On 23 March 2026, Australia’s Senate passed the High Seas Biodiversity Bill. Your support made this possible. This is your win. Thank you. You’ve been with us through the long road and we don’t take that lightly.
The Australian government has finally brought the Global Ocean Treaty into law – this means we are one step closer to creating ocean sanctuaries here at home.
You backed this when a lot of people said it couldn’t happen. Whether you first supported Greenpeace last month or ten years ago, you were part of something historic. That Australia would one day stand up for the 64% of the world’s ocean that belongs to no country, and was protected by almost nothing.
© Greenpeace / BRIDGET FERGUSON
What your support made possible
64%
of the world’s ocean now covered by this historic treaty
20 yrs
of campaigning and supporters like you who never gave up
30%
of oceans to be protected by 2030, the goal your support is driving
What you actually changed
The Global Ocean Treaty is the most significant ocean protection agreement in a generation, and it needed Australia. Not just as a signature. As a force
We have one of the largest ocean territories on earth. When Australia speaks in international negotiations, it matters. When we ratify, we don’t just add our name to a list. We shift what’s possible for ocean governance globally. We make it harder for those who want to mine, overfish and pollute the high seas to do so without consequence.
Before this treaty, less than 1% of the high seas had any protection. That’s the deep blue beyond every country’s border, home to humpback whales, migratory sharks, deep-sea corals, and millions of species we haven’t even named. It was an open frontier. Your support helped change that.
Because of you, the government heard a message it couldn’t ignore: this matters. Your donations, your petitions, your voice, they all added up to something real. The ocean wasn’t forgotten. Thank you for making sure of that.
— Greenpeace Australia Pacific Nature Team
A 20 year journey you helped drive
This win didn’t happen overnight. It took two decades of persistence and supporters who stayed with us through the slow, frustrating, unglamorous work of change.
What comes next?
Formal ratification will be completed in the coming months, but your support hasn’t just helped close a chapter. It’s opened the next one. Here’s what’s now possible because you showed up:
A Tasman Sea sanctuary, now possible
With ratification, Australia can nominate the Lord Howe Rise as one of the world’s first protected areas in international waters. Your support put this on the table.
Ocean COP 1, setting the rules
The first Conference of Parties meets later in 2026. Greenpeace will be there, pushing for the strongest possible protections. Funded by supporters like you.
30×30, the goal you’re helping achieve
Protecting 30% of oceans by 2030 is now within reach. Australia’s ratification is one of the most important steps toward that target.
Wildlife that can’t thank you, but we will
Humpback whales. Blue sharks. Deep-sea corals. Millions of species will have greater protection because you chose to act when it counted.
Today, the ocean belongs to you
Change like this doesn’t happen without people who decide to show up, through the slow years, the small actions, the moments when it was easy to walk away. You were one of those people, and we won’t forget it.
From all of us at Greenpeace Australia Pacific, and from the humpbacks, the sharks, the corals, and the deep-sea creatures who can’t say it themselves: thank you
Climate Change
Bowen urged to lead with vision and ambition to accelerate fossil fuel phase out at Bonn climate meeting, as global energy crisis bites
Bonn, Germany, Monday 8 June 2026 — As the UN climate negotiations in Bonn commence, Greenpeace Australia Pacific is calling on Climate and Energy Minister Chris Bowen to lead with vision and ambition to advance multilateral climate cooperation, and use his unique position to drive concrete progress at COP31 and ensure a meaningful partnership with the Pacific.
In the context of a global energy crisis and turbulent geopolitics, the Bonn Climate Change Conference will be a critical moment to sustain emerging political momentum towards a just transition away from fossil fuels. The midway point on the road to COP31 in Türkiye in November, Bonn will be the first time Minister Bowen has attended a major UN conference in his role as COP31 President of Negotiations.
The start of the Bonn meetings also marks 100 days since the illegal US-Israel war on Iran sparked a global energy shock and after 57 countries including Australia met in Santa Marta, Colombia in April for the world’s first conference on the transition away from fossil fuels — a landmark moment signalling political winds of change in the face of threats to multilateralism.
Speaking from Bonn, Dr Simon Bradshaw, COP31 Lead at Greenpeace Australia Pacific, said: “Amidst a global energy crisis, accelerating climate disasters and a looming super El Niño, the urgency to accelerate climate action and break free from fossil fuel dependence has never been clearer.
