RAROTONGA, Wednesday 22 October 2025 — Cook Islanders holding a banner reading “Don’t Mine the Moana” have confronted an exploration vessel as it returned to Rarotonga port today, protesting the emerging threat of seabed mining.
The research being conducted on the Nautilus is funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Ocean Exploration Cooperation Institute and comes just six months after President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order tasking NOAA to fast track the licensing process for deep sea mining.
Four activists in kayaks paddled alongside the Nautilus, which has spent the last three weeks on a U.S. funded research expedition surveying mineral nodule fields around the Cook Islands in partnership with the Cook Islands Government.
The Nautilus expedition comes just six months after President Donald Trump signed an Executive Order to expedite deep sea mining, tasking the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to fast track the licensing process. The research conducted on the Nautilus expedition was funded by NOAA’s Ocean Exploration Cooperation Institute. [1]
Campaigners against seabed mining are calling the expedition one of the first steps in the Cook Island – U.S. partnership on their critical minerals deal which was announced in August, and say it demonstrates the political motive behind the expedition is to advance seabed mining.
Louisa Castledine, Cook Island activist and spokesperson for the Ocean Ancestors collective, says the Pacific movement against seabed mining is strong and mining enablers are not welcome.
“Right now, global superpowers like the U.S. are vying for control of deep sea minerals throughout the Pacific, in an attempt to assert their military might. Seabed mining will lead to the destruction of our home environments and put our Indigenous rights, cultural ways of living, and wellbeing at risk. Any government or corporate looking to exploit us in this way is no true partner of ours,” says Castledine.
“We need to open our eyes to the threats imposed on us by the seabed mining industry and stop the corporate takeover of our ocean. We have long endured environmental and political injustices, brought about by colonialism, that forcefully displace and compromise our way of living and survival. We are taking a stand against the exploitation of our people and resources. As Indigenous Peoples and custodians of the ocean we say NO to seabed mining.”
In August, the U.S. and Cook Islands governments announced their official partnership on developing seabed mineral resources. A senior official at the Cook Islands Seabed Minerals Authority described this research vessel expedition as “a first step in our collaboration”. [2] [3]
Two of the three deep sea mining exploration licences in the Cook Islands’ EEZ waters are held by U.S. companies. [4]
Seabed mining is an emerging destructive industry that has not started anywhere at commercial scale. If it goes ahead, seabed mining within Cook Islands waters could pave the way for mining throughout the Pacific.
Greenpeace Aotearoa Campaigner Juressa Lee says:
“We’re here today, standing alongside our allies in the Cook Islands, who like many across the region want a Pacific blue line drawn against this destructive industry.
“Just like Greenpeace stood with Pacific Peoples in the fight against nuclear testing, we will continue to ally with them against this reckless industry that is gambling with our future.
“The Nautilus, which was confronted today, is doing exploration for the U.S. Pacific People will not be sidelined by corporations and powerful countries that try to impose this new form of extractive colonialism on the region.”
More than 940 leading marine science and policy experts from over 70 countries have voiced their concerns about deep sea mining, and are calling for a precautionary pause on the start of deep sea mining to allow time to gather more scientific information on deep-sea biodiversity and ecosystems [5]
Resistance to deep sea mining across the Pacific is strong and growing. 40 countries have now joined the call for a pause or moratorium on deep-sea mining, including Pacific states such as Palau, Samoa, Vanuatu and Tuvalu. Antigua and Barbuda and Romania added their support today.
—ENDS—
Notes
[1] Donald Trump Executive Order
[2]https://www.state.gov/releases/office-of-the-spokesperson/2025/08/joint-statement-on-u-s-cook-islands-cooperation-on-seabed-mineral-resourceshttps://www.pmoffice.gov.ck/2025/08/05/joint-statement-on-u-s-cook-islands-cooperation-on-seabed-mineral-resources/
[3] Senior official from the Cook Islands Seabed Mineral Authority (source: 1:40) https://www.abc.net.au/pacific/programs/pacificbeat/cook-islands-us-seabed-collaboration/105640744)
[4] The companies that do own licenses in the Cook Islands EEZ are: Moana Minerals (who are a subsidiary of a US company Ocean Minerals LLC (OML).), Cobalt (CIC) Limited and CIIC Seabed resources, which is a joint venture between Belgian GSR and the Cook Islands Investment Corp.
