When it happens, on a quiet weekend in January, there will be no fireworks. No ship horns will sound in harbours. Stock market tickers in financial districts will scroll as usual and satellites will hover silently in space, oblivious.

On Saturday 17 January, all anyone will hear will be the sea, doing what it has always done, breathing patient swells at the shores of the world, folding over itself, as if nothing ever changed.

It will look like a ripple – and, in a way, it will be, because that is how the mightiest waves always begin. But on this day, humanity’s relationship with what covers two thirds of our planet will profoundly change.

A historic moment

When the Global Ocean Treaty was agreed in 2023, it was hailed as historic. The ‘biggest conservation victory ever’, people said. A ‘once in a lifetime’ achievement and ‘a sign that in a divided world, protecting nature and people can triumph over geopolitics.’ When Morocco became the 60th country to ratify the Treaty in September, starting a countdown for it to become international law, it was a ‘turning point for humanity’. World leaders called it an ‘immense victory for the planet’, while others said it was ‘the most important accomplishment’ for international cooperation in decades, the greatest achievement for our climate since the Paris Agreement, and ‘the transformation our world needs’. It now gives countries the tools to expand ocean protection through marine protected areas beyond their borders.

A movement of millions

It certainly wasn’t a prize that was won fast – or easily. For over two decades, the mission to obtain the Treaty (also known as ‘BBNJ’ or the ‘High Seas Treaty’) brought together a diverse global movement of Indigenous Peoples, small-scale fishers, NGOs, activists, scientists, lawyers, musicians, actors, artists, campaigners, politicians, coastal communities, mariners, environmentalists, families, businesses and other humans who love and depend on the ocean.

An astonishing diversity of campaigning advocacy was involved – movement building, mass demonstrations, lobbying, research expeditions, losses, failures and obstacles – with people young and old, from every continent, gender, creed, faith and economic background, working together. It took two decades since calls for a treaty, including four years of formal talks, to secure that common goal, which will shape the health of planet Earth for generations to come. But when it came, the billions of people whose lives depend on the ocean had something else to celebrate: hope.

Hope in Action

The Treaty’s environmental and human rights significance cannot be overstated. The high seas are one of the major global commons – the Earth’s shared natural resources – intrinsically linked to the health and happiness of every human on the planet. The ocean captures and stores carbon, generates half of the oxygen we breathe and regulates the climate. It provides food, energy and a livelihood for billions of people and is home to around a quarter of a million marine species that are known to humans – with perhaps twice that number that we’re yet to discover.

But perhaps as important, the Treaty represents a powerful symbol for what humanity can achieve. As 2026 awakens to an accelerating reality of naked extractivist imperialistic aggression, spiralling militarisation, corporate overreach and soaring inequality, the international cooperation and human ambition behind BBNJ is a shining beacon of hope for multilateralism, diplomacy and the human ambition for working together.

Last year, there were mixed outcomes at the COP30 climate conference – a forum that created the Paris Agreement in 2015 but where climate action since has sometimes been marked by a lack of ambition – and the US was accused of ‘thuggery’ at the International Maritime Organisation for intimidating countries into postponing green levies on shipping. Other multilateral fora such as the ongoing quest for a strong Global Plastics Treaty will be watching the way in which governments apply the Global Ocean Treaty keenly.

When it was agreed at the United Nations headquarters in New York, the conference president declared ‘the ship has reached the shore’ and the collective achievement met wild celebration. This was a ship that has been sailed by a cast of millions. That those millions managed to steer the ship of international cooperation to its destination is a triumph of people power and the international community’s ability to defibrillate multilateralism at this scale could change the world.

The ripple that became the wave

Artists all over the world are celebrating the entry into force of the Global Ocean Treaty, also marking the beginning of a crucial four-year countdown to protect 30% of the world’s ocean by 2030 and stop deep sea mining before it begins.

What began as a ripple is now a wave in motion, but it will lose its force if governments around the world do not act now. They must move fast to submit proposals for the first-ever sanctuaries under the new Treaty, where biodiversity can recover, rise and thrive, and to ensure the first ever ‘Ocean COP’ can see the start of their implementation. Our ocean can’t wait, and neither can we.

Ratifications of the Treaty in December by Brazil and China were another welcome boost, adding the countries’ massive diplomatic counterweights to controversial US actions on the ocean, which last year included bypassing international law on deep sea mining – and complementing the many Small Island Developing States (SIDS) that have also provided leadership in the diplomatic arena. Meanwhile, there is important work ahead. Some countries have signed and not ratified – but all countries now need to set the tempo and propose first High Seas sanctuaries.

