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
Driven by Steel Production, China’s Belt and Road Construction Carries a Heavy Climate Cost
Strong regulations and incentives are needed to curb greenhouse gas emissions from Chinese manufacturing, two new studies conclude.
China’s Belt and Road Initiative, the world’s largest ongoing infrastructure program, has a substantial climate impact. More than half its emissions stem from steel, the majority of which was produced in China.
Driven by Steel Production, China’s Belt and Road Construction Carries a Heavy Climate Cost
The tool forecasts heat risks for wildlife in some regions months in advance. But questions remain about whether this information can prevent deaths at a large scale.
At the end of May, eight endangered Asiatic lions died at a national park in India. Officials feared the animals had succumbed to a tick-borne parasitic disease that previously killed lions in the area.
Heat Is Killing Wildlife Across the Animal Kingdom. A New Forecasting Tool May Help.
Climate Change
COP31 electrification push a welcome first step by Presidency, but insufficient without ending fossil fuels: Greenpeace
Bonn, Germany, Tuesday 9 June 2026 — Greenpeace has welcomed the COP31 Presidency’s electrification initiative — a 35% by 2035 target as part of the Action Agenda launch — as a positive step forward, but said it must be coupled with a rapid phase out of fossil fuels as part of a just transition to renewable energy to keep the 1.5°C limit within reach.
While electrifying households, industry and other major sectors with renewable energy is a key component of ending fossil fuel use, a focus alone on growing renewables and expanding electrification will not be enough without a managed, proactive wind-down of fossil fuel production as well.
Speaking from Bonn, Dr Simon Bradshaw, COP31 Lead at Greenpeace Australia Pacific said: “Minister Bowen and his Turkish counterpart Minister Kurum must maintain the global momentum towards a phase out of fossil fuels and ensure that a just transition is at the heart of the COP31 agenda.
“As Minister Bowen said, we are in the middle of a global fossil fuel crisis. Ending the fossil fuel chokehold is the only path towards greater peace and security and the only way to keep 1.5°C within reach. This means no new fossil fuel approvals and a managed phase out of fossil fuel production.
“Renewable electrification is also the path to universal energy access, better health and reducing inequality, but only if the solutions are accessible to all. This new electrification push should have equity at its heart and maximise the opportunities to leave all communities stronger.
“Nowhere are the benefits of renewable electrification clearer than in the Pacific. For some countries, fuel import costs are equivalent to 25% of GDP. The region has been hit particularly hard by the current global fossil fuel crisis, with multiple Pacific countries declaring a state of emergency over concerns for fuel and power supply.
“The Pacific is already facing the brunt of a climate crisis and now faces the compounding injustice of an energy crisis brought on by fossil fuel dependence. It did not create either of these crises, but is among the most exposed to both. The Pacific is leading the global push beyond fossil fuels, with the aim of becoming the world’s first fossil fuel free region.”
“As COP31 President of Negotiations, it’s time for Australia to also lead by example. This means an immediate halt to new fossil fuel projects — including Woodside’s reckless Browse gas project — and developing a national roadmap away from fossil fuel production.”
The past decade has seen strong progress in the roll-out of renewable energy and in 2026 unprecedented momentum is being built towards the phase out of fossil fuels, after 57 committed countries came together in Santa Marta in April and the global energy shock brought on by the war on Iran exposed the inherent risk of fossil fuel reliance.
Coinciding with the Bonn Climate Change Conference, Greenpeace International has released a report outlining the rapid growth in renewables since the Paris Agreement [1] and calling for an accelerated fair, fast and funded just transition through deliberate political choices and strong policy frameworks.[2]
Berkan Ozyer, Director of Greenpeace Türkiye, said: “It is a deep contradiction that Türkiye, as COP31 host, is championing a vision of electrification in the global arena while continuing to keep 37 active coal power plants running and leaving the door open for new projects at home.
“While dependence on fossil fuels condemns us to expensive energy and a reliance on global supply chains, our massive wind and solar potential is the true key to Turkish independence. Real climate leadership means winning the electrification race, not just by talking about clean energy, but by setting a bold and just coal phase-out date as part of a transition away from all fossil fuels.”
ENDS
Notes
[1] Read the Greenpeace Energy [R]evolution+10 report
[2] 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
-
Climate Change10 months ago
Guest post: Why China is still building new coal – and when it might stop
-
Greenhouse Gases10 months ago
Guest post: Why China is still building new coal – and when it might stop
-
Greenhouse Gases2 years ago嘉宾来稿：满足中国增长的用电需求 光伏加储能“比新建煤电更实惠”
-
Climate Change2 years ago嘉宾来稿：满足中国增长的用电需求 光伏加储能“比新建煤电更实惠”
-
Climate Change2 years ago
Bill Discounting Climate Change in Florida’s Energy Policy Awaits DeSantis’ Approval
-
Renewable Energy8 months agoSending Progressive Philanthropist George Soros to Prison?
-
Carbon Footprint2 years agoUS SEC’s Climate Disclosure Rules Spur Renewed Interest in Carbon Credits
-
Greenhouse Gases11 months ago
嘉宾来稿：探究火山喷发如何影响气候预测