Antalya, Türkiye – As thousands marched through Antalya to demand greater climate action, the first week of the UN summit COP31 has again exposed the lack of urgency among leaders to accelerate the end of fossil fuels despite the escalating climate crisis.

At the mid-point of the conference, the COP31 Presidency released a summary of reflections on the proposed cover decision, providing a smorgasbord of options for the COP31 outcome, including proposals to advance the transition away from fossil fuels, recognition of the critical role of forests and oceans and a response to the urgency of the 1.5°C overshoot.

Jasper Inventor, Head of COP31 Greenpeace Delegation, said: “It’s still far from enough. The first week of COP31 was heavy on rhetoric but painfully short on ambition. World leaders admit we are heading beyond 1.5°C, but their negotiators remain divided over how to accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels, protect ecosystems and deliver the climate finance needed to make it happen and support communities to adapt.

“We are seeing familiar dynamics play out. Governments are largely repeating entrenched positions rather than finding ways to bridge their differences. Discussions are getting bogged down in procedural disputes and disagreements over what should even be on the negotiating table, instead of focusing on the urgent decisions needed to confront the climate crisis.

“The contradiction is striking. Governments recognise the scale of the crisis but remain unwilling to take the decisions necessary to confront it. The gap between what leaders say on stage and what their negotiators are prepared to deliver remains deeply concerning.”

To close out the first week of the conference, more than 100 civil society organisations, political parties and workers associations marched through Antalya in support of urgent climate action. Greenpeace joined the demonstration. The march will be followed by a Peoples’ Climate Summit that will start on Sunday.

Berkan Özyer, Director of Greenpeace Türkiye, said: “Across Türkiye and around the world, people are standing up for their future against the destructive impacts of fossil fuels. As world leaders gather at COP31, we are marching alongside civil society representatives and climate activists from across the world to make sure people’s voices cannot be ignored.

“Climate action must be shaped by the people most affected by the crisis, not dictated by the interests of those who profit from it. We need real commitments to move away from fossil fuels and deliver a just transition to a clean, renewable energy future. The people are ready for change, now governments must show they are too.

“The second week of this COP must be about listening to the people. That means breaking the political deadlock, not negotiating the weakest agreement everyone can live with. The measure of success at COP31 must not be whether governments reach an agreement, but whether that agreement is strong enough to make a difference in the real world.”

ENDS

Photos and video are available in the Greenpeace media library

Notes:

[1] Greenpeace’s COP31 midpoint media briefing

Contacts:

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

Beyza Kural, Senior Communication Expert, Greenpeace Türkiye, +90 5336 417 123, beyza.kural@greenpeace.org

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

Oslo, Norway – The Grand Chamber of Norway’s Supreme Court has invalidated permits for three North Sea oil and gas fields, ruling that the government failed to account for the climate impact of burning the fossil fuels extracted. 

The decision deals a severe blow to the Norwegian state and energy giants Equinor and Aker BP, which developed the Breidablikk, Yggdrasil, and Tyrving fields. 

Haldis Tjeldflaat Helle, Norway lead in Greenpeace Nordic, said: “This historic ruling changes Norwegian oil policy forever, and sets a precedent the world cannot ignore. Norway can no longer ignore the global damage caused when its oil and gas are burned abroad. Norwegian authorities are now obligated to take into account the enormous climate damage caused by Norwegian oil and gas. This is a momentous victory for global climate justice.”

By affirming lower court rulings, the Supreme Court established that environmental assessments must evaluate Scope 3 emissions, the carbon released wherever combustion takes place. The victory is the culmination of a years-long battle for Greenpeace Nordic and Young Friends of the Earth Norway (Natur og Ungdom).

The case was initiated by Greenpeace Nordic and Young Friends of the Earth Norway, who successfully challenged the licenses of the North Sea fields Yggdrasil, Breidablikk and Tyrving in 2024. The decision was appealed by the Norwegian Government in the Borgarting Court of Appeal and later the Norwegian Supreme Court.  

A central issue in the case is that the climate impacts of burning the oil and gas produced by new projects were not assessed before the projects were approved. Courts, including the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) Court, have confirmed that such assessments are required. As the EFTA Court interprets EU law, this requirement applies across the European Economic Area, not just in Norway.

In October 2025, the European Court of Human Rights confirmed that Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights requires states to assess the climate impacts of emissions from the burning of fossil fuels, including emissions generated outside their borders, before approving projects. This obligation applies to all Council of Europe members, giving the judgment far-reaching implications for fossil fuel approvals across Europe. 

Sigrid Hoddevik Losnegård, Head of Natur og Ungdom, said: “This is a huge victory for today’s children who are growing up in a world fundamentally altered by climate change. Young people took the state to court, and we won. It proves that our struggle for climate justice has real force. Now, it is up to the politicians to act.”

Attorney Jenny Sandvig of the law firm Simonsen Vogt Wiig, who delivered her third child this week and who represents the environmental organisations, said: “The environmental organisations have won a big victory today, it’s their victory and it’s a privilege to represent them. It’s a huge Grand Chamber win today for the organisations, which will have immense existential repercussions for future generations. Today marks a victory for democracy.” 