Multilateralism and international cooperation may seem a highwire act, but it is on that tightrope where the urgent solutions of our time can be unlocked to counteract corporate political capture and autocracy. Humanity has proved it can rise to the challenge – but a new clock is now ticking. Who will be the first to make more history?

Amsterdam, Netherlands – As the Global Ocean Treaty officially comes into force, artists worldwide unveil large-scale street art, celebrating the hard-won victory after two decades of campaigning. The global action, coordinated by Greenpeace, also marks the beginning of a crucial countdown to protect 30% of the world’s ocean by 2030.

Images of the artworks can be found in the Greenpeace Media Library.

The treaty enters into force on 17 January, and to celebrate this extraordinary achievement, artists, Indigenous Peoples, activists, and local communities from 13 countries across five continents representing every ocean, have joined Greenpeace to create vibrant, ocean-protection-inspired street art including murals, sculpture and moving artworks.

Lukas Meus, Ocean Campaigner, Greenpeace CEE said: “We are celebrating the result of two decades of tireless campaigning to protect the high seas, home to millions of species and crucial ecosystems. Now governments which have ratified the treaty are legally bound to take action to protect it.

“But we only have four years left to protect 30% of the ocean by 2030. We can’t trust big fishing industry players to simply prioritise ocean protection and stop exploiting it for profit, we need governments to force their hands.

“Our message to governments is clear: you must work fast to create the first wave of sanctuaries and do everything you can to limit the power of corporations who have destroyed the ocean. Every month of delay means more damage to beautiful and fragile ecosystems upon which we all rely.”

The Global Ocean Treaty, the most significant piece of environmental legislation since the Paris Agreement, achieved its landmark 60th ratification in September 2025, triggering its entry into force. Currently 0.9% of the High Seas is fully or highly protected, and for the first time, the treaty provides the legal tools to create High Seas sanctuaries  that will help mitigate the climate crisis, halt biodiversity collapse, and safeguard food security for the billions who depend on the ocean.

From 17 January, a number of specific legal obligations will come into force for countries which have ratified, but this historic milestone must be followed by a commitment from governments around the world to act fast, and limit the power of industrial fisheries during the creation of the first sanctuary sites. 

Closing the High Seas protection gap from under 1% as it is currently to 30% in four years will require governments to protect ocean areas larger than entire continents and to do so faster than any conservation effort in history.

At the 2025 United Nations General Assembly, 16 countries launched the Ocean Pioneers Coalition, a group of countries committing to strong ocean protection by ratifying the ocean treaty and committing to a moratorium on deep sea mining. Greenpeace is calling on governments to join them.

ENDS

Notes:

1. Greenpeace spokespeople are available for interview or further comment. 
2. Photographs of the murals will be available from 14 January as the murals are finished, with full library of pictures uploaded in the following days.
3. A short history of the Ocean Treaty 
4. Bios about the artists
5. Lukas Meus is Greenpeace Global Ocean Campaigner employed by Greenpeace Central and Eastern Europe.
6. The full list of countries participating are: Slovenia, Austria, The Philippines, Mexico, Mauritius, Senegal, Germany, Australia, the UK, Japan, Canada, The Netherlands, and the USA.

Contacts:

Florri Burton, Global Media Lead, Oceans Are Life campaign, Greenpeace Nordic +447896523839, florri.burton@greenpeace.org

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

2026 has got off to a terrible start for the Amazon rainforest. On 5 January, the Brazilian Association of Vegetable Oil Industries (ABIOVE), the industry group representing the largest soybean traders in Brazil, announced plans to withdraw from the Amazon Soy Moratorium. The move confirms the worst fears of the global movement to protect the Amazon: the world’s single most successful zero-deforestation policy is hanging by a thread.

A Landmark Agreement is Fraying

The Amazon Soy Moratorium is not just another corporate pledge; it is widely considered one of the most successful zero-deforestation agreements in history. 

In 2006, Greenpeace International exposed how soy grown on recently deforested land was being used as animal feed – ultimately supplying major brands like McDonald’s and other global fast-food and supermarket chains. The resulting global outrage led commodity traders, working with civil society groups led by Greenpeace, to establish the Soy Moratorium – a ground-breaking agreement that halted the expansion of soy onto newly deforested land in the Amazon.

Before the pact was signed, up to 30% of new soy fields in the Amazon were created by clearing primary rainforest. Today, thanks to the soy agreement, that figure has plummeted, with less than 4% of soy being planted in deforested areas as of July 2025 and has enabled Brazil to triple its soy production without torching its most vital ecosystem, proving that farming can be done in a way that does not harm our forests.

The catalyst for today’s crisis is a new law introduced by the state legislature of Mato Grosso, Brazil’s soybean capital, that came into force on 1 January 2026. This legislation – pushed by Brazil’s powerful agribusiness lobby – strips tax benefits from any company that participates in any voluntary environmental agreement that goes beyond Brazilian environmental legislation, of which the Soy Moratorium is the most prominent example. 

