilisation of permafrost. 

Avinash Kumar, Deputy Program Director at Greenpeace South Asia said: “These reports highlight how the heartbreaking tragedy from the glacier collapse in Nepal might not be the last and reinforce why action is needed now more than ever. More than 1,500 lives were lost in the August mudslide and although the UN’s Loss and Damage fund has contributed USD$20 million in aid for Nepal, the reconstruction bill is close to USD$5 billion. This is what climate injustice looks like.[2]

“But the costs of global inaction should not be borne by the families, communities and governments of nations struggling to recover from one disaster after another. Instead, all governments around the world must respond to disasters like this not only with emergency relief, but also with action to prevent the next one and that starts at COP31.”

At COP31 in Antalya, Türkiye, Greenpeace is calling for concrete progress on the just transition away from fossil fuels, alongside scaled up climate finance to fund the transition in developing countries, making those most responsible for climate pollution pay for the crisis they’ve caused. Greenpeace is also calling for the implementation of developed countries’ commitment to at least triple adaptation finance by 2035, aligning with the $120 billion Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) agreed at COP30 in 2025.[3]

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Notes:

[1] UNEP: Limiting Overshoot
[2] UN Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage 
[3] Greenpeace: COP31 Priorities and Expectations

Contact:
Aaron Gray-Block, Greenpeace International, Climate Politics Communications Manager, aaron.gray-block@greenpeace.org

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

Yerevan, Armenia – COP17 charted a course for the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KM-GBF), but did not deliver a response matching the urgency outlined by the Global Report.[1]

With only four years to 2030, the world is seriously off track to meet the KM-GBF targets. Critical barriers to make sufficient finance move in the right direction remain unresolved, while efforts to weaken explicit recognition of Indigenous Peoples’ and local communities’ rights raise serious concerns over respect for their rights, including their self-determination.

Governments must translate their promises into concrete action at home, backed by sufficient finance, an end to incentives for nature destruction, and respect for Indigenous Peoples’ and local communities’ rights. COP17’s true legacy will ultimately be measured by progress on the ground.

An Lambrechts, Biodiversity Politics Expert, Greenpeace International said: “COP17 has delivered steady progress rather than big headlines, and has kept things moving forward. But the pace and scale of action still fall short of what the biodiversity crisis demands. Political promises made in Yerevan set good intentions, but won’t remove major roadblocks to implementation such as insufficient finance, fiscal and debt constraints, the nearly empty coffers of the Cali Fund and urgent reform of harmful subsidies.

The private sector must be held accountable too. Giant corporations did everything they could to keep the Cali Fund voluntary two years ago, and then did everything they could to stop the fund from working in Yerevan. It is unacceptable that big multinational corporations are turning massive profits from what they take from nature while contributing very little to its protection and leaving people across the world to face the impacts of the biodiversity crisis.” 

Bonaventure Bono, Forest and Biodiversity Campaigner, Greenpeace Africa said: “COP17 failed to recognise the right to self-determination of Indigenous Peoples and local communities, nor did it set out strong language on their rights. Governments cannot claim to be on track to achieve the 2030 biodiversity targets while diminishing the rights and contributions of those who protect nature. Creating institutional spaces for Indigenous Peoples and local communities is not enough. What matters is ensuring their genuine influence over its governance, their meaningful participation, equitable representation and ability to take decisions affecting their territories, rights and future. Those who protect biodiversity must not be denied the power to shape its future. Without their rights, leadership and self-determination, the 2030 targets will remain out of reach.” 

Camila Jardim, Political Expert, Greenpeace Brazil said: “COP17 sends an important signal for the protection of the world’s forests. The climate and biodiversity crises are twin emergencies requiring aligned responses – and forests are at the crossroads of those crises. Halting and reversing deforestation by 2030 is essential to limit global heating, build climate resilience, and protect high-integrity forests. 2030 is fast approaching and governments must accelerate progress towards climate and biodiversity targets to avoid surpassing non-negotiable limits. In this critical context, the upcoming launch of the 2030 Forest Roadmap right before COP31 offers a key opportunity to start solving fragmented forest governance. Operating at the intersection of climate and nature, this roadmap can generate the political momentum needed to enhance transparency, ensure inclusive participation – especially for Indigenous Peoples and local communities – and drive meaningful change.”