[5]https://deep-sea-conservation.org/solutions/no-deep-sea-mining/momentum-for-a-moratorium/
Pacific activists protest deep sea mining as U.S exploration vessel enters port
Climate Change
Commencement of NSW Forestry assessment a ‘chance to fix a broken system’ and deliver urgent forest protection
SYDNEY, Friday 18 September 2026 — In response to the Federal and NSW government’s announcement to commence an assessment of NSW forestry under the new national nature laws, Adele Chasson, Nature Policy Lead at Greenpeace Australia Pacific said:
“This is the Federal Government’s chance to fix a broken system that has enabled the destruction of NSW’s precious forests for far too long.
“Native forest logging continues to smash threatened species habitat. In NSW, it is pushing unique wildlife like koalas, greater gliders and glossy black cockatoos towards extinction. The state-owned logging agency has a disastrous record of environmental damage and breaches.
“The Regional Forest Agreement (RFA) system has failed, allowing the industrial logging of special forests for decades across Australia with no oversight. Thankfully, the Federal Government has started the process to finally remove the logging industry’s exemption from national nature laws.
“It’s time for the Federal Government to deliver the protection that forests urgently need, and that Australians overwhelmingly want. The Government must ensure a thorough assessment of the devastating impacts of native forest logging in NSW, and establish strong environmental rules that states must follow.
“These forests have been cared for by First Nations people for tens of thousands of years. They are some of the most biodiverse on the planet, store carbon, clean our air and water. It’s critical we protect them.”
ENDS
Media contact:
Kate O’Callaghan on 0406 231 892 or kate.ocallaghan@greenpeace.org
What happens when a love of marine life meets a playful imagination?
Sydney artist, illustrator and children’s author Sha’an d’Anthes, better known as Furry Little Peach, has teamed up with Greenpeace to create Happy Ocean Happy Planet: a joyful celebration of the extraordinary creatures that call our oceans home.
Sha’an felt inspired to create an illustration celebrating the beauty and resilience of marine life. Its hopeful message, A Happy Ocean is a Happy Planet, sparked a special collaboration with Greenpeace and a limited-edition t-shirt designed to help protect the oceans that inspired it.
The exclusive Furry Little Peach tee is available as a gift to new regular Greenpeace donors who give $30 or more and make at least three donations. By becoming a regular giver, you’ll help Greenpeace campaign for ocean protection.
ARTIST INTERVIEW: Sha’an d’Anthes (Furry Little Peach)
Sha’an shares the story behind the artwork, the local marine creatures featured in the design and why hope can be such a powerful force for action.
Hi Sha’an! Can you tell us a little about yourself and what you do?
My name is Sha’an d’Anthes, I also go by the pseudonym Furry Little Peach and I’m an illustrator, artist and children’s author based in Sydney, Australia. I love creating joyful, vibrant and nostalgic art that looks at the world through the lens of childlike wonder.
What do you love about drawing animals and nature?
I love all of the different shapes, colour and narrative you get to explore when drawing animals and nature. I’m also a city-slicker these days, and so I think that my work is a sort of escapism (for myself and hopefully for my audience).
How did the Greenpeace collaboration come about?
I went to the premiere of David Attenborough’s documentary Ocean, and felt compelled to create something to share the message of the film. This t-shirt is actually based off of that illustration including the tagline in I included when I shared it “A Happy Ocean is a Happy Planet”. I’m so grateful Greenpeace approached me for the project – it was a blast.
Where did you start when creating the Happy Ocean Happy Planet design?
The Happy Ocean tee starts the same as all of my work – with a brainstorm/braindump and really loose concept sketches.
How did you choose the animals for the illustration?
I actually asked Greenpeace to help me with the research of local marine life and they were so accommodating. They very quickly delivered me a huge list of local species of fish, mammals and coral and I just went through and looked up each creature and curated a little group of sea life that I thought would look sweet together – a mix of sizes, types, colours, textures and shapes.
What did you use to create the artwork?