Although ABIOVE’s statement does not make it clear which traders are following the association’s decision, most of its members’ logos have been removed from the agreement’s official website, including industry giants and multinationals such as ADM, Bunge, Cargill and Louis Dreyfus.

By choosing to prioritise these tax breaks over their sustainability commitments, these companies are effectively hollowing out a historic shield for the Amazon. While ABIOVE claims that members will continue to monitor their supply chains individually, history shows that voluntary, individual promises rarely match the rigour or ambition of a unified, transparent moratorium.

What is at stake?

If the Moratorium collapses, the consequences will be global. Without it, producers only have to follow Brazil’s Forest Code, an important piece of legislation which nonetheless allows them to clear forest from 20% of their land – or more in some cases – in the Amazon biome. If this happens, estimates suggest we could see a 30% surge in deforestation by 2045.

It would also have major implications for businesses and consumers around the world. The Soy Moratorium enabled companies to confidently promise their customers that the soy in their supply chains are free of Amazon deforestation. This is why so many major brands have supported the Soy Moratorium for decades – and why over a dozen leading European supermarket chains including Lidl, Aldi and Tesco recently urged members to publicly reaffirm their commitment to the pact.

Scientists warn that the Amazon is already reaching a “tipping point”. If we lose just a few more percentage points of forest cover, the entire ecosystem could collapse into a dry, fire-prone savannah. This would release billions of tonnes of carbon, making it impossible to meet our global climate targets. There could not be more at stake.

Take Action: The World is Watching

Greenpeace Brasil is already supporting a legal challenge against the Mato Grosso law in Brazil’s Supreme Court, arguing that it is unconstitutional to deny tax benefits as a way of punishing those who do more to protect forests. But we also need international pressure. 

The vast majority of soy is used as animal feed: that is, it is used to produce the meat on dinner tables around the world. At a time when governments around the world are failing to protect citizens and nature from corporate exploitation, more than ever we need people to speak up. We need to raise our voices and make clear to soy traders and international brands that we won’t accept products linked to the destruction of the world’s largest rainforest.

The Amazon belongs to all of us, not just the agribusiness lobby. Let’s make sure its best defence stays standing.

Respect the Amazon

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

Join the movement

Joe Evans is a Global Comms Lead with Greenpeace UK.

Davos/Vienna – Ahead of next week’s World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, Greenpeace CEE has published a new analysis of private jet traffic linked to the event. The report, Davos in the Sky, analysed private jet flights to and from Davos-area airports over the past three years before, during, and after the WEF, and found a sharp rise in private jet activity, even though overall attendance at the forum has remained broadly stable.

Herwig Schuster, European campaigner with Greenpeace Austria, said: ”It’s pure hypocrisy that the world’s most powerful and super-rich elite discuss global challenges and progress in Davos, while they literally burn the planet with the emissions of their private jets. The time for action is now. Governments must act to curb polluting luxury flights and tax the super-rich for the damage they cause.”

Key findings of the new report Davos in the Sky [1]

• During the week of the 2025 World Economic Forum, 709 additional private jet flights were identified at airports near Davos – roughly equivalent to almost one private jet flight per four WEF participants. 
• There is a 10% increase from 2024, when 628 flights were recorded, and a threefold rise compared with 2023, which saw 227 flights.[2] The increase was not driven by higher participation but by repeated arrivals and departures. In 2024 and 2025, many private jets flew in and out of Davos multiple times during the same week, effectively turning the area into a private jet shuttle hub for Davos participants.
• Greenpeace CEE calculates that around 70% of the private jet routes could have been travelled by train within a day (or with a night train and connection train).[3]

Greenpeace supports the UN Tax Convention (UNFCITC) negotiations toward new global tax rules through 2027 and urges governments to implement new global tax rules on extreme wealth, including a levy on luxury aviation such as private jets and first and business class flights. 

ENDS

Notes: 

[1] The report Davos in the Sky was written by Berlin-based T3 Think Tank. The key findings were selected by Greenpeace CEE based on data in the report.

[2] In 2023, a French air traffic controllers strike during the week of WEF 2023 may have affected flights into and out of Switzerland.

[3] The Greenpeace CEE calculation is based on countries of origin to destination (Davos Dorf railway station) and draws on data from the T3 report referenced in this press release.

Contacts:

Herwig Schuster, European campaigner, Greenpeace Austria: +43 664 4319214 , herwig.schuster@greenpeace.org

Christine Gebeneter, European comms lead, Greenpeace Austria: +43 664 8403807, christine.gebeneter@greenpeace.org

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