New Zealand and Greenpeace both have a proud history in Antarctica.

With a mixture of public pressure and relentless campaigning, and thanks to some visionary political leadership, Greenpeace helped keep the oil and mining companies out of Antarctica.

And for decades, as its closest neighbour, New Zealand has acted as gatekeeper and guardian of the Ross Sea region.

To this day the continent remains a World Park under the protection of a fifty year moratorium on oil and mineral exploitation.

But, the rich and extraordinary oceans of the region are not protected.

If you sail south from New Zealand and go as far as you can before hitting Antarctica, you’ll find yourself in a spectacular icy wonderland, that is crowded with life. It is both the world’s southernmost ocean and the most pristine mari... Read more >

We’ve teamed up with Radiohead and actor Jude Law to make a fantastic video to Save the Arctic.

Take a minute to watch it yourself and then spread the message by sharing it with your friends and family. 

Oil companies are using melting sea ice to drill for more of the oil that is causing global warming in the first place. Shell’s Arctic fleet will be arriving any day now to begin exploratory drilling off the coast of Alaska this summer.

Commenting on the film, Jude Law said:

“As the Arctic sea ice melts, polar bears are being forced to go far beyond their normal habitat to find food and look after their young. This film is a powerful expression of how our fates are intertwined, because climate change is affecting all of us no matter where we live.

“Right now a handful of oil compa... Read more >

The Arctic holds a special significance for Greenpeace. The campaign that gave birth to our movement over 40 years ago stopped nuclear testing in Alaska.

Many people thought a nuclear test in Alaska wouldn't affect them. But if you lived on Earth, it affected you.

The radiation from those tests swirled around the world and entered your eyes - no matter where you were.

Forensic pathologists can tell a victim's age by looking for radioactive carbon in the eyes. If you were born in the 60s or early 70s like me, you'll have more radioactive carbon. The level gradually decreases for people born after nuclear testing ceased.

The founders of Greenpeace won their campaign and helped stop nuclear testing. But now things are happening in the Alaskan Arctic that could change a lot more than just the car... Read more >

Live streaming of Greenpeace Nordic activists occupying a Shell-contracted icebreaker in Helsinki harbour.

Dozens of Greenpeace Nordic activists have boarded and occupied a Shell-contracted icebreaker in Helsinki harbour as it prepares to leave for the Alaskan Arctic.

They're there to try to stop destructive oil drilling in the melting Arctic waters, which Shell wants to start this summer. Please join them and write to Shell telling them you want the Arctic protected, not exploited for profit. An amazing 380,000 of you have already done so - let's make it 500,000!

More news to follow. In the meantime, you can watch the live feed from the ship and  follow the latest news. Read more >

We made a mistake.  The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) upheld in part a complaint against Greenpeace New Zealand for our oiled-penguin advert which ran on TV3 and Prime TV in recent months.

The nub of the issue is that when we stated that “20,000 birds were killed by the Rena oil spill”, we should have said “An estimated 20,000 birds may have been killed by the Rena oil spill”.

We accept the findings in this regard and all future materials will be worded accordingly.

The ASA found that our statement that a deep sea oil spill could be 1000 times worse than the Rena was consistent with their guidelines and did not uphold the complaint against Greenpeace on that statement.

Still a couple of things need to be clarified.  The original figure of 20,000 is not from Greenpeace.  As the UK Gua... Read more >