“Minister Bowen has been telling Australia and the world that we are in a global ‘fossil fuel crisis’, and that unhooking from fossil fuels is fundamental both to tackling the climate crisis and to ensuring secure and affordable energy. It’s time to match that message with a clear vision and agenda for COP31 — one that has the transition away from fossil fuels at its heart.
“As COP31 President of Negotiations, Australia has both the opportunity and responsibility to build on the momentum of COP30 in Belém and the recent landmark conference in Santa Marta on transitioning away from fossil fuels. This includes leading by example at home, with an immediate halt to new fossil fuel projects — including the mammoth proposed Browse gas project — and committing to develop a national roadmap away from fossil fuel production.”
“Few countries have as much skin the game as Australia: we are a country highly vulnerable to extreme heat, fires, floods and other impacts of climate change, we are suffering the consequences of fossil fuel dependency in terms of our energy security and affordability, but we have some of the world’s best renewable energy opportunities.
“Bonn is a key moment for the incoming Presidency to start shaping the vision, building the necessary trust, and actively setting priorities and expectations for the COP. We therefore hope and expect our Minister to be much more vocal and active in Bonn.
“Australia, in partnership with the Pacific, is taking the reins of global climate cooperation at a critical moment in the world’s transition away from fossil fuels. There is no more time to lose.”
Also in Bonn, Shiva Gounden, Head of Pacific at Greenpeace Australia Pacific, said: “Multilateral cooperation is the antidote to climate and geopolitical chaos. At Bonn, Pacific nations’ legacy of leadership from the frontlines of the climate crisis can be our guiding star as we build a more peaceful and secure world for all.
“We must build on the progress at Santa Marta and break the hold fossil fuels have on our global security and economies. Pacific nations are already facing the brunt of a global climate crisis, but now facing the compounding injustice of an energy crisis brought on by fossil fuel dependence. We did not create either of these crises, but are among the most exposed to both.
“The International Court of Justice made clear that responsibility to address the climate crisis extends beyond borders and that continuing to expand fossil fuel production, including for export, could constitute an internationally wrongful act — a ruling that has now been overwhelmingly endorsed by the UN General Assembly. Continuing down the fossil fuel path, and failing to align efforts with limiting warming to 1.5C, is a breach of our international legal obligations.
“We must not lose sight of what’s needed — by elevating the voices of Pacific leaders, backing Pacific-led solutions, and maximising the opportunity of the Pacific pre-COP, we can ensure the 1.5°C imperative and the transition away from fossil fuels are central to the agenda at COP31, and that communities are granted the finance they need to build a strong, resilient future beyond fossil fuels.”
Ahead of SB64, Greenpeace International has produced a policy briefing outlining the core elements of a just transition away from fossil fuels and the urgent, priority actions needed from national governments and through global co-operation to make it a reality.[1]
ENDS
[1] A Just Transition Away from Fossil Fuels: Policy Briefing
Photos in the Greenpeace Media Library
Media contact
Kate O’Callaghan on +61 406 231 892 (Whatsapp/Signal) or kate.ocallaghan@greenpeace.org
For decades, a landfill has towered over the town of Brookhaven. A groundwater contamination plume has spread beneath nearby properties.
BROOKHAVEN, N.Y.—The crowd grew restless at Brookhaven Town Hall on Long Island as residents voiced their concerns about groundwater contamination from a nearby landfill that has spread beneath parts of their community.
Troubled by Spreading Landfill Pollution, a Long Island Community Demands Action
Groups work to identify, save and reseed areas to help the culturally significant resource thrive as climate change portends more strains.
Bazile Minogiizhigaabo Panek, a member of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, was 7 years old when he attended his first rice harvest in northern Wisconsin. He and his sister rode in a canoe while his mom pushed the boat with a pole through the plants growing out of the shallow water. Together, they tapped the plants with sticks. Rice seeds rained into the canoe; others fell into the water.
Wild Rice Faces Numerous Threats—and Has Determined Protectors
Sustainability In Your Ear: Ethan and Desmond Hua Build HOPE for School Uniform Reuse
Bowen urged to lead with vision and ambition to accelerate fossil fuel phase out at Bonn climate meeting, as global energy crisis bites
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