Jehki Härkönen, Senior Policy Advisor, Greenpeace Nordic said: “The results of the CBD’s Global Review make clear that governments have made woefully slow progress in protecting the ocean, and that they need to urgently accelerate actions at home and on high seas to be on track to achieve the 2030 biodiversity targets. Today, only a tiny percentage of our ocean is fully protected from the enormous industrial fishing boats that take millions of tonnes of marine life every single year. That’s why governments must use the first ocean COP in New York this January to turn commitments into concrete protection, creating large marine protected areas that are off limits to industrial fishing and other destructive activities. This is a critical opportunity to make up for lost time and give ocean life the space it needs to recover from decades of destruction.”

ENDS

Notes:

[1] Global review of collective progress in the implementation of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework

Photo and Video are available in the Greenpeace Media Library.

Contacts:

Diego Gonzaga, Communications Lead at CBD COP17, Greenpeace International, +1 415 527 9440, dgonzaga@greenpeace.org

Jaqueline Sordi, Media Lead at CBD COP17, Greenpeace International, +55 51 99678 9048, jsordi@greenpeace.org

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

Amsterdam – The world’s biggest fossil fuel corporations continue to report staggering profits, running into tens of billions every quarter, while households and businesses face soaring energy costs, exposing how fossilflation makes ordinary people pay for a system that destroys the climate and rewards oil and gas giants when crises hit.

BP, Chevron and ExxonMobil today reported third-quarter profits of US$8.5 billion, US$ 10.4 billion and US$ 17.5 billion, respectively. Together with results reported earlier this month by Shell, TotalEnergies, Eni and Equinor the seven corporations’ combined third-quarter profits  amount to almost US$63 billion.

Rebecca Newsom, Global Political Lead at Greenpeace International, said: “Every time a crisis pushes up the prices, the same oil and gas giants are there to cash in. This is fossilflation. The rest of us pay, at the pump, at the checkout, and again through the climate disasters driven by the fuels the industry intends to extract down to the last barrel. This is where decades of fossil fuel dependence have led us, and governments that keep letting these corporations off the hook are leaving households to foot the bill.

“It doesn’t have to be this way. If governments permanently increase taxes on oil and gas profits and clamp down on corporate profit shifting, hundreds of billions of dollars could be raised, while supercharging a shift in investment towards cleaner, more secure renewable energy. That revenue should protect communities from price shocks and extreme weather, and accelerate a just transition away from fossil fuels.”

Across the seven corporations, third-quarter profits were around US$38 billion higher than in the same period last year. The combined total for the first three quarters of 2026 now stands at US$150 billion. 

The profits come as inflation puts renewed pressure on already stretched household budgets. Euro area annual inflation rose to 3.8% in September, up from 3.2% in August, with energy prices rising 18.8% year on year.[1] Disruptions to global fuel supplies following the war on Iran have pushed up fuel costs, with the effects reaching transport, agriculture and freight, and threatening to feed through to food and other essentials.

With COP31 opening in Türkiye on 9 November, the next round of Global Tax Treaty negotiations beginning in Kenya on 30 November, and two major EU Council Summits in November and December where this issue is likely to be discussed, governments face a clear choice: continue an energy system that leaves people vulnerable to fossil fuel price shocks, or speed up and properly fund a just transition away from coal, oil and gas. 

Greenpeace International is calling for an end to new fossil fuel expansion and science-based timelines for phasing out production and consumption, faster deployment of decentralised renewable energy, and permanently higher taxes on fossil fuel profits at the national, regional and global level.[2]

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Notes

[1] https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-euro-indicators/w/2-16102026-ap 

[2] Greenpeace is calling on governments to permanently increase taxes on oil and gas profits to reduce our dependence on this polluting industry for good. 

[3] Greenpeace International’s new ’fossilflation’ report examines how oil and gas price shocks drive inflation and expose households to geopolitical crises. The report argues that accelerating decentralised renewable energy and electrification can reduce this risk.

Contact:

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