So much of my work is traditional, but when it comes to things like t-shirts I always use digital drawing programs because I like to draw each colour in a separate layer which requires me to jump in and out of layers because it allows me to control colour and printing. When working digitally I always sketch in Procreate (an Australian digital art app), and then with this project I created final art in Adobe Fresco because it called for a vector graphic (an image that can be blown up to any size).
Do you have a favourite creature in the design?
I love painting Humpback Whales and always have, but I also have a soft spot for the sweet little Jelly Blubber jellyfish.
What did you want people to feel when they saw the artwork?
I specifically wanted to focus on the outcome that all of us want to see – a happy, thriving ocean where creatures are given the time and space to balance themselves. I feel that even when tackling tough subjects, leaning into hope is my natural inclination. As long as we have hope that things can be better, we will continue to take action.
What was the most fun part of creating it?
I actually documented the entire process of this project in a studio vlog on YouTube – and you can see how much fun I’m having doing final art jumping between layers and building the image. I had just come off completing final art for two books which are multi-year long projects, so being able to do a project that from start to finish in just a few days was really freeing at the time.
What does a “happy ocean” mean to you?
An ocean that given the time and space to repair and balance itself. Something I really took away from David Attenborough’s Ocean is that ocean ecosystems are actually really good at repairing themselves if we just let them do their thing.
How can people get their hands on the t-shirt?
The shirt is a reward for regular givers to Greenpeace – those who commit to at least 3 months of donations will receive the tee as a gift. Read about how at http://act.gp/flp-tee
How is Greenpeace helping to make our oceans happier places?
They have a deep focus on the health and happiness of our oceans through advocating for the set up of marine sanctuaries, holding big ocean polluters to account and calling for a ban on deep sea mining.
What are you working on next?
I will be jumping headfirst into Peachtober – an annual daily art challenge I run each year in October, if there are any artists reading this it’s a great time so please come join! In terms of publications my next picture book The Late Bird will be out in February 2027 (published by Harper Collins US) and then I have an creative activity book for adults coming out next August with Chronicle US and Penguin Australia. Otherwise you can always check out what I’m tinkering away with in my studio on Instagram and YouTube.
Climate Change
AI giant Anthropic’s first Australian data centre deal an “egregious” example of Big Tech double talk
SYDNEY, Thursday 17 September 2026 — Greenpeace Australia Pacific has slammed AI giant Anthropic’s deal for its first Australian site in Queensland’s Western Downs, the heart of coal seam gas country, saying the project will entrench gas and turbocharge climate pollution.
The expected electricity demand from the data centre site, situated in the middle of the Western Downs coal seam gas fields, is comparable to 1.5 million Australian households. Greenpeace’s report Energy Vampires: The AI data centres draining Australia called for a moratorium on frenzied data centre development until appropriate guardrails are in place.
Joe Rafalowicz, Head of Climate and Energy at Greenpeace Australia Pacific, said: “This is an egregious example of Big Tech giants being given carte blanche to drain energy and water, and use polluting gas to fuel their hyperscale data centres.
“AI and Big Tech corporations claim to bring new renewable energy to the grid, while blatantly planning to power their operations with polluting fossil fuels.
“Planning documents show the first stage of this behemoth project could be powered by ‘behind the metre’ gas — the same playbook AI companies have used in the US, leading to a 20% increase in climate pollution from electricity. Now these companies want to bring their cowboy plans to Australia and the Federal Government is allowing it.
“If they plugged into the local grid, the power required would increase Queensland’s electricity grid emissions by around 6.6 million tonnes — an 18% rise. If they build their own gas-fired power plants, this will drive up Queensland’s emissions even more.
“Billions of dollars are now pouring into a massive pipeline of proposed new data centres, of unprecedented size, being built at incredible speed across the country. Australians should be worried about the extreme lack of scrutiny being applied to these projects, and the corporations leading the data centre charge.
“The data centre build-out is happening without the endorsement of the Australian people, yet we are the ones who will pay the price. We can not allow unchecked data centre expansion to derail our renewable energy transition, entrench gas and turbocharge climate pollution — that’s why Greenpeace has called for an urgent moratorium until appropriate guardrails are in place.”
ENDS
Media contact: Kate O’Callaghan on 0406 231 892 or kate.ocallaghan@greenpeace.org
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