ENDS

Photos are available in the Greenpeace Media Library.

Contacts: 

Haldis Tjeldflaat Helle, Norway lead in Greenpeace Nordic: +47 93473213, haldis.helle@greenpeace.org

Sigrid Hoddevik Losnegård, Head of Natur og Ungdom (Young Friends of the Earth Norway): +47 405 29 471, sigridl@nu.no 

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

Antalya, Türkiye — Greenpeace International today launched a giant Trojan Horse in Konyaalti Municipality in central Antalya during the UN climate conference COP31, exposing how the fossil fuel and petrochemical industries are using plastic production to prolong dependence on oil and gas and protect their profits.

Created in collaboration with Danish artist Thomas Dambo for Greenpeace’s plastics campaign, the installation stands six metres high and four metres wide and poured out plastic when the trapdoor in its belly opened. It carried a message to world leaders gathering for climate negotiations: plastic is the big oil’s Trojan Horse.

Berk Butan, Social and Economic Systems Campaigner at GP Türkiye, said: “The legend of Troy is a striking story deeply rooted in the ancient history of these lands. Just like in the myth, this horse – appearing as a gift from the outside – hides something within that threatens our lives. The fossil fuel industry is using plastic as an escape hatch.

“Türkiye is promoting its Zero Waste initiative to the world at COP31. However, a comprehensive Zero Waste policy requires placing limits on plastic production and closing borders to other countries’ plastic waste. Türkiye is hosting an historic moment. Now is the time to take a decisive stance and fight for true Zero Waste.”

Behind familiar packaging and everyday products lies an industry that pushes for more plastic production to sustain its profits, threatening to lock in demand for oil and gas and undermine essential climate action. Plastic contributes to the climate crisis throughout its entire life cycle, from fossil fuel extraction and manufacturing to disposal.

Thomas Dambo, the creator of the Trojan Horse installation, said: “I build sculptures exclusively from recycled materials and trash to make people think of how we overproduce. Here at COP31, this Trojan Horse reveals what everyday plastic conceals: its connection to oil and gas. As leaders negotiate our climate future, the fossil fuel industry is expanding through plastics. Working with Greenpeace, I hope this horse sparks curiosity and sends a clear message: a healthier climate means cutting plastic production.”

Jacob Kean-Hammerson, Global Plastics Policy Lead at Greenpeace USA, said: “Plastic is Big Oil’s Trojan Horse – a way to keep profiting from fossil fuels and continued climate emissions and pollution. Governments cannot tackle the climate crisis while allowing unchecked plastic production to threaten our communities, our health and our future. At COP31 and the next Global Plastics Treaty negotiations, leaders must stand up to fossil fuel interests and commit to a just transition away from fossil fuels and cutting plastic production.”

Greenpeace is calling on governments to deliver a strong Global Plastics Treaty that will  cut plastic production at its source, accelerate a just transition away from fossil fuels and support reuse and refill systems. 

Ahead of the Global Plastics Treaty negotiations in March 2027, Greenpeace challenged leaders at COP31 to confront the fossil fuel interests behind plastic through the Trojan Horse installation. A healthy climate and a truly Zero Waste future depend on cutting plastic production and putting people and the planet before polluters’ profits.

ENDS

Photos and videos of the action can be accessed in the Greenpeace Media Library.

Contacts:

Angelica Carballo Pago, Global Plastics Campaign Media Lead, Greenpeace USA, +63 917 1124492 angelica.pago@greenpeace.org

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

November 12, 2026 – In the wake of the resignation of Nvidia’s CEO, Jensen Huang, Greenpeace International reiterates the need to regulate AI and Big Tech.

Avex Li, Greenpeace East Asia’s project lead for AI supply chain campaign, said: “As a dominant giant and a frontrunner in the AI race, Nvidia, alongside other Big Tech players, bears primary responsibility for tech’s environmental, climate, and human toll. Jensen Huang has failed to put climate responsibility at the heart of the company’s growth strategy, to slow down the unchecked expansion of data centres or to prevent its chips from being deployed in unethical applications like automated warfare. Interim CEO Colette Kress and whoever leads Nvidia in the long term must make a clear commitment to genuine decarbonisation and renewable energy investment, and ensure its technology respects human rights.”

Greenpeace East Asia have spent the past two years seeking dialogue with Nvidia, especially after Jensen Huang publicly promised to meet with Greenpeace. To date, Nvidia has not fulfilled that promise. Greenpeace remains committed to engaging directly with any Nvidia CEO regarding emissions and ethical concerns.

Greenpeace International demands that Nvidia serves the public interest by investing substantially in additional renewable energy capacity. The organisation also calls on the company to extend its 100% renewable energy target beyond its own corporate operations to cover its entire manufacturing supply chain by 2030, including suppliers in key production regions in East Asia.

ENDS

Contacts: 

Guillaumine Lickel, Deputy Communications Lead , Greenpeace International, +33 6-73-89-48-90 (EMEA), glickel@greenpeace.org

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